REVIEW: 'Love Ka Hai Intezaar' is revisiting the CLASSIC love tale with a few HUNCHES!

Love Ka Hai Intezaar

Cast - Sanjeeda Shaikh, Keith Sequiera, Sara Arfeen Khan, Yogendra Tiku, Natasha Rastogi, Soni Razdan among others

Produced By - Alchemy Productions

Seldom do we come across love sagas which are an anomaly and yet eternal in their own sense. In today's age, we witness several makers trying to present several facets and genres from thriller, mystery and neo-noir to comedy and drama. However, it has been a while since we have had the pleasure to witness a true-blue love story which manages to touch your hearts.

In one such attempt Star Plus presents us their latest offering, Love Ka Hai Intezaar which stars Keith Sequeira and Sanjeeda Shaikh in lead roles supported by a strong cast of character artists. Here we analyse and critique on the show's impact, presentation and future..

The Story So Far..

On the busy streets of a city, an old man is on his way to buy some stuff from a street when a rather panicky girl is nagging another woman to stay put and keep herself covered with the scarf in the car. And that woman is none other than Bollywood superstar, Kamini Mathur (Sanjeeda Shaikh). A beautiful, smiling and loving girl who knows the pros and cons of being the superstar she is. Soon, the crowd mobs the car she is in and this means her own father is unable to reach her. Amidst the hustle and bustle, her father is pushed and falls down. Looking at that Kamini is shocked and gets out of the car to help her father. Giving a pep talk to the crowd about how she is a star but is a normal human being too, she goes and rescues her father. Post that, she also acknowledges her fans and poses for several images.

The next few sequences are a pure exhibition on how Kamini is as a person, where she is not only a successful superstar who is enjoying her third consecutive hit film; but also she is a humble, sweet and a really caring person who is concerned about her team and considers her family as the ultimate priority, She also understands the pre-requisities of being at the position she is at and is cautious of the wrong-doings otherwise.

After all the 'goody-goody' stuff, we are introduced to the dark side of being in showbiz, where Mr Suyyash (Khalid Mohammad), an entertainment industry mogul is the epitome of being the 'bad man.' He showcases his evil side when he tries to grope Kamini at a party and mentions about how Bollywood works and if she continues to 'fulfil' his demands, he will get her to the pinnacle of success.

What follows is a tight slap from Kamini, some inspiring words and Kamini walking out of the party. Soon, a furious Suyyash mentions how he will destroy Kamini's career by tarnishing her image. However, Kamini is unfazed by all this and continues to live her life normally.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention on how Kamini has a secret lover' amidst all this. Yes. Time and again, she gets a call from Mr. 'M' and she goes away from everyone to talk with him. Soon, we are introduced to that M, which is none other than Madhav Singh, who is a prince in Rajasthan.

Kamini decides to go to meet him in Rajasthan and what follows is a soulful romantic track and some sweet and romantic sequences between the couple. There is just one hunch amidst all this; like Kamini has kept a secret about Madhav from everyone, Madhav too has not disclosed Kamini as her partner.= to his family.

And we learn about this when Kamini asks Madhav to accompany her to the market and Madhav refuses. The reason is simple- Madhav loves Kamini with all his heart but has a responsibility to fulfil towards the people of the state. So, Madhav even mentioned that if she wants to leave she can leave but, he cannot let go of his responsibilities. However, the duo patch up after this little fight and once again, love prevails.

In a parallel world, Suyyash's publication in on the motive to destroy Kamini's image, where her prime journalist decides to publish a news about her 'SECRET LOVER' without any foolproof evidence. This angers Suyyash as he realizes that the span of such news is baseless and one clarification by Kamini will eradicate everything. He asks her to come up with a better plan and this gets the journalist's mind racking already. Soon, we are introduced to Rahul Pandey, a newbie in Bollywood who had a few scenes with Kamini in her latest hit film. Rahul has visited Suyyash's office, where he meets Miss. I-Can-Do-Anything-For-Success journalist and talks about publicity.

The conversation between Rahul and the journalist is an eye opener for the uninitiated as it exposes the reality of the entertainment industry and predominantly, how media houses work. She strikes a deal with Rahul by faking his name to be Kamini's secret lover which will yield him, publicity and presence. After giving it a thought, Rahul agrees.

Truth time once again, as amidst an intimate scene between Kamini and Madhav, Madhav gets a call from 'Vijaylakshmi' which leads the smile on Kamini's face to wipe away. Why? Because, that lady is none other than Madhav's WIFE.

Woah! Shocking, but true! Another of those preposterous instances, where Madhav was FORCED to marry Vijaylakshmi (Sara Arfeen Khan) back then. There is no love and no connection between the couple and Madhav explains it all to Kamini. A crying and hurt Kamini eventually agrees as she was aware about the same since a long time.

