Balika Vadhu
Encyclopedia
Plot
Balika Vadhu—Kachchi Umar Ke Pakke Rishte is a highly popular Indian television series that airs every Monday to Friday at 8pm on Colors TV. It is also telecast in Raj TV as Man Vasanai in TamilTamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
and Chinnari Pellikuthuru in Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
. The story deals with Child Marriage
Child marriage
Child marriage and child betrothal customs occur in various times and places, whereby children are given in matrimony - before marriageable age as defined by the commentator and often before puberty. Today such customs are fairly widespread in parts of Africa, Asia, Oceania and South America: in...
, a social custom still prevalent in parts of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Story
The show is set in rural IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and portrays, among other prevailing social ills, the practice of child marriage. It features Anandi (Avika Gor), married at age 10 to Jagdish (Avinash Mukherjee), the only grandson of Kalyani Devi. Kalyani Devi is a strict conservative matriarch of a traditional Rajasthani family. She is very stubborn and has firm beliefs and believes that all wives trick their husbands and persuade them to do whatever the wives want, and she treats her two daughter in-laws and grand-daugghter in law very tyrannically. She has two sons, Bhairon (Anup Soni
Anup Soni
Anup Soni, also Anoop Soni, is an Indian film and television actor. He is an alumnus of the National School of Drama.Soni began his career with roles in television serials such as Sea Hawks and Saaya. He then took a break from television to work in films. He appeared in the 2002 films "Kharaashein:...
) and Basant (Satyajit Sharma). Basant, the elder son, is a widower. Gehna (Neha Marda
Neha Marda
Neha Marda is an Indian television actress, popularly known as Gehna for her role in Balika Vadhu on Colors TV. She is from a Marwari Marda family and was born and brought up in Kolkatta, West Bengal.-TV shows:...
), daughter of parents heavily in debt to Kalyani Devi, is forcibly married to him. Initially, there are many differences between the couple due to the age gap and incompatibility but they have a son named Nandu. Bhairon, the second son, is married to Sumitra (Smita Bansal
Smita Bansal
Smita Bansal is an Indian Television and film actress. Her most notable roles are in the Zee TV soaps Amanat, Aashirwad and Sarhadein. She has also acted in the 2008 Bollywood film Karzzzz. She is currently acting in the soap Balika Vadhu in Colors TV...
) and has two children, Jagdish and Suguna (Vibha Anand). Suguna, also a child bride, loses her husband Pratap (Jehangir Vakil
Jehangir Vakil
Jehangir Vakil is an Indian television actor known for his role as Pratap in the serial, Balika Vadhu.-Career:Jehangir Vakil started his career with the TV series, Balika Vadhu.His death in the show helped the show gain the No.1 position for the first time.He joined Congress party and is now its...
) and is made to follow the hard life of a widow at the age of 16. She later marries Shyam (Vikrant Massey
Vikrant Massey
Vikrant Massey is an Indian television actor.-Career:Vikrant Massey is noted for Disney Channel India's Dhoom Machaao Dhoom, Star Plus' Kahaan Hoon Main, and the role of Dharam in NDTV Imagine's Dharam Veer, the last of which garned him a nomination for Indiatelevision.com's 2008 Best New Actor...
) in the face of much social opposition. Suguna's in-laws, Radha (Asmita Sharma) and Madan Singh (Amar Sharma) initially do not accept her but later realise their mistake. Anandi's parents, Bhagwati (Bhairavi Raichura) and Khajan Singh (Chetanya Adib) earn their living by farming. However, they often face problems but are always helped by Bhairon. Mahavir Singh (Rajendra Gupta
Rajendra Gupta
Rajendra Gupta is an Indian film, television and theater actor and director who is best known for his television roles of Pandit Jagarnath in the 1990s Doordarshan fantasy television series Chandrakanta and Sudha's father - Jagat Narayan - in the 1998-2001 Sony TV drama Saaya.An alumnus of the...
