Ekta Kapoor's long-delayed Star Plus show to start airing from next month, with time slot still not clear

Ekta Kapoor’s long-delayed Star Plus family drama Mera Tera Rishta Purana based on the popular novel of Manju Kapur titled ‘Custody’ has been in news of late for the probable time-slot that it might get. According to sources the channel is finally planning to launch the show in a month’s time. And if our information is correct this Divyanka Tripathi, Karan Patel (replaced Cezanne Khan) and Shruti Bapna lead project might air either at the early evening 7.30 pm or the late night 11 pm slot. There have been talks that this show which might again see a new title in ‘Mohabbatein’ could replace Saraswatichandra which currently occupies the 7.30 pm slot. This remake of the classic Gujarati writer Govardhanram Madhavaram Tripathi effort has not really raced to great ratings and had even witnessed change of production house from Sanjay Leela Bhansali to Sunjoy Wadhwa (Sphere Origins). However, actors of Saraswatichandra deny any talk of their show going off air. Monica Bedi who plays the negative lead maintained that, “The show is now doing well and the ratings have increased. In fact, the producers and writers are coming up with really good twists and turns.” So if not a 7.30 pm, the next option for Ekta’s show would be the 11 pm slot. The source says the late night slot will also fit the theme of the show, which centers around a custody battle of a child between a divorced couple and the entry of a new woman in the man’s life. If they get the late night slot, they will make it more mature as the theme is serious enough, explains the source. The source also did not seem worried about the popularity of the 11 pm slot, for even before hits show like Kahin Kissi Roz had rocked the same time slot. “If you give gripping content, any time slot is good enough” reasons our khabroo. Here the source further added that the entire unit is very happy, for Ekta herself is giving personal attention to the show despite being busy with films and other assignments. Balaji Telefilms is leaving no stone unturned to deliver a quality product. A lot of scenes are being re-shot to get precision, is what we hear. When we spoke to Karan Patel, he said, “As per the information I have, the show will go on air in November.” But he seemed to have no clue about the launch date and the time slot. “The promos will be shot today and very soon all the telecast details will be out.” We tried to touch base with Gaurav Banerjee, Star Plus Head of Content Strategy, but he was not available for comment. We could not get through to Ekta Kapoor as well. Let’s see whether Ekta manages to strike gold with this show at the given time slot!!