Curtains for Rabba Ishq

Aroona Irani has been told to pack up Rabba Ishq Na Hove (starring Varun Badola, and Sangeeta Ghosh) by April 18, which will be its last date of telecast. Despite Irani's lavish treatment, the show seemed jinxed from Day One.

Why it failed

Scheduled to telecast on July 19 last year, RINH was delayed by a week because of the July 26 deluge.

Says a source, "Most people did not see the first few episodes. The first episode was re-run for Mumbaikars, who did not have power supply in their homes on that day (the July 26 episode was re-telecast on August 2).

But that week, even people from other parts of the country were interested only in Mumbai news. By the time people caught up with RINH, it was too late; the story had progressed.

Plus, Zee slotted it wrongly, pitting it against Star Plus's Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii (10 pm), which has a constant, faithful viewership. By the time it was shifted to 8.30 pm, the damage was done. Zee hardly marketed RINH, despite Irani shooting lavishly in Singapore and Dubai."

While Irani was unavailable for comment, Nandita Mehra who earlier directed Irani's Mehendi Tere Naam Ki (Zee) confirmed that RINH had poor ratings. "The show never got good TRPs. That's the reason why we going off," she said.

According to the director, the end will not be abrupt. "It's not going to be a end which will prop up unexplained questions. We are happy that Zee was professional enough to give us a notice of more than 45 days."