) is Kalyani's elder brother-in-law who harbours a grudge against her and tries making life hell for her family. However, he later realises his mistake and goes to jail as a punishment. He is actually Basant's real father but Kalyani raised him at her dead sister-in-law's asking. Teepri (Sakshi Tanwar) is a childhood friend of Bhairon and Basant. She is madly in love with Bhairon and tries to break the entire family. However, it is revealed that Teepri has a mental problem and she is taken away to be treated. The show thus tries to throw light on social malice like child marriage and the ostracising of widows prevalent in rural areas through the various travails of its characters. Anandi and Jagdish got separated when Anandi turned 13. Anandi went to her village and stayed with Bhagwati as her father, Khajan Singh was sent to jail for selling fake ghee and rice. He realised his mistake and wanted to repent for his crimes.
On July 22, 2010 the show took a five-year leap. Anandi and Jagdish are grown up and are replaced by new actors. Bhagwati is re-united with Khajan Singh, now a good man. Anandi returns to Jagdish's house but she will have to face Kalyani who has become more tyrannical than ever. There are also problems between Basant and Gehna. Gehna rebels against Kalyani's wrongdoings and gets punished by her because of this. Shyam's uncle, Ramacharan purposely injures Suguna's son Varun and he is unable to walk. However, he gets exposed and is thrown out of his haveli by Madan Singh, his younger brother. Mahavir Singh, now a reformed man returns to Kalyani's haveli. Jagdish decides to become a doctor. Kalyani disapproves of his decision and forces him not to go. However, Anandi helps him escape. This infuriates Kalyani who declares that there is no relationship between her and Anandi much to everyone's shock. Jagdish faces ragging as a serious problem in his new college. He must fight his seniors with the help of Gauri (Anjum Farookhi)—a new friend of his at college. They become increasingly close.
Meanwhile, Anandi's best friend Phoolie (Mamta Chaturya) has become extremely lonely. She was widowed at a very young age and is therefore ostracised. She craves for a life partner, which leads her to write love letters to herself. The villagers believe that she is disgracing them by dating a boy and she is told never to leave her house again. Kalyani forbids Anandi to ever meet her again. Anandi agrees to these terms though she does not believe that Phoolie can do such a thing.
Because of how clever Gauri is, Jagdish kills Anandi because she left her studies at a young age and therefore is very ignorant. This hurts Anandi a lot. Anandi meets her former teacher Sandhya (Sadiya Siddique) who is saddened by how Anandi gave up her studies. She tells Anandi that she has realised that child marriage is a sin and that she is trying her best to stop it. Sandhya tells Anandi that she wanted her help but realises that Anandi is too weak. Anandi begins to realise her mistake. Now, she saves her friend Gulli from what she had to got through which made her what she is now. She also proves that Phoolie is innocent. Sandhya is extremely proud of Anandi.
Anandi continues working for the betterment of society. Meanwhile, Jagdish and Gauri keep getting closer to each other. This soon turns into passionate love. Anandi discovers this on a trip to Mumbai, where Jagdish tells her that they both live in two different worlds and greatly insults her. He also introduces her as a distant relative to his friends. Anandi decides that she is going to resume her studies which she had given up due to Kalyani's disapproval. Her decision is supported by Bhairon and Sandhya. However, once more, Anandi will have to face Kalyani as an obstacle to reach her goal. Anandi exposes how Jagdish pretends that he is from a rich family in Jaipur, and that his status is single. Everyone is heartbroken, but they forgive him.
The story progresses four years ahead. The distance between Jagdish and Anandi has increased. He is now madly in love with Gauri, who is actually the girl whom he was nearly married to by Kalyani. Jagdish and Gauri become doctors. He comes to Jetsar for a visit, where everyone discovers how he has forgotten his values and respect for elders. He wants to settle down in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, far away from his family. This deeply upsets Bhairon, and Kalyani. He also insults Shyam, who tries to persuade him to stay back. This prompts Suguna to slap him. Even though Gehna and Basant reprimand him for being rude to Shyam, he remains indifferent. He then heads to Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....
, where he plans to meet Gauri and head to Mumbai for his higher studies. Meanwhile, Bhagwati and Khajan Singh come to know of Jagdish's intentions. Bhagwati says that it is Anandi's duty to accompany Jagdish to Mumbai, and stay with him. However, Anandi says that she does not want to go to Mumbai with Jagdish, and is happy where she is with her family. The elders eventually convince Anandi and tell Jagdish that Anandi is coming to Mumbai to stay with him. While she is packing, Jagdish calls and tells her that he doesn't love her. Anandi becomes ill after hearing this and it is revealed that the stress had given her ulcer. Bhairon goes to Mumbai to confront Jagdish, where he learns about Gauri and everything else Jagdish has been up to and is shocked and says that Jagdish is dead to him. When he returns home, he thrashes Jagdish's office in the hospital and tell everyone the truth and that from today onwards, Jagdish is dead to them. Anandi is speechless and almost zombie-like. Sumitra decides to go and meet Jagdish but fails in pursuing him to come with her. Jagdish starts worrying about his mother and thinks that he has indeed done a mistake but refuses to say sorry. Anandi decides to give herself a recognition by studying further. Kalyani and all other family members have stepped in their shoes to help her in studying for medical entrance examination.
