'Bade Achche...' set new benchmark for Indian TV industry: Jai Kalra

The curtains are down on Bade Acche Lagte Hai, which started as a unique mature love story of two distinct individuals, and looking back at the journey, actor Jai Kalra, who's now looking forward to Laut Aao Trisha, says it brought a whiff of freshness to the Indian TV industry.

The Ekta Kapoor show, starring Ram Kapoor and Sakshi Tanwar as the couple brought together by destiny and locked in a relationship of love, featured Jai as Vikram Shergill, Ram's closest friend, confidant and business associate.

After a successful run of over three years, the show, which explored how two different personalities accidentally discover love after they marry, came to an end just last week.

"The journey was amazing. We all developed a wonderful relationship with each other. The cast and crew of BALH is like my second family. It is sad that we have to move on now," Jai, who played a joyous and positive role in the show, told in an interview here.

The tall and handsome actor, who started out as a model in showbiz, believes BALH has not just played a vital role in shaping up his career but also in setting "new benchmarks in the TV industry".

"The show came when the industry was going through a very over-dramatic phase and needed some newness. BALH came with a subtle touch of freshness and set a new milestone in the industry. It was a one-of-a-kind show," he said.

Talking about how it was special for him, Jai said: "Well, I did a negative role in 'Kis Desh Mein Hai Meraa Dil' and after it, I was offered similar roles. I took up 'Bhaskar Bharti' as the script was interesting and unlike anything I had done before. When BALH happened, it was a chance to do something totally different and exciting. The character of Vikram has given me a lot."

Now he's ready for another journey - Life OK's new thriller "Laut Aao Trisha" in which he stars with actress Bhagyashree Patwardhan of Maine Pyar Kiya' fame.

He says he feels blessed with the co-actors he gets in all his shows.

"I have had a bunch of awesome co-stars all through my career. Be it Ram Kapoor and Sakshi Tanwar in BALH or Bhagyashree, Eijaz Khan and Rajeshwari Badola in Laut Aao Trisha," said Jai, whose new show goes on air on July 21.

The show promises to be an intriguing story full of tricky plots and deals with "in family crimes".

Without revealing much about his role, Jai said: "It's a positive one. When I read the script, I immediately agreed to it as I knew that I can do justice to the role."

Jai has also done his bit on the big screen with appearances in movies like "Page 3", "Shagird" and "Love U... Mr. Kalakaar!".

There have also been rumors that he has directed a TV show in the past.

Rubbishing it, he said: "I don't know who made up those rumors. I will want to try my hand at directing, but presently I am totally dedicated to acting. The plan for direction may take a couple of years to initiate."

10 July 2014 | Bade Achhe Lagte Hain | Episode 640 [Last Episode]

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Sony TV's Bade Achhe to end with Ram-Sakshi taking marital vows

Man's feelings are always purest and many glowing in the hour of meeting and of farewell, said Jean Paul Richter.

It seems this is not only true for people but also for TV shows. The soon-to-end Balaji Telefilms’ show Bade Achhe Lagte Hain will end on a sweet note.

The Sony Entertainment Television show that broke all boundaries with its experimental content of a love story between a 30 plus couple will end its run on a happy note by defying all odds and making love win over all adversities.

The finale sequence will have the favourite on screen couple Ram (Ram Kapoor) and Priya (Sakshi Tanwar) taking their marital vows once again. The family will be seen with them, celebrating the occasion.

Shares a source from the creative team, “We wanted the show to end with a message that love lasts forever and conquers all challenges. With us having to wrap up the show abruptly, we wanted people to have some good memories with the show and thus we got these sequences.”

So how will the other tracks end and what will happen to the other prominent characters? Well, the answer is that all the characters except for Ram and Sakshi have been sidelined, with no clear ending given to any.

A source further states, “For viewers who hoped to see the return of Suhani (Ekta Kaul) from jail and uniting with Khush (Ankit Narang), or Pihu (Sonia Balani) finding love and moving on in life, will be majorly disappointed as their tracks have been sidelined or simply ignored.”

But for now, fans can be happy to see some sweet moments between Ram and Priya as they bid farewell to TV screens.

Are you happy with Bade Achhe coming to an end? Do let us know.

9 July 2014 | Bade Achhe Lagte Hain | Episode 639

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8 July 2014 | Bade Achhe Lagte Hain | Episode 638

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7 July 2014 | Bade Achhe Lagte Hain | Episode 637

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Yudh to replace Bade Achhe; good move by Sony TV?

Media reports have stated about Yudh replacing Bade Achhe Lagte Hain on Sony Entertainment Television from 14 July (2014).

