When I watched the first few episodes of 'Kahaan Hum Kahaan Tum' on Hotstar, I was immediately reminded of a scene in MTV's popular youth show-'Kaisi Yeh Yaariaan'. The male and the female protagonist are having a cold war of sorts. The girl looks longingly at the guy upon touching his hand accidentally, pausing briefly before attempting to enter the car. Instead of getting lost in each other's eyes, as one would expect from a typical Hindi television serial, the male protagonist remarks, tauntingly-"Yeh look-look ke liye hamaare paas sari raat nahi hai!" Annoyed at the statement, the girl huffs and gets into the car.
Although this scene might seem relatively commonplace, I couldn't help but laud the writers for trolling a daily soap opera trope in this manner. It takes a specific kind of self-awareness for one to acknowledge one's shortcomings and poke fun at oneself, but still strive to do one's job efficiently. 'Kahaan Hum Kahaan Tum' takes this simple philosophy and builds on it in the best way possible.
'Kahaan Hum Kahaan Tum' is the story of Dr. Rohit Sippy (Karan V. Grover), a wealthy and accomplished Cardiologist and Sonakshi Rastogi (Dipika Kakar), a very popular T.V actress whose body of work mainly comprises of over the top saas-bahu dramas. They live in vastly different worlds, but as fate would have it, a chance encounter leads them to form an unconventional bond with each other. And predictably, as Rohit's brother Ajit puts it, there's 'Pehle takraar aur phir ikraar', with oodles of humour to help the proceedings along.
The first aspect of the show that's worthy of appreciation is the storyline in itself. It doesn't shy away from exploring the concept of two individuals seeking redemption in some form, or even a second chance at love. Considering the fact that most daily soaps prefer to go with the soul mate philosophy, rather than showing any realistic progress in a romantic relationship between two equally flawed individuals, the writers (which includes well-known Bollywood lyricist Niranjan Iyengar) should receive credit for taking this risk alone. The protagonists are very well fleshed out, and it takes just a few episodes for the viewer to establish an emotional connect with them. Whether it's Rohit's emotional baggage that makes him believe that he doesn't deserve the epithet of a '100% doctor', or the constant lectures of disapproval Sonakshi receives from her overbearing mother, their problems always seem organic and never contrived. Rohit's character deserves a special mention here, because he could've easily been written as the cold businessman who thinks that love is a waste of time. Instead, the script opts to make him an individual who struggles to move on from his previous relationship, in spite of knowing its dead-ended nature.
It's not only the lead characters that sparkle from the ensemble of cast members. The members of the Sippy and Rastogi family seem genuine and never appear as simple cardboard cutouts. Mohini Kewalramani as the Sippy family's open-minded matriarch Sukhmani, Tanaaz Irani as Rohit's classist aunt Nishi, and Deepak Singh Sandhu as Sonakshi's insufferable co-actor Sumit Khanna, are definite scene-stealers. The house help, Vimmi (Sangeeta Adhikary) puts up a splendid act of a doting fan and is also representative of the masses that truly enjoy bizarre plots in daily soaps, solely due to the escapism it provides to them.
The main strength of the show is definitely its meta humour as well as its attempt to challenge the ubiquitous illogical scenes and situations on daily soaps. Sonakshi's show is titled 'Kahaani Parvati ki' which is basically a play on Balaji's popular soap-'Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki' that aired in the 2000s, where the widely loved female protagonist was christened 'Parvati'. There's also Sonakshi's producer, Netra Ji , who seems to be a powerful figure in the television industry and is quite obviously modelled on Ekta Kapoor. Any time a clichéd moment occurs, it inevitably leads to Rohit pointing out that his life has become 'like a T.V serial', after meeting Sonakshi, replete with police cases, hospitalizations, getting kidnapped and what not. One of the best written television scenes I've watched in recent times actually occurs in Kahaan Hum Kahaan Tum's third episode, where a baffled Rohit voices his grievances (and quite frantically, at that) against the happenings in Sonakshi's show as the members of his staff remain glued to the television and are visibly annoyed by his repeated interruptions. Truth be told, I laughed for a whole two minutes after watching the scene unfold and I'm sure so will most others.
