Bade Achhe Lagte Hain
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain is a Hindi Indian soap opera that aired on Sony Entertainment Television from 30 May 2011 to 10 July 2014. Based on the Gujarati play Patrani by Imtiaz Patel, the soap opera is created by Ekta Kapoor and produced by her production company, Balaji Telefilms. The name of the soap opera, along with its title track, has been inspired by a song of the same name, composed by R.D. Burman, from the soundtrack of the 1976 Bollywood film Balika Badhu. Ekta Kapoor had got the name, Bade Achhe Lagte Hain, registered about six years before the soap opera premiered.
The show explores the worlds of its protagonists, Priya Sharma and Ram Kapoor, who accidentally discover love after getting married. After the storyline moved five years ahead in June 2012, many new actors and characters, including Samir Kochhar and Amrita Mukherjee who played the roles of Rajat Kapur and Peehu respectively, were introduced.
According to The Times of India, Bade Achhe Lagte Hain is the seventh most watched television show of 2011 in India. The soap opera won the Kalakar Award for the Best Serial and the People's Choice Award for Favourite TV Drama, both in 2012. The soap opera was voted the Most Inspiring Soap in 2013, receiving a vote count of 43.68%. It has been dubbed and rebroadcast in English, Tamil, and Telugu.
Plot
Ram Kapoor is a well-reputed, rich, and powerful businessman in his early 40s. Priya Sharma, who is in her early 30s, comes from a middle-class family. The story begins when Ram's younger step sister, Natasha and Priya's younger brother, Kartik fall in love. Kartik believes that he should not marry before his elder sister, Priya is married. This stalls the wedding. Owing to Natasha's persistent demands, Ram agrees to marry Priya. Initially Ram and Priya dislike each other but their shared quality of being committed to the well-being of their respective families brings them closer with time. As the story progresses, several antagonists are introduced and the narrative moves between discontinuous time periods. Every time problems arise between Ram and Priya their love, trust, and respect for each other grows stronger and deeper.Cast and characters
Main
- Ram Kapoor as Ram Amarnath Kapoor - Priya's husband, and Peehu, Mayra and Pari's father. Though Ram and Priya's marriage comes about as a marriage of convenience, they come to love each other with time. Priya's departure for five years left him in anguish. He chooses to step out of his family and start a new business and life with her until finally moving back.
- Sakshi Tanwar as Priya Ram Kapoor / Pooja Sharma - Ram's wife, and Peehu, Mayra and Pari's mother. For five years, following an accident in which Priya is assumed to be dead, she moves to Dubai unknown to anyone to start life anew, with her yet-to-be-born daughter, Peehu. Her sudden departure stems from her seeing herself as a harbinger of problems in Ram's life. She lives and works in Dubai under the name Pooja Sharma, until she meets Ram at an event in Mumbai later.
- Fenil Umrigar / Sonia Balani as Peehu Ram Kapoor - Ram and Priya's eldest daughter, Mayra and Pari's elder sister, Samar's wife. Her character trajectory initially involves her living with Priya in Dubai and going through a custody case filed by Ram, later having a strained relationship with Priya, and yet later recovering from a failed marriage.
- * Aanchal Munjal as Peehu Ram Kapoor
- * Amrita Mukherjee as Peehu Ram Kapoor
- Sumona Chakravarti as Natasha - Ram's younger step-sister, Amarnath and Niharika's daughter, and Kartik's first wife. Her character trajectory involves her disdain for Kartik's middle-class family evolving into her having a better relationship with her in-laws and Priya.
- Madhu Raja as Krishna Amarnath Kapoor - Widow of Amarnath and his first wife, Ram's biological mother, and Apeksha's adoptive mother. Krishna was long misunderstood by Ram and his family, until Priya reconciled differences between her and Ram.
- Chahat Khanna / Akanksha Juneja as Ayesha - Priya's younger sister, later Ram's second wife, and Khush's mother. Khush is Ayesha and Siddhant's son. Ram married her during the five years Priya was assumed dead to give Khush legitimacy. Her character trajectory involves her envying Priya, to the extent of not informing Ram of her existence when she gets to know of her presence in Dubai.