Meanwhile, Gauri goes to meet Jagat's family and finds out all the truth about who he is and about Anandi. She also remembers that he was the one she got married to in childhood. She refuses to speak to Jagat and when Jagat finds and meets Gauri in person she tells the truth about her and their past. Jagat is shocked and after sitting outside Gauri's house in rain for her forgiveness, going to the hospital, telling Gauri he loves her very much, saying his and Anandi's marriage is illegal, and convincing Gauri's parents, Gauri and Jagat get married. Now, Gauri wants to meet her in-laws and get their blessings so they both go to Jagadish's house. There Jagadish says that although everyone has broken all ties with him he still believes that Kalyani loves him. But Kalyani also says that he made a very big mistake and says that he is not of her house. Jagadish then tells everyone the truth that Gauri is Gudiya and says that he only corrected a mistake that was done by his grandmother. Kalyani refuses to accept it but Gauri reminds her of everything and Kalyani is heartbroken. Hearing all this, she is heartbroken that she herself is the cause for all this.
Kalyani falls sick and loses her consciousness just when Anandi decides to leave the house. With that everybody's attention turns to Kalyani. Jagya and Guari, being doctors, work very hard to get Kalyani's consciousness back. In the meantime, the entire family mistreats Gauri and refuses to accept her. After Kalyani gets better, she has a plan and starts accepting her. Jagya and Gauri break into fight but come together again. Once, they were having a romantic moment after a fight and now all they people who are the hawali's neighbors see them and complain not knowing about Jagya's remarriage.... Later on Gauri reveals them the truth and insults Anandi for being too good to her. Sumitra goes to Gauri and tells her that because of Anandi Jagdish is living. She tells her everything about the bullet and so on....
Basant shouts on Jagiya for selling the only last thing of their father i.e. Kalyani's husband. Kalyani is heartbroken and does not supports Jagiya any more. Bhagwati and Khajan come and yell at Jagya for being so deceitful. Bhagwati wants to take Anandi back with them but Anandi refuses and says that they are now "paraya". This hurts Bhagwati a lot. Later, Anandi and Bhagwati make up while talking on the phone. When Jagdish and Gauri are leaving, Gauri again mentally tortures Anandi which is overheard by Bhairon. Bhairon then tells the truth to the whole family that if husband and wife live with each other after 18 year of age for two years their marriage will thus not be called illegal. This proves that marriage of Jagdish and Gauri is illegal.