Another feature of the show that deserves praise is its attempt to depict vastly different types of romantic relationships and marriages. Rohit's parents, Veena and Naren have an outwardly perfect relationship, but there's definitely a few secrets buried under the façade that Rohit's father puts up. Rohit's aunt and uncle have married despite the fact that his aunt is four years elder to his uncle, which has caused a strain in his uncle's family. This shows us that 'ageism' is just as real and rampant as it was earlier. And let's not forget Rohit's Chacha, who's in a live in relationship with a woman whom the next generation unanimously considers their Chachi. All the couples have their own dynamic and it's quite educational as well as entertaining to watch on screen.
Apart from this, the writers use a number of clever ways to quash some stereotypical notions that the viewers might have about the T.V industry or the field of medicine. As the lead characters interact with and build a strong friendship with each other, they start to understand and respect the other's profession more than they ever did. Rohit comes to realize how tough the life of a television actress is with continuous shoots and events. Through this, a number of myths about the T.V industry are debunked as well, like the fact that body doubles may be used frequently in point-of-view shots, close ups and wide shots are taken separately, and above all, the great effort that goes into making a mere twenty-two minute episode. At the same time, Sonakshi starts to realise that being a cardio-thoracic surgeon is much more than being just a regular 'doctor'. Understanding Rohit also leads to her humanizing doctors in her head, rather than considering them as all-knowing or omniscient.
A large number of scenes in the show have Sonakshi breaking the fourth wall and speaking directly to the audience. This serves as a smart narrative technique for the most part, because the viewers have a more unfiltered version of her thoughts and expectations than what is normally provided by voiceovers. Care must be taken that it's not overused in the future.
When it comes to the performances of the leads, Dipika does spectacularly well as Sonakshi. The irony of casting her in the part is not lost on me (and many others I'm sure) because 'Kahaani Parvati Ki' seems to indulge in exactly the same kind of improbable antics that her previous show 'Sasuraal Simar Ka' frequently resorted to. Although she might appear melodramatic in a few portions, she sells Sonakshi's emotions perfectly. Karan, on the other hand gives a rather restrained performance as Rohit, and although I wish that he were slightly more expressive at times, his comic timing more than makes up for it. The chemistry between the two is definitely on point, whether it's the scenes in which they start off with their silly banter or some beautifully romantic ones while they're still friends. And that's what makes Rohit and Sonakshi such a special couple-the fact that their friendship healed their brokenness before love entered the picture. Their relationship also makes you believe that it's possible to 'love' someone before falling 'in love' with them.
After bingeing on ninety-seven episodes, there are a few things I'm worried about, however. A few of the subplots like an extra-marital affair, a psychologically disturbed stalker as well as a rather unwelcome house guest who loves to stir up trouble by instigating others, are all things that we've seen before. Furthermore, characters that were initially positive shouldn't be converted into vamps just to add masala to the story. Thus, in my opinion, the makers should stay away from these ideas and wrap up these subplots as quickly as possible. I also hope that the channel executives don't keep looking for chart-topping TRPS with this show. It's definitely a niche one that won't appeal to a certain section of the audience. And last but not least, I hope the showrunners decide to end the show when there's no story left to tell any more. Dragging things will just mitigate the original charm of the show.
Those who know me well, are aware of the fact that I really love Manik and Nandini's pairing from MTV's 'Kaisi Yeh Yaariaan'. This might sound dramatic, but there will always remain a certain emptiness in my heart because I know that I might never get to see Manik and Nandini on screen ever again. However, when I watch Rohit and Sonakshi's perennial Malabar Hills V/S Goregaon debate (among many others), I find that this emptiness disappears for a little while. So, if you're looking for a fresh love story on television, far removed from the world of naagins and daayans, this show is a must watch for you. I can only hope and pray that the show doesn't become the very thing that it tried so hard not to be. Only time will tell if my prayers are fulfilled or not.
*****
Check out Ross Copperman's song that inspired the title of the review-
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Kahaan Hum Kahaan Tum Review
Random'Kahaan Hum Kahaan Tum' premiered rather quietly on T.V a few months ago, without much show and pomp. Due to the poor opinion I have of most serials, I chose to ignore it altogether. However, I recently binge watched all episodes, and I couldn't hav...