Now Yudh, we all know, can prove to be a game changer as it is Big B Amitabh Bachchan’s television fiction debut and also has many renowned Bollywood faces to support him.

But the editorial team has been wondering whether it’s a good move by the channel to take Bade Achhe out of the list.

Bade Achhe, from the house of Balaji Telefilms, undoubtedly has been one of the most watched, liked and loved shows not only on Sony but across GECs.

Its power packed star cast (Ram Kapoor, Sakshi Tanwar at the helm), and superb storyline created a niche for itself.

It was once one of the top TRP churners but gradually saw a dip in numbers.

Yet, given the quality of fiction shows that Sony has beamed in the last couple of years, only Bade Achhe stands out, apart from the channel’s power puncher CID.

So why did the channel shut the show?

The vague storyline along with the lead actor Ram’s busy film schedule are believed to be the reasons. Recent reports suggested that Ekta Kapoor was allowing Ram to shoot from the comforts of his house. But how long could this facility go on and so the shutter was pulled down.

Sources in the industry also put in, “Sakshi and Ram are the faces of the show, and without them it was hard to pull on. Also the channel wasn’t keen on continuing without Ram.”

TRPs hit an all time low, but given the credibility of the soap, we believe with a fresh and positive approach Bade Achhe still could have had enough steam to run the engine a few more miles.

Final story is that Bade Achhe is soon going to be history with Yudh taking its 10.30pm time slot.

But will a late night slot work for Yudh? An early prime time slot of 9 or 9.30pm would have been a better option, we feel.

Also with not many shows on the channel working well, another probability could have been to let Bade Achhe and Yudh thrive together and get some numbers for Sony TV. There is also another point that we would like to bring to notice. MSM is all set to bring a new channel Sony Pal that will air shows with a different approach. Would Yudh have worked better in the new offering?

The list of questions is long. We leave it to our readers to answer. Whether the decision is right or wrong only time will tell. Hit the comment section below to share your views.

3 July 2014 | Bade Achhe Lagte Hain | Episode 636

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2 July 2014 | Bade Achhe Lagte Hain | Episode 635

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1 July 2014 | Bade Achhe Lagte Hain | Episode 634

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30 June 2014 | Bade Achhe Lagte Hain | Episode 633

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The younger Pihu (Amrita Mukherjee) has made the character popular and loved - Sonia Balani

The young and cute lass Sonia Balani aka Pihu can be seen taking care of a little baby on her show Bade Achhe Lagte Hain on Sony Entertainment Television. The serial by Balaji Telefilms has seen the birth of a little girl, who is being mothered by Pihu, for that’s the last memory of her husband Sammy.

We get into a conversation with the girl to know more about this changed track in the show.

Laughingly the girl quips, “I am not playing a mother, it’s just that the baby is an obsession for her. Being the last remains of her husband, Pihu is very possessive about the child and with Suhani (Ekta Kaul) in jail, the baby has been left in Pihu’s care.”

On being comfortable playing a mother in case of yet another leap, the girl states, “Not really. If it’s a year or so, it is fine with me but not more than that. I just play a 22 year old girl, logically that would just be too over the top. I had already made it clear with the creatives that I would not want to play a mother on screen.”

Sonia, who started her career with Suvreen Guggal, seems satisfied with the way her character has shaped up in the show. “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in the show and it has been a very satisfying journey. I have learnt so much in my stint in BALH and have also made great friends.”

Talking further about her bonding with co-stars, Sonia quips, “I think this show has the best co-stars. Sakshi maam (Tanwar) and Jai sir (Kalra) have been a huge support and guide for all of us. As for the young team we have become really good friends and have an amazing time on sets.”

When asked whether the brand of the show or her character helped her gain popularity, the girl quickly chirps, “I think it’s the character. Of course the show has always been popular, but the young Pihu (Amrita Mukherjee) has made the character so popular and loved that people got instantly connected to it.”

And finally when asked what kind of roles she would want to play next, she says, “I have done a chirpy young character in Suvreen, a grey one in BALH, so I would like to try something interesting and different next, although I haven’t thought much about it. I would love to do something like Kangana’s (Ranaut) role in Queen.”

We wish you great luck, Sonia!

Balaji Telefims' Bade Acche Lagte Hai to go off air!

Balaji Telefilms' popular show Bade Acche Lagte Hai is going off air. 

Balaji Telefilms' popular show Bade Acche Lagte Hai aired on Sony TV which was doing the rounds for going off air is finally making an exit. Yes, for the fans of the show there is a bad news due to its dipping numbers at the TRP chart. Also the reason to pull the plug on the show is Ram Kapoor's unavailability in the show due to his commitments.