- Eva Grover as Niharika Amarnath Kapoor - Ram's step-mother, widow of Amarnath and his second wife, ex-wife of Jayesh, and Rishabh, Natasha, Siddhant and Ishika's mother. Her marriage with Amarnath stems from an illegitimate relationship with him during her marriage with Jayesh, who was Amarnath's doctor. Her character trajectory involves her choosing to die in a car crash she had plotted to kill Ram, rather than kill him.
- Jai Kalra as Vikram Singh Shergill - Neha's husband, Ram's friend and business-partner, and Rahul, Samar, and Riddhima's father. Ram and Priya's marriage was for long not officially registered until Vikram and Neha encouraged them.
- Tarana Raja Kapoor as Neha Vikram Shergill - Vikram's wife, and Rahul, Samar, and Riddhima's mother. Vikram and Neha are key to helping Ram and Priya get to know each other better.
Recurring
- Salim Shah / Deepak Qazir Kejriwal as Shiney Talwar - Niharika's brother. Shiney is noted for plotting with Niharika and Siddhant to Ram and Priya distant, for their personal benefits.
- Mahesh Shetty as Siddhant - Jayesh and Niharika's son, Ram's step-brother, and Khush's father. He initially plots with Niharika and Shiney against Ram and Priya, later has a relationship affair with Ayesha, and is ultimately ousted from the Kapoors' house. He returns later to save Peehu from getting kidnapped in an incident.
- Neev Ritesh Jain / Gaurav Sharma / Aditya Kapadia / Ankit Narang as Khush - Siddhant and Ayesha's son, and Ram's nephew.
- Rohan Shah / Yuvraj Thakur / Lavin Gothi as Samar Vikram Shergill - Vikram and Neha's son, and Peehu's husband.
- Renuka Israni as Shipra Sudhir Sharma - Priya, Ayesha, and Kartik's mother.
- Prithvi Sankhala as Sudhir Sharma - Shipra's husband, and Priya, Ayesha, and Kartik's father.
- Rajinder Kaur Manchanda as Amarnath's mother and Ram's grandmother.
- Samir Kochhar as Rajat Kapur - Ram's friend and Jyoti's ex-boyfriend. He is affectionate towards Priya who had worked at his bookstore while staying in Dubai. Rajat is also a businessman and an author, writing under the nom de plume Anjaan.
- Vinti Idnani as Mayra Ram Kapoor - Ram and Priya's daughter, Peehu's sister, and Pari's twin sister.
- * Ashnoor Kaur as Mayra Ram Kapoor
- Pragati Chourasiya as Pari Ram Kapoor - Ram and Priya's daughter, Peehu's sister, Mayra's twin sister.
- * Zaynah Vastani as Pari Ram Kapoor
- Ekta Kaul as Dr. Suhani Malhotra - Priya's nurse and the love interest of Samar. She has a daughter with Samar, Gudiya. Suhani's character undergoes mental anguish which culminates in her murdering Samar.
- Sunny Goraya as Rishabh Amarnath Kapoor - Ram's elder step-brother, Saumya's husband, and Amarnath and Niharika's son.
- Dipti Shrikant / Amrin Chakkiwala as Saumya Rishabh Kapoor - Rishabh's wife.
- Shubhavi Choksey as Juhi - Ram's friend who had wanted to marry him.
- Nitin Sahrawat as Rajeev - Juhi's husband.
- Niti Taylor as Naina - Juhi's and Rajeev's daughter, later adopted by Ram.
- Azaan Rustam Shah / Anshul Pandey as Rahul Vikram Shergill - Sammy's brother, and Vikram and Neha's son.
- Ruhee Bagga as Riddhima Vikram Shergill - Sammy's sister, and Vikram and Neha's daughter.
- Kanika Shivpuri as Daai Jaa - Rajat's caretaker.
- Priya Marathe as Jyoti Malhotra - Rajat's ex-girlfriend, and Kadambari's mother.