Talking about Vijaylakshmi, her first shot in the show makes you realize she is a manipulative, cunning and ruthless lady who cares about no-one but, herself. She treats everyone in the most pathetic manner especially when it comes to the servants of the house. Her barbarous demeanor is evident when she KILLS a pigeon only because his/her feather falls on her lap while it was flying. Yes! That's right.

Her motives are as cunning as they can get; which include Rajmata (Soni Razdan) being angry after she gets to know about Madhav's truth.

How will Madhav and Kamini unite facing the schemes of Vijaylakshmi and Rajmata's refusal? What happens when Kamini re-enters her showbiz world and faces the news about the affair? Problems only seem to be on the rise for the lovers, but will they have some respite? Only time will tell.

What's Good?

The visual elements in the show are an absolute treat to watch. From the palatial offerings in the show with some impeccable drone camera shots to the sheer elegance of the ambience in Rajasthan, the makers have made it a visual spectacle at numerous instances.

The soundtrack of the show is a winner; be it the occasional background score or the melodious 'Maahi Rang Maahi' track, you will surely begin to hum the song on hearing it.

Till the first two episodes, I had my doubts on the 'realism' of showbiz being presented to a limited extent. However, the conversation between Rahul Pandey and the unethical journalist completely changes my perspective. The talk not only had some eye-opening truth bombs but also exposed the ugliness of not only the entertainment industry but also the media on a whole.

The chemistry between Keith and Sanjeeda is fantastic, where their on-screen love story and turbulences seem believable.

What's Not-So-Good?

While Sanjeeda's performance is impressive without a doubt, her character sketch of Kamini is too good to be true. We do not rule out the possibility of a superstar being a homely and a nice person, but her constantly smiling face and 'I love everyone' attitude is as we said, too good to be true.

The love saga may be believable, but is certainly cliched and monotonous after a point of time. We get how love is ETERNAL, but, a little logic would be appreciated! For example;- when Madhav finds the locket gifted by Kamini's mother amidst a horrific sandstorm and puts it on her neck was almost laughable. Why? A few seconds ago, Madhav mentioned how the sandstorm may be lethal to their lives and the next thing you know, they are getting romantic in the same storm! Logic took a backseat, whereas they could have immediately taken a seat in their car!

The overall saga is far too predictable for a rational viewer. The treatment of the love story and how they are star-crossed lovers is a novel touch, but at the end of the day the gist is something we have seen over the years repeatedly. A boy and a girl belonging to totally different worlds love each other, but has a quintessential vamp, a disapproving mother and fate's change of plans as their hurdles. This line encapsulates the monotony of the saga inspite of the novelty that the show has.

The Performances

Sanjeeda Shaikh as Kamini carries the show on her shoulders throughout the whole time. Looking absolutely beautiful she justifies being a top-notch actress in the show and manages to give an impressive performance. However, she does get over the top at few instances, but I would rather blame the brief given to her to do that.

Keith Sequeira has rarely been a TV face over the years and this is a comparatively new facet for the actor to explore. As Madhav Singh, Keith looks promising courtesy his suave personality, baritone voice and ability to underplay. It would take us little more time to judge his ability in the upcoming highly emotional sequences, but his 5 episode performance doesn't rule out the possibility of doing nothing but impress.

Sara Arfeen Khan as Vijaylakshmi has only had a few scenes so far, but they have been enough to leave a lasting impact. Unlike so many villains, her character is one of those quiet killers, who does the job with her eyes. She is not loud, but her ring of a bell and sharp eyes gets everyone shuddering. Infact, its only ironic that in reality the actress has a pet pigeon at home and she had to perform a scene in the show where she kills one. She does it convincingly.

Yogendra Tiku and Natasha Rastogi as Kamini's parents are absolutely adorable, where they infact give relationship goals to several couples due to their support, love and caring nature in the show. Also, the way they have been portrayed as being parents to a young, beautiful and independent girl, they have already broken several stereotypes there.

It would be too early to comment on veteran actress, Soni Razdan's performance as she literally enters only in the latest episode. However, with her entry itself, she creates a wave and her presence is powering and impactful.

The rest of the supporting cast which includes Khaild Mohammad, the PR team girls, the make-up woman, the newbie actor Rahul Pandey, the unethical female journalist and her student, another unethical male journalist manage to give decent performances.

The Verdict

A classic love saga about star-crossed lovers has not been seen on television for a long time now. The presentation and approach to Love Ka Hai Intezaar is applaudable, but several segments makes you remind that you are watching yet another cliched love story. The biggest challenge that the show faces is about how it will have to remember that quintessential love stories do NOT hold the same acceptance as before. Times have changed and modernization has taken over, where a practical approach is the need of the day. To showcase an eternal love story, the makers will constantly need to be adaptable to change and tweaks. The reality and grittiness of showbiz and media as portrayed couldn't have been more apt and that's what gives the show some brownie points. All in all, a decent watch with some visual treats with some hurdles to be dealt with.

Rating - ** 1/2 (2.5/5)