Screenindia----Review---PV

A young girl is dancing at her best friend's wedding, she is also supervising the amount of kaju kismish that goes into the suji ka halwa and is a hit with the children in the mandap -enough material to qualify as the 'ideal' bahu. But the hitch is she is a divorcee with a child. All hell breaks loose as women who were earlier planning a rishta with her for their son now start questioning her ability to keep her husband attracted towards her - shayad isi mein koi kami rahi gayi hogi jo pati chhod ke gaya! Just then her mother-in-law, very dramatically takes a vow, to get her divorcee bahu remarried…punar vivaah karvaoongi.

Meanwhile, a very muscular young man wearing tight tees and a permanent scowl on his face is putting his two tiny girls to sleep. He later cries to his dead wife - he has made a little photo gallery of hers in his bedroom - of how he can't bear to share his daughters with another woman who may not prove to be a good mother. Result: he's fending off all rishtas his mother and bhabhi are getting for him. Interestingly, there is a widowed bua who wonders if the boy of the family could be rehabilitated then why not her? Good question but pray why does she have to be the troublemaker of the house?

Punar Vivaah is Zee's and producers Shashi and Sumeet Mittal's good-natured attempt at dealing the issue of remarriage, something that's still looked down upon and is a taboo in both cities and the interiors of India. Sadly, the makers have chosen the more conventional (read safer) path of finding the 'missing parent' for their protagonists' children than a loving, caring 'spouse' for themselves. It's as though people who look for a second marriage should be thinking more to get a 'father' or 'mother' for their child and not a 'husband' or 'wife' for them. But we guess that's how it is in our patriarchal society where once you become a parent, you are not allowed to harbour any personal desires or dreams. Parental duty comes first, love can go out of the window.

The serial has its heart in the right place though the execution is typical with its fair share of clichs - eg: the vamp-like bua. Thankfully, the melodrama is in check and the lead pair is easy on the eye. Kratika Sengar (a bit on the heavier side but relatable) and Gurmeet Choudhary (his carefully styled fringe and doe-shaped eyes could be distracting though) fit the parts though we can't wait to see the two married and check out their chemistry.

The intentions are noble, now only if the proceedings are just as engaging and smooth.