- Arshima Thapar as Kadambari - Rahul's wife and Jyoti's daughter. Kadambari and Daai Jaa were one of the few closest people to Priya in Dubai.
- Vaibhav Joshi as Rehaan - Neha's son from a college boyfriend, whom she had long abandoned. Neha's abandonment of Rehaan left a deep wound in his psyche.
- Mohit Malhotra / Chirag Thakkar as Kartik Sudhir Sharma - Priya's younger brother and Natasha's husband.
- Sonal Parihar as Jhanvi - When Kartik goes abroad he marries Jhanvi keeping her unaware of his already existing marriage with Natasha. Jhanvi and Kartik have a son, Raunak.
- Yatin Mehta as Raunak Kartik Sharma - Kartik and Jhanvi's son.
- Harsh Khurana as Ashwin Khanna - Priya's ex-fiancé.
- Madhumita Das as Shruti Ashwin Khanna - Ashwin's wife.
- Rohan Mehra as Varun Ashwin Khanna - Ashwin and Shruti's son, and Peehu's college friend.
- Amit Bhalla as Dr. Jayesh Karyekar - Niharika's first husband, and Siddhant and Ishika's father.
- Asha Negi as Apeksha Malhotra - Krishna's adoptive daughter.
- Kajal Pisal as Ishika Aditya Dhanrajgir - Jayesh and Niharika's daughter, and Aditya's wife.
- Saptrishi Ghosh as Rishi Shandeliya - Priya's boss.
- Karan Veer Mehra as Bhanu Shergill - Vikram's younger brother.
- Charu Asopa as Saudamini - Ayesha's friend.
- Anshuman Singh Mahant as Shags - Natasha'a colleague.
- Rakshanda Khan as Isha Singhania - Ram, Vikram, and Neha's college friend.
- Rushad Rana as Ram, Vikram, and Neha's college friend.
- Rushad Rana as Shekhar - Ram's college friend.
- Dimpy Ganguli as Preetika - Ayesha's friend.
- Karan Jotwani as Mandeep Bittu Singh — Peehu's ex-fiancé.
- Nandini Sen as Nandini Bittu Singh - Mandeep's mother.
- Mamta Luthra as Shipra's mother.
- Nivin Ramani as Robin
- Neel Motwani as Daljeet Kapoor
- Bobby Arora as Bobby Singh
- Arjit Taneja
Guest appearances
- Vidya Balan and Emraan Hashmi
- Ronit Roy
- Tusshar Kapoor and Riteish Deshmukh
- Sanaya Irani
- Tusshar Kapoor and John Abraham
- Akshay Kumar
- Priyanka Chopra and Ram Charan
- Vidya Balan
- Jackky Bhagnani and Neha Sharma
Production
Shooting
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain is reportedly one of the soap operas in India which broke the monotone of endless indoors-only sequences. Most of its shooting has been done in India. But many episodes of the soap opera have also been shot in foreign locales. Sixteen episodes of the soap opera were shot in Australia over 14 days, in partnership with Tourism Australia, in late 2011, to portray the honeymoon of Ram and Priya. Bade Achhe Lagte Hain also received support from Destination New South Wales, Sony Entertainment Television India and Balaji Telefilms.During the summer of 2012, Ekta Kapoor introduced a five-year leap in the narrative. After this leap, thirty six episodes of Bade Achhe Lagte Hain had content which was shot in Dubai, UAE over a period of 10 days. These episodes portray Priya living with her five-year-old daughter Peehu in the city until she has to return to Mumbai, in India. The production team failed to obtain the correct permits to shoot in Dubai and had to briefly stop shooting until the paperwork was processed.