The show recently completed its run of 3 years and has come a long way.

Couple of weeks back, we had reported about Ram Kapoor bidding adieu to the show Bade Acche Lagte Hai due to his commitments. So after his exit the show would lost its charm and the makers decided to pull it off rather than continuing without Ram. However, this mature love story of Ram (Ram Kapoor) and Priya (Saakshi Tanwar) was quite liked and appreciated by the audience. But it looks like that the show failed to impress the viewers with its storyline.

Actor Jai Kalra who is seen as Vikram in the show has tweeted about the show going off air he tweeted, "Last that memories #BALH an unforgettable chapter.. Will miss our camaraderie @ramkapoor1973 @TaranaRaja @sumona24 #Sakshi.

We know that it is a bad news for the loyal fans of the show, but we are sure that the channel has something nice and different in store for the viewers. So keep reading this space.

We wishes all the best to the entire team of Bade Acche Lagte Hai for their bright future!

26 June 2014 | Bade Achhe Lagte Hain | Episode 632

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25 June 2014 | Bade Achhe Lagte Hain | Episode 631

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24 June 2014 | Bade Achhe Lagte Hain | Episode 630

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23 June 2014 | Bade Achhe Lagte Hain | Episode 629

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The curious case of Ram Kapoor's 'quitting' decision

When you are the face of a popular show, everything that you say or do automatically results in a lot of speculations and confusions.

Well, no points for guessing here, as we are talking about the popular and loved actor Ram Kapoor whose comment on him quitting Bade Achhe Lagte Hain has raised quite a number of eyebrows.

The show on Sony Entertainment Television began as an experiment, with leads above 30 trying to find love in life. Interestingly Ram and Sakshi Tanwar’s chemistry as Ram and Priya struck 'gold' with the audience. With numerous leaps and inclusion of new faces, the show might have seen a drop in numbers, but it’s still loved by its loyal audience.

The talented actor, Ram has today not only left his mark on TV but also has a good amount of movies under his belt too. Although Ram had always maintained that BALH is his baby and no matter what may come, he will not quit the show, it was quite a revelation when the actor went back on his words.

Recently during the promotions of his upcoming film Humshakals, Ram mentioned to a national daily that this was his last month with the show as he had signed the contract only for three years. With that getting over now, the man would work with his three pending films which would require him to travel abroad.

The actor also mentioned that he had informed the production house (Balaji Telefilms) of his decision and that they have agreed to it and are presently working on his exit plot.

Well we delved into the matter and was surprised to find that neither the show’s cast nor crew or the channel officials had any concrete idea about Ram's decision or for the matter of fact, regarding Ram’s presence in the future tracks of the show.

Mitu Kumar, Creative Producer of the show said, “There is no clarity on the matter at the moment. Everything is on hold as we are yet to decide on anything.”

When we probed her further on the chances of Ram leaving this month she said, “We seriously have no intimation on the same and thus can’t comment on it” This statement indeed sounded strange as Ram had clearly stated that he notified his decision to the production house.

We contacted an actor from the show, who based on anonimity said, “He is very busy at the moment. But he does come for shoots whenever he is needed. I don’t think he will quit the show as it’s just a matter of two months before we wrap up. He is an important part of the show although he doesn’t have to shoot that regularly. All we can hope is that his schedules get sorted and he manages to stay.”

A source in the channel also seemed flabbergasted about the situation, “Why don’t you guys ask Ram instead? That random statement came as a shocker to us too as we seriously have no idea of what is he up to. As for now all we know is that he is shooting for the show. It’s seriously strange that he would go ahead and say something like this without any prior discussion with the channel heads."

They say, any kind of publicity, good or bad is supposed to be good publicity.

Talking more on Ram's so-called 'hurried' statements to media, the actor recently announced that he was doing a film, Patel Rap with Sunny Leone. And Sunny who had an idea that they were not allowed to talk about it was left red faced when questions were thrown on her about the film.

“I was crazily denying the news having no idea about Ram’s announcement. But good for me; now I don’t need to worry about mentioning it as Ram has opened the gates,” Sunny had told us in an earlier interview.

Whatever may be the case, the fact as of now remains that Ram and Balaji Telefilms have a lot of talking to do. Clarity on whether Ram will stay on to take the BALH ship right to the shore, and be part of it till it ends remains to be seen.

Ram and Ekta Kapoor did not revert to our calls and messages.

We will be back with more updates on the same.

19 June 2014 | Bade Achhe Lagte Hain | Episode 628

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18 June 2014 | Bade Achhe Lagte Hain | Episode 627

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