Aap Antara - the show ended on Feb 18, 2010 with Abhi finally realizing his mistakes

Aap Ki Anatra was a great show, since this was the first show on autism (something not normally covered on Indian television), and even though they went through a lot of drama (including adding a lot of non-autism related events such as a child born out of marriage, involvement with a criminal, deadly cancer, and so on), the show still tried its best to show what a patient suffering from autism (or what their family members have to undergo).
The show had reached an age where Antara had reached adulthood, with her autism levels at the same high. Vidya was able to control her (although both of them kept on really missing Aditya, who had died 10 years back in his battle against cancer). In this whole incident, Abhi, the son of the family had got turned off since he felt that because of Anatara, attention was never focused on him.
In the end, Abhi had come to get both Antara and Vidya out of the house, and he seemed pretty clear about this objective. Antara however kept on calling Abhi as papa, since he has exactly the same face as Aditya, and after a lot of words from different people in terms of shaming him, Abhi finally realized that he was making a mistake and finally decided that they will all live in the same house. There was an expectation that there would be something romantic happening between Antara and Billu, but that was not to be.

Children of lesser Gods find their voice via Antara and Baa Bahu aur Baby

Rarely in Hindi serials do we get to see characters considered by the ‘normal’ population to be ‘abnormal’ or differently able. At times they do put in an appearance either as fringe characters-the comic relief, the dark shadow hidden behind a curtain of lies. Zee TV’s Aap Ki Antara and Star Plus’ Baa Bahoo Aur Baby are two such brilliant exceptions to the given. For not only do they dare to talk about such characters and make them inhabit the normal world but also have the courage to make them central characters.

Zee TV’s Aap Ki Antara focuses on autism. Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behaviour. It affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their synapses connect and organize. Antara the lead character of the show suffers from Autism. On top of that she is the illegitimate child of her father. Her father learns of her existence only when her mother passes away. She is then brought in to her father’s house where his wife and son have a difficult time first accepting her existence and then her disease.

However in all her struggles she has a strong support system in her father who refuses to slot her as a ‘problem’; he refuses to hide her from the world or hide her behind a veil of lies and stories. Slowly but surely Antara’s step mother Vidya falls in love with the innocent child and accepts her into her life as a complete individual. In fact she goes on to love and care for her more than her own flesh and blood, her son Abhishek. Antara goes to a school meant for normal children and her parents try relentlessly to find for her acceptance in mainstream society.

Star Plus’s Baa Bahoo aur Baby has Gattu and Baby the two central characters of the show as individuals suffering from learning disability (Gattu) and afflicted by Polio (Baby). Yet they are not shunned by their family members as handicapped individuals. They are treated like any other so called normal character and given hopes, dreams, opinions and even vices. Gattu is the serials conscience while Baby its voice of reason and courage. The story woven around their lives focuses on their trials and tribulations.

Shows like Aap Ki Antara and Baa Bahu aur Baby are path breakers and have done more for the marginalised voices of the differently abled than any other civil platform. It helps us realise that people like Antara, Gattu and Baby are as entitled to their own slice of the blue sky and the brilliant sunshine like any one of us so called ‘normal’ people.

Aap Ki Antara - going down the sob story line again

The life of an autistic girl with the challenges faced by her family.
Aap Ki Antara seemed to be showing positive news, with Antara and Vidya getting closer, and having a specific scene where Antara seems to be coming out of her shell. Vidya is encouraged to start her classical music and singing sessions again, and then comes a time when it is learned that Antara seems to be swaying to music as well, and in fact, the breakthrough happens when Antara starts singing at a public performance given by Vidya when Vidya is overcome by her emotions and cannot sing anymore.
However, it was too good to last, and one knew that the manufacturers of the serial would ensure that things would again start to get into tragedy and despair, and so it seemed. Just when it seemed that things would start to become normal (even though Abhishek gets troubled by Antara's behavior a lot), things start to go downhill again. It is shown that Aditya is diagnosed with stomach cancer, and is beyond treatment. He has not yet told Vidya, but is starting to plan for when he will not there.