Music
The title track of the soap opera, inspired by the song Bade Achhe Lagte Hain is composed by R. D. Burman, from the 1976 Bollywood movie, Balika Badhu. The lyrics of the soap opera's title track have been penned up by Nawab Arzoo and the title track has been sung by Shreya Ghoshal and Trijayh Dey. Lalit Sen provided the music to the title track. The background music or the incidental music of the soap opera has been provided by Abhishek Singh and Mintu Jha. It also includes songs from soundtrack albums of few Bollywood movies. The Tamil version of the title track song was sung by Shweta Mohan, with hummings of Shreya Ghoshal reused.Broadcast
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain premiered on Sony Entertainment Television in India on 30 May 2011. It was initially intended to run for 150 episodes but it went on to telecast a total of 644 episodes, going off-air after completing a run of 3 years, 2 months and 41 days. Bade Achhe Lagte Hain was telecasted on weekdays at the 10:30 p.m. time slot.Integration episodes
The show had two integration episodes with Kya Hua Tera Vaada on 4 and 5 December 2012 and one with Kehta Hai Dil...Jee Le Zara on 6 December 2013.Dubs and rebroadcasts
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain was dubbed in Telugu and broadcast on Gemini TV as Nuvvu Nachhavu, an afternoon soap opera, premiering on 9 April 2012. Bade Achhe Lagte Hain has also been dubbed in Tamil under the title Ullam Kollai Poguthada, and it premiered on Polimer TV, on 10 December 2012, with some of the characters' names changed. An English dubbed version of Bade Achhe Lagte Hain also premiered in Jamaica under the title It Seems So Beautiful on CVM Television on 11 August 2014.Reception
Response
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain is the fifth most-watched television show in the thirty–fourth week of 2011 in India, helping propel the broadcasting channel, Sony Entertainment Television India to number two in the rankings of the Hindi general entertainment television channels. The soap opera had a television viewer rating of 3.7 that week while Sony Entertainment Television India recorded a gross rating point of 245. In the forty eighth week of 2011, the soap opera became the fourth most-watched television show in India with a TVR of 4.30, and is the seventh most-watched of 2011.Episode #166 of Bade Achhe Lagte Hain, directed by Anil V. Kumar and telecast on 12 March 2012, portrayed the protagonists consummating their marriage. The episode was backed by a teaser to draw hype and interest. Within minutes of its telecast the episode went viral on YouTube with nearly 150,630 hits and counting. It also trended on social networking and microblogging sites such as Twitter. India Today described the episode as "aesthetically shot" whileTimes of India described it as "action packed". There was mocking of the episode and the overweight Ram Kapoor from some segments; Ram Kapoor responded that he would not lose weight for the television industry. IBN Live commented, "Indian television is still a good few decades immature when it comes to sex on the TV screen. So much for all the matured relationships and relevant themes – love making on Indian TV is as painful and archaic as the shaking flowers replacing actors on screen when they kiss or make love. A small sigh of relief and Ekta Kapoor and the director can congratulate themselves for the real onscreen peck on the lips." The episode was hyped as a couple on an Indian television had never before been so bold. The episode worried certain viewers who did not want to watch the episode with their children. Emirates 24/7 called it a "shocker to the Indian families". Yet India Today described it as a "big surprise for the audiences". Times of India rated the consummation scene as the Top Intimate Moment on TV. The last couple who had kissed on Indian television was Aditya Jakhar and Priya Jakhar in the STAR Plus soap opera, in 2010. Following the telecast of the episode Ram Kapoor tweeted a thank you.
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain is the second most-watched fictional Hindi television show in the weekdays of the twenty-ninth week of 2012 with a Television Rating Point of 4.2, which was 0.5 points up from the TRP of the previous week when the show had a TRP of 3.7. In early January 2013, the soap opera's TRP went down to 2.3.
In a 2014 poll conducted by Shaadi.com, Ram and Priya were voted the Favourite TV Couple by 42.3% of Indians. Fans even dub the on-screen couple Raya, which is a linguistic blend of the pair's names. Ram Kapoor was also called "the Indian husband we love" by a Sunday publication in 2012. Ram Kapoor and Sakshi Tanwar later came together to portray the role of a couple in the ALTBalaji web-series Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat, which premiered in 2017 and was noted for its common plot elements with Bade Achhe Lagte Hain.