“Sasural Genda Phool” on Star Plus has proved to be a breath of fresh air from the stereotyped image of ‘saas-bahu' serials. It is an entertaining story of a young rich girl who lives life on her own terms. But her world goes upside-down when she gets married into a conservative family.
“Suhana is a pampered child of her affluent father (Mahesh Thakur), who lovingly raises his two daughters after his wife's death, adhering to all their whims and fancies. Suhana is stubborn, adamant and goes around the house breaking crockery when angry; still she is not a bad child. She gets married to Ishaan (Jai Soni), an IT professional at her father's behest. After her marriage into a traditional and conservative family which is completely different from her own liberal lifestyle, she learns the values of life and grows mature and more sensible,” says Ragini Khanna, who is playing Suhana.
“I wanted a completely different role from my previous character in ‘Bhaskar Bharti' where I had to act as a man, and when this opportunity came my way I instantly grabbed it,” she adds.
Mitali Bhattacharya, the scriptwriter, says that along with the understanding of the family ethos this serial is full of comedy, drama and traditional Indian values and puts forward a very strong message for today's youth.
When asked about the copyright violation for naming the serial after the Prasoon Joshi's song in Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra's film “Dilli 6”, Star Plus Head Content Strategy, Gaurav Banerjee says, “The song ‘Sasural Genda Phool' is actually a popular folk song of Madhya Pradesh, which has been used for the title of the serial as it is catchy and apt for the script. However, all necessary permissions have been taken.”
Commenting on the charge that the serial has been adapted from “Ogo Bondhu Sundori”, a serial shown on Star Plus's own channel, Star Jalsha, producer Ravi Ohja explains, “That serial was a success for the West Bengal audience. It has now been reproduced in Hindi with a whole new star cast for all our viewers.”
The performances of seasoned actors like Sudhir Pandey, Anita Kanwal, Supriya Pilgaonkar, Sooraj Thapar and Sadia Siddiqui provide the flavour of a real Indian joint family where, as Gaurav insists, there is a mix of all light-hearted emotions that will redefine the way viewers perceive our society through television.