Aapki Antara: Antara picks up singing

The show from time to time shows the disappointments in the life of a parent, who has autistic children, along with the struggle and the hard work. However, it is also shown that autistic children have certain properties that can surprise their parents and others near them. For example, many autistic children have been known to have very good artistic abilities, and even though they cannot express themselves easily in terms of learning or being able to speak normally, these abilities can surprise.
In this case, Vidya has been feeling depressed, not able to handle Antara, and her needs. She has also been feeling a bit distant from her husband Aditya, and she gets advised by both Aditya and Dr. Vikram to take up singing again, since this used to be her passion, and also because this would be very useful for Antara. She agrees, and starts a concert, but is unable to continue since she breaks. At this time, surprisingly, Antara starts singing and completes the song.

Aap ki Antara - Being forced out of school

As the focus in the show has shifted to the children getting a bit older, they are starting to show the challenges that an older Antara is facing. Billu is now pretty smart and confident, able to take on any challenge that he needs. However, things are not so easy for Antara. Abhishek, who was so supportive of Antara when he was a small child, has started to get irritated with this burden and responsibility. He is unable to stomach the ridicule that he faces because of Antara's autism, and gets irritated.
Antara autism had led to her getting involved with terrorists, and this was something strange, given the entire situation. 2 terrorists had used Antara to get past a police check post, and when they were caught later, Antara was also caught. However, she was released due to her autism, and since it would seem obvious that she had no connection with the terrorists.
In the meantime, Antara also got removed from her school, since it would seem that she was unable to pass her class (although she had a good mathematical brain) and her school principal wanted her out of the school, as did her school teacher. Finally, they made her sit in a test, but she was unable to clear the test, and is now at home.

Aap ki Antara - A time shift to slightly older people

Zee TV’s Aap Ki Antara takes a leap along with the change in the time slot
Meet the new Antara, Abhishek and Billu
This would be the last week when the audiences will get to watch the masti and antics of the little kiddos of Aap ki Antara. Yes, the show takes a leap along with the change in the time slot. Earlier telecasted Monday – Friday at 8:30 pm, the show has been shifted to 10:30 pm time band, Monday – Thursday. Sooraj Barjatya’s latest offering ‘yahaan main Ghar Ghar Kheli’ will now be shown at the 8:30pm time band, mon –fri , starting 17th November.
The latest development also comes with a leap. From the coming week (16 November 2009) the audiences will find all the kids- Antara, Abhishek & Billu in their adolescence. The primary traits of all the characters will remain the same except for some behavioral pattern.





Antara’s character will be played by Aaina Mehta. We’ll now find Antara more proactive and tuned to a fixed routine in life. She would switch off all the lights of the house at 10pm because 10pm is her sleeping time. She’ll also trying speaking a few wrds.
Abhishek’s character will be played by Sahil and Billu’s character would be portrayed by Sandeep Upadhyay. We’ll find Abhishek over burdened with responsibilities. Billu on the other hand would turn out to be really sharp and manipulative but in a good way. A good soul by heart but loves to do all kinds of tomfoolery to get ahead in life.

Zee TV’s ‘Aap Ki Antara’ recognized as the ‘Best Serial of the Year’

Sometimes there are shows that get the formula about serving education right. A show that seeks to educate people about a social issue, and does so in a way that people watch the show and do not consider it a boring documentary is important. Zee TV's Aap Ki Antara is an important show that seeks to educate people about autism.
Zee TV’s popular show, ‘Aap Ki Antara’ has been bestowed an honour of being the Best Serial of the Year 2009 by the Varisht Nagrik Kesari Club, a social wing of leading Hindi newspaper, ‘Punjab Kesari’. Impressed by the show’s earnest social cause of spreading awareness about Autism amongst its viewers the channel and the lead character of the show, Zaina Vastani (5 years) were felicitated at a grand event at the Capital. The nominations and the winners were chosen through the readers’ survey conducted by the publication. The grand event was attended by around 2000 people with respected filmmaker Subhash Ghai being the Chief Guest of the evening. Little Zaina was overwhelmed by the appreciation and attention received from the dignitaries and the viewers.



