The story so far: Abeer’s childhood friend, Madhav Shukla has returned from the US with the decision of marrying a Bengali girl, Rashmi Majumdar. The Shuklas are distressed at the thought of their only son ‘kataoing their naak’. Yet, they comply. The ladkiwalas are put up at the Mathurs while the ladkewalas are at the Bajpayees.
Tension is rife as Madhav’s parents reluctantly go about the wedding preparations. That Abeer’s father and mother are leaving no stone unturned to poison their happiness, reminding them time and again of the mistake they have made by letting their son do manmaani is only making matters worse.
Meanwhile, Leher’s father is a happy sort. He is going all out to support Rashmi’s father in getting his daughter married into another caste, the jibes and taunts notwithstanding. Madhav’s mother has already shown her displeasure to the Majumdars in an ugly showdown.
On the sly, Abeer and Leher’s love story (those meetings on the terraces with flying dupattas) is slowly blooming after the initial hiccups. Ab aage.
The story is proceeding at a good pace and is engaging enough. While Leher and Abeer are witnessing the tension Madhav and Rashmi are undergoing, it won’t be long before they hopelessly fall in love with each other. The lead pair (Yami Gautam and Gaurav Khanna) and the supporting cast (Tushar Dalvi, Aishwarya Narkar, Prachi Shah and others) chip in with dependable performances. While Abeer (charming despite a major Abhishek Bachchan hangover) and Leher (pretty and vulnerable) share great chemistry, the two patriarchs, Mathur and Bajpayee are two different ends of a spectrum. While Mathur is self respected, fun loving and prefers moving with the times, Bajpayee is arrogant to a fault.
What we like is the breezy love story and the proceedings so far, the credits flashing with the beautiful Dharmendra-Rakhee Blackmail number Pal pal dil ke paas playing in the background with Leher and Abeer sharing stolen glances and love letters is beautiful. A love story torn by caste differences should be a treat to watch because irrespective of all the progress man has made, the society is still sharply divided with respect to caste, creed etc. It’s sad that the old Bajpayee widow thinks nothing before humiliating the Majumdars or even Leher all in the guise of ‘uchch jaati’. It would be interesting to see how the makers treat this love story without turning it out into a melodramatic saga.
Verdict: Yeh Pyaar Na Hoga Kam could well be the Ek Duje Ke Liye of the small screen. Sheer nostalgia for anyone who has been in love!
