Kutumb

Kutumb (2001-2003) was telecast on Sony Entertainment Television. The story revolves around the life of Pratham Mittal, the oldest son of the wealthy Mittal family, and Gauri Pradhan who hails from a middle-class family. The show highlights the ups and downs of their relationship and the effect it has on their family. I for one loved watching the show because it was not a Saas-Bahu saga. Yes there was a Saas and a Bahu in this show but their relationship was not the prime focus of the show. It was completely unlike any other show at the time.

As I said earlier, Kutumb is about Pratham and Gauri. Pratham is the quintessential spolit rich kid. He is popular and enjoys the attention. He loves flaunting his name and his money. Meanwhile, Gauri is a dutiful daughter from a typical middle-class household. She takes her life very seriously. She wants to work hard and maker parents proud. It so happens Pratham and Gauri are students in the same college. When they meet for the first time, there are fireworks! Pratham and Gauri do not get off on the right foot. They hate each other's guts! They constantly try to bring the other down. Pratham finally comes up with a mega plan to bring Gauri down - marry her. Once Gauri becomes his wife, she will be forced to do as he wishes or so he thinks. He creates a situation where the entire college thinks that Pratham and Gauri are in a relationship. When things get out of hand, he convinces his parents to speak to Gauri's parents to ask for her hand in marriage. Her parents oblige and from then on the true fun begins.

After marriage, Gauri finds out that Pratham's father does not like his son's party animals ways. She also finds out that his father does not think Pratham is the suitable heir to the Mittal fortune. One the other hand she sees that Pratham's mother loves him dearly. He is the apple of her eye. She knows that Gauri is too good for his son and constantly thanks God for bringing Gauri into her son's life. Slowly but surely, Gauri realizes that Pratham's family is very loving and she begins to love them. No matter what Pratham does to make Gauri look bad, someone from the family always comes to her rescue but whenever Gauri creates situations where Pratham looks bad, no one comes to his rescue!

One such incident that Gauri creates angers Pratham to the point of no return. He gets drunk and when Gauri taunts him, he tries to force himself on her. Gauri manages to break free but she is shattered. She cannot believe that Pratham would stoop to such a level. When Pratham finally comes to his senses, he realizes what he did and is hurt to see Gauri is such a state. He apologizes profusely but when she insists on going back to her house, he obliges. That incident forms a turning point in the story. Pratham realizes that he hurt Gauri in a way that she did not deserve to be while Gauri realizes that she began trusting Pratham even though she 'hated' him. When Gauri finally speaks to him, she tells him that if he ever misbehaves with her again, her anger will have no bounds. She also tells him that only reason she is willing to live with him again is because of Pratham's mother. From then on, Pratham always tries to keep Gauri happy. Slowly but surely he realizes that he has fallen for Gauri. From that point on the bitter-sweet love story of Pratham and Gauri begins. They finally start respecting each other and understanding each other. But as all serials go, just when everything is good, crazy things happen. Pratham and Gauri face several challenges throughout their journey but their love always emerges as victorious.

As I said earlier, Kutumb was unlike any other show at the time. The show mainly revolved around Pratham and Gauri. I loved the bitter-sweet nature of their love story. I certainly enjoyed all their hilarious fights and pranks. It was an awesome escape from all the roona-dhoona that was a staple in every other serial at the time. I also loved that Hiten Tejwani and Gauri Pradhan actually fell in love during this show and got married! It was such a lovely end to the show.

You can watch the entire series (all 163 episodes) here.