It won’t be wrong to say that Ekta Kapoor introduced a new genre on Indian television by launching saas bahu sagas. Interestingly, the TV Czarina named several of her shows with the letter K following astrological advice. It’s hard to believe but many of her popular shows that started with the letter K turned out to be blockbusters. Be it ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’, ‘Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii’,’Kasautii Zindagii Kay’ or ‘Kkusum’, the shows performed quite well in terms of TRPs. Two of her current shows- ‘Kumkum Bhagya’ and ‘Kundali Bhagya’ always find a spot in the list of top-rated shows. In this special segment, we will talk about the Ekta Kapoor shows that didn’t start with the initial K but still managed to win hearts.
Pavitra Rishta
The show starring Ankita Lokhande and late Sushant Singh Rajput was launched in 2009, at a time when ‘Bidaai’ was ruling the ratings charts. Within few months, the story of Archana and Manav impressed the viewers and climbed up on the TRP list. The separation track of Archana and Manav helped the show in becoming the number one show across all GECs.
Bade Ache Lagte Hain
The love story of 35-plus Ram and Priya managed to strike a chord with the viewers. Despite airing at a late night time slot, ‘Bade Ache Lagta Hain’ gave strong competition to other daily soaps. The show starring Sakshi Tanwar and Ram Kapoor was launched in 2011 on Sony TV. The re-runs of the show during COVID-19 lockdown were watched by several people.
Parichay
It is rare to find a male-centric show on Indian television. Although, most of the show focus on the lives of women characters, Ekta Kapoor dared to bet on the story of a lawyer, who saw failure in his life and career. ‘Parichay’ featured Samir Soni and Keerti Nagpure in lead roles and performed quite well despite facing competition from ‘Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai’.
Yeh Hai Mohabbatein
Ekta Kapoor decided to adapt Manju Kapur’s novel ‘Custody’ into a show in 2013. ‘Yeh Hai Mohabbatein’, which was launched at 11pm slot on Star Plus, went on to become one of the most popular shows on Indian television. The channel decided to shift the show to a prime time slot from its late night slot in 2014. This turned out to be a boon for ‘YHM’ as it went to dominate the TRP charts. ‘Yeh Hai Mohabbatein’ went off air in December 2019 after a six-year successful run on the small screen.
Meri Aashiqui Tumse Hai
The show starring Shakti Arora and Radhika Madan started on slow note but picked up pace after the revenge track took centre stage. It became one of the most popular shows on Colors channel and grabbed the slot leadership. ‘Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi’ was replaced by another Ekta Kapoor titled ‘Kasam Tere Pyaar Ki’, interesting isn’t it?
Naagin
Ekta Kapoor’s ‘Naagin’ series has emerged as one of the most popular franchise on the small screen. The first season starred Mouni Roy, Adaa Khan and Arjun Bijlani in lead roles and went on to become a blockbuster. It dominated the weekend programming and even surpassed ‘Bigg Boss 9’ in terms of popularity. While Adaa and Mouni reprised their roles in ‘Naagin 2’, Karanvir Bohra joined the two as new male lead. ‘Naagin 3’, which featured Surbhi Jyoti, Anita Hassanandani and Pearl V Puri, grabbed maximum eyeballs and secured the numero uno spot for several weeks.