‘Aap Ki Anatra’ is a survival story of an autistic girl Antara. As a part of the show’s telecast the channel has launched a helpline for Autism queries from its viewers. Special videos of real-life parents of autistic kids have been telecast at the end of every episode to make the viewers aware of the symptoms and corrective measures on Autism. These noble initiatives by the channel have garnered a lot of queries and feedback on the show from across the country and abroad. A lot of couples have posted their heart-wrenching stories to the channel. Zee TV has also been partnering with various workshops arranged for parents of the autistic children which can help them cope up with their kids’ behaviour and thereby help them lead a normal life.
Commenting on the same, Ajay Bhalwankar, Programming Head, Zee TV, said, “The show has been awarded due to its path breaking concept and amazing response from the audience. Zee TV has always been the pioneer of raising social issues and creating awareness and so through ‘Aap Ki Antara’ we have aimed to create public awareness about Autism & sensitize the society towards this issue. With such encouraging feedback, the channel has once again lived up to its tag line of ‘Har Pal Banaye Ek Naya Rishta’ and established a special bond with the viewers.”

Two moms on Aap Ki Antara

Reel Mom comes to heal when Real Mom whacks!!!
When 4 years old Raj who plays Abhishek in Zee TV’s Aap Ki Antara was getting serious whacking from his Mom for not doing his homework during the break on the sets, his reel Mom, Prabhleen Sandhu came to his rescue. Raj known for his brattiest ways and prankster nature on the sets, just refused to do his homework and eat ‘ghar ka khaana’ on shoot. When he started stomping and yelling, his Mom couldn’t control her temper and hit him hard on his back. Seeing this Prabhleen who was watching the entire episode came forward and asked Raj’s mom to please not hit him at least when she is around. She took Raj in her arms, promised him an ice-cream once he finishes his food and homework. That’s finally when an inconsolable Raj let Prabhleen feed him. Lucky Raj to be equally loved by both his on & off screen Moms! Prabhleen said, “Both Abhishek and I extremely fond of each other. It also stems from the fact that we both play pranks on everyone and also keep chattering away to glory when we not shooting. I really felt bad when he was being scolded by his Mom and intervened coz I know his Mom wont mind.”

How kids grow up fast nowadays

Antara’s Continuity Fear!
It’s amazing to observe how kids these days are much sharper and professional for their age. 5years old Zaina (Antara) of Zee TV’s Aap Ki Antara doesn’t like it when her co-stars do not come on time on the sets. She hates to wait for the other artists. The real shocker came when Zaina got a boil on her nose last week. Her Mom noticed it just before the shot and suggested that they should go to the doctor to get rid of it. Pat came the reply from Zaina, “Mumma isse nikal nahi sakte, yeh continuity ka hain. Hum kal wala shot hi kar rahe hain, yeh kal wale take mein tha ab isse rakhana hi padega.” Everyone including her mom was taken by this statement coming from a tiny tot.

Commenting on the incident, Zaina’s Mom said, “It’s really surprising to see how she picks up everything that’s discussed around her. She and her twin sister, Ziyah sometimes discuss their shots and its real fun when they practice their dialogues.”