After hearing so many thing and the truth Gauri tells Jagdish that she can't live with him but he persuades her to. Meanwhile, Bhagwati and Khajan go to meet Sandhya, Anandi's teacher to apologize for not listening to her advice of not marrying Anandi at the age of 8. They beg her to give Anandi a new life. Sandhya tells Bhagwat and Khjan that she cannot make Anandi forget all the torture she has gone through, but she can give her a new lease of life. Sandhya then goes to meet Anandi who is overjoyed. Anandi says that she does not want to be a doctor, but wants to serve people as a teacher. So Anandi starts her class. At first nobody joins but then later many participate. It is now revealed that Gauri is pregnant which made everybody in the house very sad. After a few days after the pregnancy of Gauri, a new boy named Shravan meets Anandi to seek her help to find a work for himself. Anandhi too finds a work for Shravan in Basant 's mill. The next day is Diwali and in Anandi's home the kuldeva moorthi is missing. Anandi finds the cloth which she put it for the moorthi while distributing fireworks to children in one girl's doll.And asks the girl's parents where they found the cloth and the parents tell Anandi that they found the cloth near the pond. With the help of Shravan they find the kuldev moorti. After a few days Anandi is missing and it is revealed that she has ran away with Shravan. A police officer informs Gauri's father that Anandi has ran away. Gauri's father tells Gauri and Gauri tells it to Jagya but Jagya tells that Anandi can never do so and tells Bhairon, Basant, Sumitra and others that he will bring Anandi back. He asks Gulli but Gulli is unable to tell as her house is surrounded by guards who asks her not to tell. She writes a letter to Jagya and sends it towards a boy to give it to him. IT is written in the letter that Anandi was kidnapped on her way to school and even Shravan was with them to kidnap Anandi and which Gulli saw with her two eyes and they told her that if she told anyone about it Anandi would be killed. Meanwhile as told by Gulli Anandi was kidnapped and kept in a old building by Shravan as he wanted to fulfill his saabji's vengeance towards Anandi. And a person tries to molest Anandi from which she is very frightened. Anandi also tries to escape by breaking the window and she goes a little far while they find her there and they drag her while her anklets fall off. Jagya reaches a place trying to follow a person who kidnapped her but in that place he finds Anandi's anklets and thinks she is somewhere nearby and reaches the old building, he also finds the room in which Anandi is locked but which is surrounded by guards. He takes a quick drug from a nearby medical shop and mix the drug in their water. They drink water and fall asleep and he goes in the room and sees Anandi. He somehow escapes from them and leave her in their house. Jagya returns without taking credit for bringing back Anandi, though his mother, Sumitra, runs towards him calling out his his name to thank him. He doesn't respond till long because he is lost in Anandi's thoughts and their relation during the quest of finding her. but his mother does not forgive him for his second marriage so he returns depressed.
Reception
The show was a smash hit when it hit the television soaps bandwagon. It immediately got the needed popularity and was appreciated by viewers. It was considered as a path breaking show and it paved the way for many more shows depicting village life and social evils. The story, characters and setup were admired and appreciated by all for authenticity. The series has received highest television ratings among most shows on other Indian television channels. The series has received the "Best Drama Series (Fiction)" award at the Apsara Guild Awards. Baalika Vadhu is now the No. 1 ranked show in India in the month of May/June/July according to trp ratings.Present cast
- Pratyusha BanerjeePratyusha BanerjeePratyusha Banerjee in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand , India. she is an Indian television actress.-Early life and education:An only child, she was born and raised in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand.-Career:...
... Anandi Jagdish Singh(Anandi), Female Protagonist - Shashank Vyas ... Jagdish Singh (Jagya)
- Fahad Ali ... Shravan Male antagonist
- Anjum Farooki ... Dr Gauri (Jagya's Second Wife), Female antagonist
- Surekha SikriSurekha SikriSurekha Sikri or Surekha Sikri Rege is Indian film, theatre and TV actor. She has won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress twice, for her role in Tamas in 1988 and for Mammo in 1995.-Early life and background:...
... Kalyani Devi (Dadisa) - Sachin ShroffSachin ShroffSachin Shroff is an Indian actor.He played Gyan in Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai and Arjun in Naaginn. Other appearances include Sinndoor Tere Naam Ka, Saat Phere, Naam Gum Jayega, Shagun, and Vishwas.-Television:...
... Shyam Madan Singh - Anup SoniAnup SoniAnup Soni, also Anoop Soni, is an Indian film and television actor. He is an alumnus of the National School of Drama.Soni began his career with roles in television serials such as Sea Hawks and Saaya. He then took a break from television to work in films. He appeared in the 2002 films "Kharaashein:...
... Bhairon Dharamveer Singh - Smita BansalSmita BansalSmita Bansal is an Indian Television and film actress. Her most notable roles are in the Zee TV soaps Amanat, Aashirwad and Sarhadein. She has also acted in the 2008 Bollywood film Karzzzz. She is currently acting in the soap Balika Vadhu in Colors TV...
... Sumitra Bhairon Singh - Neha MardaNeha MardaNeha Marda is an Indian television actress, popularly known as Gehna for her role in Balika Vadhu on Colors TV. She is from a Marwari Marda family and was born and brought up in Kolkatta, West Bengal.-TV shows:...
