OLD WORLD CHARM OF YEH PYAR NA HOGA KAAM - New serial on Colors

There is something about Yeh Pyar na Hoga Kam, Colors’ recently launched prime time serial that reminds you about gentler, more refined times. Maybe it has to do with the setting, Lucknow, a city associated with heritage, tradition and high culture. The meandering lanes of this beautiful city houses family, people, histories steeped in a manner of living that is far more refined than the humdrum of burlesque urban living. In this city resides Abeer Bajpayee, the shiftless yet good hearted son of a successful lawyer. He is yet to discover his own true self and whiles away his time with friends at local tea stalls.

In this unruffled world of his, enters Leher (meaning waves) and creates the gentle ripples of first love. They are drawn to each other at the very first meeting but while Abeer tries his best to initiate a friendship, Leher rejects his overtures as she has been warned about him. The gentle wooing that takes place between these two young people is reminiscent of an era gone bye. Love stories depicted in television serials nowadays reflect the maddening hurry of the present world. There is immediacy, an aggression attached to all of it. But this is not so for these two (yet-to-be) lovebirds. Their glances are more relaxed, their exchanges free of time and space constraints, their innocence more pronounced. It comes across in the scene where Abeer desperate to impress Leher, fills in and submits the form of another girl without checking her face.

Even though there has been very little scope for high voltage drama at this stage of the story, even then it is very evident that in this serial even aggression will have a mellow voice. Abeer’s father is forever chiding him for taking life too easy but even in his reproaches he is careful to not cross the line of decency set between a father and son. While depicting the difference in eating habits of two different caste groups, (while the Vajpayee’s are Brahmins and therefore vegetarian; Leher’s family is non vegetarian given the fact that they are not Brahmins) there is an effort to not be judgemental of either group. Facts are presented as facts without layering them with prejudiced notions.

The old world charm of the milieu amidst which this love story is about to develop is even reflected in the background score. The use of semi-classical scores is so very different from most other serials that tend to use Bollywood songs. This whole new and refreshing backdrop of the serial has added more depth and dimension to its characters. How this love story unfolds and what turns it will take will be decided by time and viewer ratings but in terms of its attempt to introduce a novel setting, Yeh Pyar Na Hoga Kam, is a already a winner.