Marriage on the cards for Dr. Riddhima and Dr. Sidhant? - A moral question due to their becoming intimate

A few weeks back the buzz in the television industry had been that Dr. Riddhima and Dr. Armaan, the hottest pair of Hindi serials, from Dil Mil Gaye were set to return. Viewers had been waiting patiently, albeit a bit anxiously, for this beloved on screen couple to return and recreate their magic. Indeed such has been the chemistry of this duo that they had become the defining word for love and romance on television. Many loyal viewers were left heart broken when the lovely couple were taken off from the show. Despite the introduction of many new characters, the show was unable to recapture lost loyalty.

The creative team behind Dil Mil Gaye then decided to bring in one half of the pair and Dr. Riddhima (Jennifer Winget) was brought back. The story then proceeded to build a love-hate relationship (that was to ultimately culminate in love alone) between Dr. Riddhima and Dr. Sidhant (aka Sid), one of the new characters introduced. However viewer response to the same was lukewarm. It did not take long for the producers to realise that people were still waiting for Dr. Armaan’s return. Wisely they picked up this vibe and tried to weave in a narrative whereby the entire fault for Armaan’s disappearance and abandoning of Riddhima was laid on Dr. Shashank’s shoulders.

The track showed Riddhima accidentally finding the truth about Armaan’s disappearance. It had been Dr. Shashank (Riddhima’s father) who had persuaded Armaan to get out of his daughter’s life. Upon learning the truth Riddhima is heart broken and sets out in search of Armaan. Dr. Siddhant who is in love with her, follows her without her knowledge. She goes to Panchgani searching for him and gets caught in a blizzard. Weakened by lack of food, she collapses and it falls upon Siddhant to save her. The two end up getting physically intimate with each other. A furious and outraged Riddhima, accuses Sid of raping her as she had been in a very vulnerable state, both mentally and physically, when the act happened.

A heart broken Sid, shocked at Riddhima’s accusations will propose marriage to her in order to protect her reputation. But will Riddhima accept? Is it right to force marriage upon two individuals when any one party is not in love with the other, just because they had been forced by external circumstances to become intimate? What matters more-morals or human life? If Riddhima and Sid were to get married theirs would be a compromise, not just for them but for the audience as well. It will be the channel’s way of telling the loyal fans, “Sorry we couldn’t get you Riddhima and Armaan, so here’s the second best option. Like it or leave it.”