Nothing bhalo about it

Tere Liye,br>Monday – Friday,10 pm,Star Plus
Kasauti Zindagi Kay will always remain one of Ekta Kapoor’s best love stories. It’s a different thing that Anurag-Prerna’s love story went over all the country side and ultimately fell off the geographical map in its last few years. Yet,Onu and Prerna remained television’s own Heer Ranjha. And then Ekta announced Tere Liye,a story which spoke about love between Onu (a different one this time) and Taani,yet she refrained from calling it a love story. At the press conference of the show,she spoke so highly about the story,its setting which is incidentally in Ekta’s favourite city Kolkata. I was expecting Kolkata,Onu and Taani to just sweep me off my feet. But some dozen episodes later,I haven’t moved an inch…worse,my hands itch for the remote every time I sit to watch it. Why do I watch it? For the love of my job,to review it!

First things first,there is nothing magical about Onu and Taani. There is nothing ‘aww-so-cute’ about a very young,about 14-year-old horizontally challenged Onu (though some may find that cute!) trying to wolf down six kulfis at a go or stuffing himself with rosogullas every time he has a tiff with Taani with an irritating fringe. The story starts with Taani,an established singer who comes to visit Anurag at a mental asylum on a rainy night and tells her story about her strange,inexplicable love for her “husband,Onu”. The portly matron has no choice but to lend an ear!
Onu is a rich boy and Taani,his poor neighbour. The two pairs of parents are close friends and once just decide to marry the kids off much to their annoyance and ours too considering we are never given an explanation of why it happened! The story is currently moving back and forth and 10-12 episodes down the line,the show has barely stirred me.

Why doesn’t it work for me? Can’t relate to the two kids at all! They look too smart without an iota of innocence about them. There is nothing sweet,pure about their friendship. While Anupriya Kapoor,the older Taani has an angelic face,I wonder if Harshad Chopda is the right fit. In any case,it would be too early to comment on the chemistry of the two.
As for the setting,it’s as authentic as Chinese Manchurian with curry leaves! For instance,Taani speaks about life 10 years ago and yet strangely,her mother is bickering with the domestic help over Hrithik Roshan’s Kites and “Burbura”! No generous references to misti,Rabindrasangeet and babu moshai can make the show Kolkataesque!
Tere Liye? Not for me for sure.
Verdict:
Till Taani and Onu grow up, I would rather watch the reruns of the initial episodes of Kasauti Zindagi Kay.