It's perhaps for the first time a cultural phenomenon-cum-show like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi is returning with most of its principal characters, spelling a new chapter for both the Indian television and the streaming space.
So, it is only fitting that the first episode of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi season 2, fronted by Smriti Irani's Tulsi Virani, is titled, "A New Chapter For Tulsi".
The much awaited episode, which premiered on Tuesday at 10.30 pm, starts on the morning of Tulsi and Mihir Virani's 38th wedding anniversary.
The pilot of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi season 2 honoured its roots by kickstarting how almost every K-drama, a nickname for every show produced by Ekta Kapoor, would back in the early 2000s. Out of its 30-minute runtime, the initial 1.30 minutes featured a Ganapati idol, marking auspicious beginnings, and lots of archival footage of temples across the country.
What Remains The Same
As the clock struck 10.30 pm, the show's season two arrived in its old slot. This time the title song of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi played not only on Star Plus but also on its sister steamer JioHotstar, keeping up with the new era.
Between the title song playing and the archival temple run, the camera focused on the sacred Tulsi plant being watered by Tulsi Virani herself as a conch echoed in the background.
Very much like the OG Kyunki, which became a rage 25 years ago, the protagonist Tulsi Virani was not made visible to the audience in one go. The viewer first saw her lips reciting the Gayatri Mantra, then her forehead with the bindi and the sindoor in her hair parting. The focus then went to the Tulsi plant as Tulsi explains the many qualities of the sacred symbol.
The moment she says, "Jai Ma Tulsi", the camera pans to reveal Smriti Irani back as Tulsi Virani in flesh and blood. And it was just like the old times.
It seems Smriti Irani never stopped being Tulsi Virani. She has got back into the skin of her iconic character like a fish to water.
In the first episode, the new show honoured Baa, the fan-favourite grandmother of the Virani family played by the late Sudha Shivpuri, with lots of archival footage and a picture with a chandan ka haar.
The moment Tulsi remembers Baa, a marigold flower drops into her puja lota. (Peak Ekta Kapoor soap opera nostalgia)
Also back is Ketki Dave as Daksha Chachi, Tulsi's chatterbox of a cousin saas whose favourite catchphrase is Ara-ra. Daksha Chachi is cued into latest gossip though social media. She follows a popular paparazzi on the Internet called Biral Dayani. No points for guessing who it is.
Sanskars are the same -- the greeting Jai Shree Krishna is back, so is touching feet of the elders. Even the background score is same as 25 years ago -- the sad, the happy, the nostalgic.
Forewarning in a quintessential Ekta Kapoor show in the 2000s was characterised by signs of nature, like windows open suddenly when the wind blows and there's lightning and thunder.
It tickles the viewer when Hemant asks his quite well-dressed mother Gayatri, "Maa, aap taiyyaar nahin hui?" Classic Ekta Kapoor show vibes.
You get all of that, now in HD, in the season 2 of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi.
While the promotional material of the show featured Tulsi using a laptop, the first episode restricts her to the family kitchen overseeing prep for her wedding anniversary celebrations.
While cooking in the kitchen besides her daughter-in-law Nandini (Gauri Pradhan), Tulsi says, "Baa kehti thi, ghar mein maa, bahu, beti agar khana banaye aur khaane ki khushboo poore ghar mein jaye, tabhi ghar ghar jaisa lagta hai." Twenty-five years later, some things could have changed, no?
What's New
The doors of Shanti Niketan, the Virani family mansion, open once again with Tulsi inviting the viewer in. The difference, the house is more lavish, telling the audience that the Virani family has become wealthier with time. During the title song, Tulsi introduces the house helps first, something which previously didn't happen.
Baa is dead and so is Savita, Tulsi's mother-in-law, played by Apara Mehta. But Savita makes an apperance as a glowing spirit to wish Tulsi on her 38th wedding anniversary. Savita, in her trademark big red bindi and dark kohl-rimmed eyes, faux complains to Tulsi that since there are no complaints or khich-khich between them, Tulsi has soiled the saas-bahu relationship.
When Tulsi says, "Aapki bohot yaad aati hain maa", Savita quotes the Kyunki title song, "Ek peedhi aati hai, ek peedhi jaati hai, banti kahani nayi, Kyunki..." And Tulsi, then completes the refrain and the show's name.
During the opening credits song, Tulsi looks into the mirror and caresses the wrinkles on her face, telling both herself and the viewer that it has been many years since we all saw her and the actor Smriti Irani, as her popular character, on screen.
By the end of the title song, the family looks smaller with three new faces Pari, Angad, and Hrithik from the new generation. It doesn't look like the bhara-poora parivaar of the Viranis.
Most of them, including Karan (Hiten Tejwani), Hemant (Shakti Anand), and Gautam, have moved out of Shanti Niketan with their families.
What hit different but the same was the comeback of Amar Upadhyay as the OG Mihir Virani, Tulsi's husband.
This Mihir is as good as the old one. He is now a business tycoon who goes on a morning walk listening to musiic on his bluetooth earbuds and drinks home-made protein shake prepared by his wife.
"You are my best investment," he says to Tulsi when he surprises her with a brand new car as a present on their wedding anniversary.
What follows is the archival footage of Mihir and Tulsi in their heyday, glimpses of their first meeting as adults, their wedding, their first pregnancy with Gautam, Mihir's death scene, to his return at Tulsi's remarriage to Anupam Kapadia, and cut to 38 years later as a couple.
What's Next
Besides Kyunki, kalesh is also back and now her name is Gayatri Chachi, played by Kamalika Guha Thakurta. Gayatri is angry with Mihir and Tulsi for sidelining her son Hemant. She accuses the new-age Ram-Sita of sending other children of the family into vanvaas while the enjoy their raj in this Ayodhya.
Meanwhile, the new kids on the block Pari and Angad get into an argument about being "different" from other children in the house.
It seems like Gayatri Chachi has been tasked with the responsibility of troubling Tulsi in the new season of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi as she hints that the tussle of paidaish versus parvarish will eventually become a cause of concern for the protagonist.
