Review: Life OK's Gustakh Dil

Promos of Indian TV serials are very intriguing. Life OK’s Gustakh Dil (Ravi Ojha Productions) promo rouses the interest of the viewers. Apparently, it seems like a story done to death if you are verbally communicated the synopsis of the serial- which is that of the chaste wife putting up with it when her husband is in love with another woman and being candid about it too. The creatives aver that it is a different show though despite the love triangle theme seeming to be a cliché. The tagline of the show also innovatively mentions that the wife is the other woman in this case. The promos show the wife trying on a beautiful jewellery set and admiring her reflection in the mirror. When her husband asks her how she likes the gift she smiles as if in appreciation. In the forthcoming shot she hands over the jewellery set to her husband who will gift it to his girlfriend. In such a scenario, a modern feminist woman would insist that the wife immediately divorces her husband. This however is a soap, which must lather on to deliver many episodes which is why the wife has to linger on in the marriage. If there is no conflict, there is no story. We do expect the creatives to unfold a back story as to why Nikhil (Vibhav Roy) marries Laajo (Sana Sheikh) despite his heart being with his childhood sweetheart Ishana (Parvati Sehgal). The very fact that the title of the show is Gustakh Dil is a sign of originality.Whereas it is the norm of the Indian television industry to name shows after the title songs of popular movies; it is a laudable that the creatives have selected the beautiful title song Gustakh Dil from the critically acclaimed film English Vinglish which was released last year. Gustakh Dil may be roughly translated to English as ‘an insolent or stubborn heart’. This show seems to cater to both the urban and small town/ rural women simultaneously. Whereas Ishana who calls herself ‘hot’ may appeal to the urban women, non-urban women may relate more to Laajo who is shown in the serial poster observing Karva Chauth for a husband who doesn’t love her. We however hope that the serial will not turn regressive or clichéd with the wife going on sacrificing for her errant husband, Ishana changing from being a positive character to the vamp and the mother-in-law Bhavna (Meghna Malik) turning out to be torturous. We hope that she will support her innocent daughter-in-law instead. The serial blends pathos and merry moments. The tragic death of Nikhil’s brother for which his mom holds his son (Nikhil) responsible to going to the extent of refusing to celebrate his birthday as it coincides with the death anniversary of her late son naturally makes us feel sad. There are humorous moments punched in Nikhil’s one-liners during his chirpy conversations with his friend and girlfriend. As far as linking the past sequences with the current day scenes are concerned, the creatives impressed us by freezing on the mug shot of Nikhil’s brother (as a child) to cut to a shot of the same face in a photo frame with an old garland signifying obituary to the deceased boy. Also, a child Nikhil telling his brother Akash that he is too afraid to tell his mom that he wants a guitar on his birthday is followed by a scene in which his mom who is now older still coming across as a no nonsense woman. It reveals that she hasn’t changed over the years as far as her strict nature is concerned. All the actors have put in decent performances. We hope that the serial will carry on imparting the Delhi feel both through outdoor shots and dialogues which are intrinsic to the city in which it is set. Gustakh Dil has started off on a pleasant note. We just have to wait and watch if it becomes yet another family drama or offers something different on the plate.