Ghar Ki Lakshmi Betiyaan… Changing tracks?.

It's going good for Zee TV once again. The channel has managed to rope in audiences with Saat Phere and Kasamh Se which have proved to be a real competition for the rival channels. Now, it's the turn of Ghar Ki Lakshmi Betiyaan, which was launched with a lot of fanfare to counter Star's Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki in the 10 pm slot. A few months back the show invited a lot of flak for its regressive representation of women but now it seems to be getting on the right track. Now, its back in news once more. Hold…no rushing to conclusions. The serial recently created a history of sorts when the shaadi sequence between Bhavishya (Kartik) and Saraswati (Kshitee Jog) was shot in a way that it appeared a real shaadi to other unit members. Comments Rajan Shahi, the series director of Betiyaan, "I felt more like the father of the bride than a director while shooting the sequence. I mean so detailed and authentic was the whole set-up that it seemed like a real shaadi. We shot all the 40 ceremonies that are associated with the traditional Gujarati marriage. I had to take three days rest to get back to work, as I was completely drained by the opulent affair." The storyline of the show will witness a fresh turn of events with the marriage of the eldest daughter Sarswati (Kshitee Jog) to Bavishya (Kartik) turning out to be a huge fiasco. Bavishya locks Sarswati in a hotel room on their honeymoon trip and henceforth his character would turn oppressive. Saraswati on the other hand chances upon her former admirer and she finds a new support in him. Lakshmi (Twinkle Bajpai), the youngest of the four daughters will continue to fight for her elder sister as she does for her mother. But, somehow over a period of time she will also be more subdued and less of her rebellious self, as she has fallen in love. So, a lot of drama expected in the coming weeks on the show. For all those uninitiated, the story is about the Garodia family who are blessed with three girls and wish a son's birth. Destiny blesses the family with a fourth baby girl and the family head Suryakant Garodia gets married for a second time to find a male heir for the family and is finaly blessed with a son. Now, with a new wife and an old family a lot of drama gets generated in the show. Rajan Shahi has directed popular serials like Jassi Jaise Koi Nahin, Millee, Kareena Kareena and Viraast to name a few. His forte has been the female centric themes that have become a niche genre post Jassi's popularity. Commenting on the overall treatment of the show which critics typecast as stereotypical, "I don't agree with these statements. We are not rooted in the stereotype but in reality. The story of Betiyaan does echo in many households. Women continue to be the fairer sex whereas men are supposed to carry forward the progeny. We are holding a mirror to that reality and if in doing so we are labeled as regressive, it's awfully ridiculous. Finally, in the show all the female leads will rise above their oppressive circumstances" says the experienced director. Rightly said Mr. Rajan, we have little to disagree with you on this.