Pati, patni aur woh tracks, the new formula for TRPs

After animals, supernatural beings and superstitious beliefs, TV shows seem to be banking heavily on love triangle/ quadrilateral tracks. From Lek Majhi Ladki and Tere Bin to Shakti... and Tashn-e-Ishq, prime time shows are currently focussing on couples and their admirers’ stories that create melodrama, confusion and a whole lot of misunderstanding in the storyline.We speak to actors on these shows, who share their thoughts on the plots.
Lek Majhi Ladki
Vikas Patil, Nakshatra Medhekar and Sayali Deodhar
In Lek Majhi Ladki, a mother (played by Aishwarya Narkar) is shown worrying about her daughter’s (Nakshatra) married life. The reason: her son-in-law’s (Vikas) best friend (Sayali). The plot has several misunderstandings which cause problems in the newly-weds’ lives. Sayali shares, “These situations are created to add to to the curiosity and grab the viewers’ attention. In any romantic relationship, there comes a time when you have to break the monotony. Adding a third angle helps, as the audience feeds on the extra drama.” The actor adds that normally couples take each other for granted, so such issues add that extra spark to a predictable relationship.
Jamai Raja
Ravi Dubey, Nia Sharma, Indraneil Sengupta and Alisha Panwar
This show has constantly brought in twists to add drama and curiosity. Of late, a quadrilateral love story is what it focuses on. Actor Ravi Dubey, who plays Sid on the show, says, “One has to constantly play with the story to take it forward. Plus, the backbone of our story is romance, so the third angle is necessary to spark conflict.” He adds that having more characters gives actors a breather as each one has lesser scenes. He laughs, “It takes the burden off you as you have time between scenes. Also, it works in everyone’s favour.”

Bahu Hamari Rajni_Kant
Karan V Grover, Ridhima Pandit and Shiny Doshi
We saw a robot marrying a human. Now you are going to see a robot getting jealous of her husband’s ex-girlfriend. Yes, you heard it right. Rajni will be jealous of Samaira’s re-entry into Shaan’s life. Karan, who plays Shaan says, “Our track is a funny take as a robot does not have feelings and she will try and be jealous based on what others tell her. Secondly, Shaan is possessive of her but doesn’t love her. And, Samaira is unaware that Rajni is a robot. So, it is going to be a complete chaos and laugh riot. It will add an exciting and spicy twist to the tale.”
Tashn-e-Ishq
Jasmin Bhasin, Zain Imam, Naman Shaw and Charu Asopa
Actor Naman Shaw is also shown stuck in a love triangle in Tashn-e-Ishq. Ask him about the trend and he shares, “Telly shows are known for adding drama and curiosity to keep the audience engaged. My character too has seen many developments and I feel most of it is done to feel their lives are much better.” The actor adds that situational drama on TV keeps audience hooked on to shows thus increasing TRPs. “Also, seeing us suffer on TV, I am sure audience some be feeling that they are in a much better place.”
Nagarjun – Ek Yoddha
Anshuman Malhotra, Pooja Banerjee and Mrunal Jain
Pooja Banerjee who plays Noorie likes Arjun (Anshuman) but Arjun has been asked by Noorie’s father (a police officer) to stay away from Noorie. Hence to make Arjun realise how much he loves her, Noorie’s plan is to make him jealous by hanging out with Rajveer, a police man working under her father, played by Mrunal Jain. Mrunal is also getting close to Noorie as she is the daughter of the SP and he feels he will get away with whatever wrong he does if he stays close to the SP and his daughter.
Tere Bin
Gaurav Khanna, Shefali Sharma and Khushboo Taw
The show stars Gaurav Khanna and Shefali Sharma as central characters who come together for the first time as a married couple trying to re-discover marital love. Speaking about his character, Gaurav Khanna says, “My character Akshay is a level headed guy. It’s a very challenging role to play and what intrigued me the most to take up this project was the fact that Akshay has multiple shades to his character.” On playing the on-screen wife of Gaurav Khanna, Shefali Khanna says, “I am privileged to be a part of Tere Bin because I believe that destiny plays a key role to shape our life. Today, the audience is looking at relatable characters and ‘Tere Bin’ is a story that brings forth the complexities of life and various relationships. I am working for the first time with Gaurav and I am certain that audience will like our pairing.” “I play Dr Nandini, a character that I have never portrayed onscreen in the past. She is bitter with what has happened to her and when you see the story from her perspective, your heart will definitely melt for her.Tere Bin is believable and as real as it can get, the characters you see have been put in situations that entangle their lives,” said Khushboo Tawde, who plays Dr Nandini Bhatt.