Sony Sab show Tera Kya Hoga Alia (Optimystix) does something that not many have tried in desi TV so far, i.e. taken potshots at the teaching profession.As with most SAB plots, the setting here is very simple – healthy history teacher, Alia (Anusha Mishra), is insecure about her PT sir hubby, Alok (Harshad Arora), and the entry of the very beautiful and diligent English teacher, Tara (Priyanka Purohit), makes her do naughty kiddish things such as put glue on seats and puncture bike tyres.
Her fear is compounded by her Guruji’s prediction that Alok’s stars foretell a second marriage. Anusha (worked with Sab TV’s digital team) is doing a superb job as the silly but lovable Alia. But we wonder as to how Alia, being a former Miss Agra, becomes a total bhabhi. (creative pls, this is 21st century India. Today, even small town wives pay a lot of attention to personal grooming).
On the other hand, it is equally good that we are finally coming around to accepting lead characters that go beyond perfect hour glass figures. Hope other shows follow suit and we have normal-looking leads. Not everyone has the time or inclination to hit the gym. We are ok with our bods. Alia’s jokes bring a smile to our faces, especially her banter with her teacher friend, Rabiya (Namrata Pathak), who is always busy chatting with her Dubai-based hubby. The writers have ensured that so far, Alia does not come across as bad, but it will be a challenge to keep this thin line, lest it becomes monotonous. If you are tired of high drama and constant conspiracies, then SAB TV shows are your panacea.Having said that, the makers don’t really concentrate on fine humour. Rather, they resort to the tried and tested caricaturish format. All the other teachers in the school are shown to have their own quirks.The drawing sir is totally smitten with another female teacher.
The Hindi master represents the old school thought of India’s lingua franca retaining dominance over the global lingo.The English hour track, where everyone in this Hindi medium govt school falters while talking in English, has already been done to death. Yet this craze for the Queen’s language is very true in real India. The principal is a miser (electrician scene) and taskmaster. We can never get the multifaceted peon (Rahul Singh of Kya Haal Mr Panchal) who keeps shooting his mouth off and yet gets away with gross insubordination.Tara represents the hot South Delhi crowd. Priyanka is lucky to get to wear some chic saris and blouses. We just wonder which teacher can afford to deck up every morning for work in killer traffic. Harshad’s good man character has not yet opened up, so we will need to see what happens next. We wonder if Guruji’s above prediction will come true (a second wife theme, treated with fun!).
Neither Priyanka (last seen in a negative role in Aap Ke Aa Jane Se) has done much, other than look pretty. To be fair to her, till now only Alia’s character has really got a place under the sun. Every story requires a strong support cast; and here, the makers have zeroed in on past masters of the genre i.e. Smita Singh (Bhagyavidhaata and Hitler Didi) and Jhumma Mitra (Jeannie Aur Juju) as Alia’s mother in law (Durga) and mother (Abha) respectively.Smita is spot on as the very vocal saas, finding fault in whatever her bahu does, and yes, the latter does goof up big time (milk boiled over). We loved the scene where Alok was asking Alia for a kiss and Durga overhears the noise and asks what the matter is and poor Alia quips that hubby is asking for Kismis.
Kudos to Smita, who does not mind aging on screen. Abha, who lives next door, fuels Alia’s hubby fears, as her better half has dumped her.The mother-daughter scene, where Alia wants to burn Alok’s shirt since Tara had touched it, was also fun.Durga and Abha jointly run a catering business and here they too make bloopers, but Alok does not let them cut corners. Stand-alone banter scenes between Smita and Jhumma add to the fun.Alia’s little son, who is always witness to his mother’s stunts, has the gift of drawing the future. It needs to be seen how this is played up. The task is cut out for Optimystix, for they have taken the slot of Bavale Utavale, which clocked just 0.2. Plus they have KBC as competition. In such a scenario, if Tera Kya Hoga Alia can even open to below 1, it can be considered a job well done. All said and done, if you want a few good laughs and can overlook the above flaws, do check it out.
Our ratings for Sony SAB’s Tera Kya Hoga Alia will be 3 stars.