Aapki Antara: The attempt to explain the life of an autistic girl

Aap Ki Antara is a show that is somewhat unusual. How often have you seen a show about something serious, and an issue that is not known to a large number of people. Hence, the effort to introduce the concept of what an autisitic child is, what is the behavior, how they are not crazy, what are the efforts that are needed to bring up such a child. The serial has tried to show these challenges, but they are introducing many twists that a normal serial does (maybe to increase the drama, but that tend to take away from the serious nature of the serial.
Antara is the daughter of Aditya, a loan manager of a bank. He is married to Vidya, and they have a son as well. Things are fine, and then they discover that Aditya had been unfaithful, and there is a daughter called Antara from the relationship. The woman with whom Aditya had been unfaithful has now died, and Aditya has to take care of Antara, who is autistic. They are slowly starting to learn what being autistic means, and Aditya is facing a lot of problems in trying to do good for Antara (with Vidya being somewhat cut off from him, but slowly starting to accept Antara as her daughter as well). Antara in the meantime is seen as crazy by those who do not know, including other mothers (and the serial unnecessarily shows some of the mothers as being very bitchy). Antara shows off some special skills in terms of artistic prowess.
Currently, Aditya is getting stuck in several problems. He was trying to earn some money on the side, but that is not working out. Further, most critically, Antara is now lost, and Aditya is going mad looking for her. Will he be able to find her, or will the serial go in for a time leap ?

Videos of Aapki Antara on Youtube:

Aapki Antara - 28th Aug 2009 - Part 1 - HD



Aapki Antara - 28th Aug 2009 - Part 2 - HD



Aapki Antara - 28th Aug 2009 - Part 3 - HD



Links that point to autism / autistic resources in India:
http://www.autism-india.org/afa_helpline.html
http://www.autismindia.com/
Autism Society of India

Cast:
Zynah Vastani (Antara)
Prabhleen Sandhu (Vidya Verma )
Darshan Pandya (Aditya Verma )
Rupali Ganguly (Anuradha)
Aarav Velhal (Billu Gupta)
Sujata Kumar (Anatara's grandmother)

More about autistic children:
Autism is a brain development disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism involves many parts of the brain; how this occurs is not well understood. Although early behavioral or cognitive intervention can help children gain self-care, social, and communication skills, there is no known cure. Overt symptoms gradually begin after the age of six months, become established by age two or three years, and tend to continue through adulthood, although often in more muted form. People with autism have social impairments and often lack the intuition about others that many people take for granted. Autistic infants show less attention to social stimuli, smile and look at others less often, and respond less to their own name. Autistic toddlers differ more strikingly from social norms; for example, they have less eye contact and turn taking, and are more likely to communicate by manipulating another person's hand.
Autistic individuals display many forms of repetitive or restricted behavior such as:
- Stereotypy is repetitive movement, such as hand flapping, making sounds, head rolling, or body rocking.
- Compulsive behavior is intended and appears to follow rules, such as arranging objects in a stacks or lines.
- Sameness is resistance to change; for example, insisting that the furniture not be moved or refusing to be interrupted.
- Ritualistic behavior involves an unvarying pattern of daily activities, such as an unchanging menu or a dressing ritual. This is closely associated with sameness and an independent validation has suggested combining the two factors.
- Restricted behavior is limited in focus, interest, or activity, such as preoccupation with a single television program, toy, or game.
- Self-injury includes movements that injure or can injure the person, such as eye poking, skin picking, hand biting, and head banging. A 2007 study reported that self-injury at some point affected about 30% of children.

New Serial on Zee TV: Aap Ki Antara

Zee TV is coming out with a new serial on May 1 at 8:30 PM, the current time slot of Maayka, which means that either Maayka will off air or move to a new time slot. Aapki Antara is produced by Drishtant Productions will be the tale of a special child who redeems lot of lives during her journey. The show has already has some controversy with the withdrawal of the earlier child artist who plays the lead, Apple Reetoria. She is now being replaced by another new find, Zaynah. Apparently, Apple's mother withdrew her from the show since she was not happy with the attitude of the production house, although the show's producers claimed that they wanted a 5 year old girl rather than a 4 year old girl.
The show is about the interactions of the kid while being part of a family that includes her parents and brother, and have various flavors of life as a part of that. It is not clear as of now whether Antara plays the role of a autistic kid, with the producers not confirming, just claiming that the girl would be special to her family. There are supposed to be more kids in the show, including a neighbor, but there would not be negative characters, and not too many characters overall in the show.
Here are some advertisements about the show: