Producer and Creator Rajan Shahi’s new presentations are always worth sampling, as it usually has a realistic blend to its narratives. Woh Toh Hai Albelaa, in a nutshell, can be termed as a very usual story plot with enmity brewing between two families, who are related by blood. We have surely seen many stories that have been told, loosely based on this story plot. But Woh Toh Hai Albelaa takes the cake for how the characters have been written, and how the enmity has been described in depth.
Talking about the main family, that of Dhanraj’s (Mehul Buch), Saroj (Pallavi Pradhan) his wife, dominates the thoughts of one and all in the house. She is not able to heal on the past memory of insult coming from her co-sister Indrani (Sucheta Khanna), and the slap she got from her years back, still lingers in her ears and her heart. Her enmity has reached profound limits, and there is no way of return for happiness between the two families.
The hatred of the mother has very well run into the younger generation too, with Krishna aka Kanha (Shaheer Sheikh) developing a hatred for the main girl in the other family, Sayuri (Hiba Nawab). Kanha is not at peace if he does not have a fight of words with Sayuri. He can go to any extreme to insult her. They say, there is never a fight without fire!! Sayuri too holds the grudge against Kanha, and never leaves an opportunity to abuse him back.
Amidst all this, brews a silent love tale of the elder brother Chiranjeev aka Chiru (Anuj Sachdev) and Sayuri. Yes, this love angle between two families that have a vengeance to pick, is not new. But as we said earlier, the beauty of this tale lies in its narrative. Chiru is the devoted son, brother and grandson!! He is the apple of his mother’s eyes. His mother believes he can never go astray. And there we have Chiru bitten by love. The manner in which he tells Kanha in one of the episodes, ‘Pyaar Sayuri se Hogaya’, is rendered beautifully. Love is beyond all anger and enmity, but we feel that this love story will go through enormous tests soon.
Talking about the bromance in the show, it has to be one of the biggest highlights. Chiru, Kanha and Nakul (Kinshuk Vaidya) make for exemplary siblings and their love for each other comes across so nicely. The manner in which Kanha and Nakul accept the fact that Chiru is the best son, and how they allow the mother-son love to blossom, is again a very unique family virtue that is depicted well. Kanha and Chiru share a special chord, wherein Kanha wants to see Chiru winning every small battle between them, as he wants to see his mother happy.
On the other hand, Balwant’s (Sachin Tyagi) family has his wife Indrani, mother-in-law and three daughters, Sayuri, Rashmi and Priya. Balwant has died owing to the family feud, which has indirectly been brought about by Kanha (as per the narrative). However, Balwant continues to be the guiding force for his family, as Sayuri sees her father and even communicates with him and gains motivation to move on in life. The scene between the father and daughter was adorable.
Coming to the main plot, the only dampener here is the predictability factor that comes with the story. It is given away that a tragedy will strike soon in which Chiru will be gone. This will pave way for the ultimate love story of Kanha and Sayuri. Having said this, it will be interesting to see how this potboiler of anger and enmity will take a new turn when this unfortunate happens!!
Also, the twist wherein Kanha reacts in a very aggressive manner after getting to know of Chiru being in love with Sayuri, has indeed taken us aback. (The normal and usual route taken would have been the other hero too being in love with the same girl). But alas!! Kanha hates the sight of Sayuri here. This plot twist will surely keep the audience glued.
Coming to the performances, the entire cast in the show has been well-placed. The show and its main characters were lit with the colours of Holi in the very first episode. Amazing screenplay and direction to depict the positivity that runs in the blood of Kanha, and of course his brothers.
Shaheer Sheikh is perhaps portraying a character in which he has never been seen before. So much of layers in this one guy named Kanha, Shaheer will ace it like a pro. Hiba Nawab has the simplicity and appeal to carry off this complex lead role.
Anuj Sachdeva’s smile in itself is enough to talk about his character. He plays the perfectionist that Chiru is with great ease. Kinshuk Vaidya as Nakul makes the ambience really lively. His scenes with Kanha are enjoyable.
Pallavi Pradhan, Nayan Bhatt and Sucheta Khanna have bagged roles that have power in it. They excel in their portrayals. Mehul Buch and Somesh Agarwal are good in the characters they play.
The beginning has been good for Woh Toh Hai Albelaa. We love the kind of characterization that this show has!! From looking like the same old story when we see it from a broader perspective to gaining momentum for the kind of equations and interpersonal relationships that the main characters have, the uniqueness has touched our hearts!!
Considering that Star Bharat airs the show, it is very clear that it does not have the same reach that the other successful shows of Rajan Shahi on Star Plus, Anupamaa and Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai are blessed with. This might turn out to be the challenge that Rajan Shahi as a maker will have to deal with. It will be a welcome change if this show can turn the tables for the channel by working well.
Let us hope for the best. We at IWMBuzz.com credit Woh Toh Hai Albella with 3.5 stars.