... Gehna Basant Singh - Janvi Chheda ... Sugna Shyam Singh
- Satyajit Sharma ... Basant Mahavir Singh
- Bhairavi Raichura ... Bhagwati Khajaan Singh (Bhago)
- Chetanya Adib ... Khajaan Singh
- Nivedita BhattacharyaNivedita BhattacharyaNivedita Bhattacharya is an Indian actress. She is best known for playing the role of Jiji in the TV soap Saat Phere, which airs on Zee TV and in the serial Kundali. Bhattacharya is married to actor Kay Kay Menon. They both acted in a short film called Last Train to Mahakali directed by Anurag...
... Shivani
Previous Cast
- Avika GorAvika GorAvika Gor is an Indian Television child actor, famous for playing Anandi in the show Balika Vadhu.- Filmography :Avika Gor is an Indian Television child actor, famous for playing Anandi in the show Balika Vadhu.- Filmography :...
... Anandi - Avinash Mukherjee ... Jagdish
- Vibha Anand ... Sugna (Ex)
- Vikrant MasseyVikrant MasseyVikrant Massey is an Indian television actor.-Career:Vikrant Massey is noted for Disney Channel India's Dhoom Machaao Dhoom, Star Plus' Kahaan Hoon Main, and the role of Dharam in NDTV Imagine's Dharam Veer, the last of which garned him a nomination for Indiatelevision.com's 2008 Best New Actor...
... Shyam (Ex) - Sakshi Tanwar ... Teepri
- Farida JalalFarida Jalal- Career :Farida Jalal, a native of New Delhi, started her career in the 1960s, when she won the United Film Producers Talent Hunt sponsored by Filmfare. She usually played the sister or rejected fiancée of the male lead, but almost never the female lead...
... Badi Jiji - Rajendra GuptaRajendra GuptaRajendra Gupta is an Indian film, television and theater actor and director who is best known for his television roles of Pandit Jagarnath in the 1990s Doordarshan fantasy television series Chandrakanta and Sudha's father - Jagat Narayan - in the 1998-2001 Sony TV drama Saaya.An alumnus of the...
... Mahavir Singh - Amar Sharma ... Madan Singh
- Asmita Sharma ... Radha Madan Singh
- Mamta Chaturya ... Phooli
- Surekha SikriSurekha SikriSurekha Sikri or Surekha Sikri Rege is Indian film, theatre and TV actor. She has won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress twice, for her role in Tamas in 1988 and for Mammo in 1995.-Early life and background:...
... Kalyani Devi (Dadisa) - Sachin ShroffSachin ShroffSachin Shroff is an Indian actor.He played Gyan in Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai and Arjun in Naaginn. Other appearances include Sinndoor Tere Naam Ka, Saat Phere, Naam Gum Jayega, Shagun, and Vishwas.-Television:...
... Shyam Madan Singh - Anup SoniAnup SoniAnup Soni, also Anoop Soni, is an Indian film and television actor. He is an alumnus of the National School of Drama.Soni began his career with roles in television serials such as Sea Hawks and Saaya. He then took a break from television to work in films. He appeared in the 2002 films "Kharaashein:...
... Bhairon Dharamveer Singh - Smita BansalSmita BansalSmita Bansal is an Indian Television and film actress. Her most notable roles are in the Zee TV soaps Amanat, Aashirwad and Sarhadein. She has also acted in the 2008 Bollywood film Karzzzz. She is currently acting in the soap Balika Vadhu in Colors TV...
... Sumitra Bhairon Singh - Neha MardaNeha MardaNeha Marda is an Indian television actress, popularly known as Gehna for her role in Balika Vadhu on Colors TV. She is from a Marwari Marda family and was born and brought up in Kolkatta, West Bengal.-TV shows:...
... Gehna Basant Singh - Janvi Chheda ... Sugna Shyam Singh
- Satyajit Sharma ... Basant Mahavir Singh
- Bhairavi Raichura ... Bhagwati Khajaan Singh (Bhago)
- Chetanya Adib ... Khajaan Singh
Controversy
Balika Vadhu took centre stage in the National Politics when members of Janata Dal (United) raised serious objections to the show's content and demanded it be taken off-air. They said the serial was glorifying child marriage and the I&B Ministry should act against it. However, the show never went off-air but started showing slogans at the beginning and at the end depicting the negative effects of child marriageChild marriage
Child marriage and child betrothal customs occur in various times and places, whereby children are given in matrimony - before marriageable age as defined by the commentator and often before puberty. Today such customs are fairly widespread in parts of Africa, Asia, Oceania and South America: in...
.