9 se 10

It's after a long while that fingers willingly turn to the button that denotes Sony on the remote control.Starting last Monday, the channel has launched (and vigorously promoted) its all new 9 to 10 block, and for once, the effort seems to have paid off.

Unlike its chest thumping relaunch of the Shukravaar effort, which has been a damp squib for all practical purposes.

But 9 se 10 in its first week at least, has been engaging, intriguing and appealing. Ace director Lekh Tandon's return to the small screen after a long gap should be worth the wait. The story of Rusty, a pucca

Londener who's plagued by feelings of being connected to India, and her eventual return to her roots, has all the ingredients of strong soap. The lather's just catching on. The first week's depiction of her life in London has been fair enough, although elements like Rusty's obvioulsy blonde wig and her contrived Brit accent jar on the nerves at times.

What holds one to the plot is the heart tugging, often just slipping out of the fingers recollections she has of her motherland, and her effort to try and understand their meaning. The supporting cast, made up to look like Brits, seem to try too hard to act like Brits too. The ensuing weeks, with the entry of veterans like Kanwaljeet entering the plot now, the story should pick up pace. But kudos to Indian television

for venturing out of the ordinary and experimenting with an offbeat theme. Perhaps it is filmmaker Tandon's experience with the canvas of the larger screen that has prompted him to wield similar strokes on television.

The latter half of 9 se 10 is no experimentation, but is enough to give loyal fans of the long dead Ek Mahal Ho Sapano Ka, reason to rejoice. For all practical

purposes, Thodi Khushi Thode Gham, is a sequel to Ek Mahal...with the patriarch replaced. But while Ek Mahal... dealt lovingly with the issues of each son and sibling lovingly, TKTG, one suspects will dwell more lovingly with protagonist Sneha and the changes she brings into the strongly patriarchal household.

Shobhna Desai doesn't have the talents of Aatish Kapadia and Vipul Shah, who made Ek Mahal... what it was in the 1990s, but her writers are making a competent job of creating characters that are believable, lovable. The actors, most of whom have been culled from the Ek Mahal... lot are veteran theatre people, to whom acting comes easy. But they could go easy on the Gujju accent...the telly is threatening to be flooded with the Ba, Bahoo, Baby kind of failies, which expect the viewer to understand the relationships between the Phai-ba and the Moti-ben with relative ease!

Of course, as realistic as Shobhna Desai may have tried to get, her bahus continue to be bedecked even in the kitchen, and made up even when they sit down for an afternoon of gossip. Though of course, she hasn't paid much attention to the one thing that was loved by millions about Ek Mahal... - its title track!

With a promising afternoon band in its kitty, Sony seems to have thought out its post Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin strategy well. Later, too, we hear, will be the one hour daily late night slots that will herald even stronger programming.

If this is to be year of Sony's resurgence, 9 se 10 has set the pace well for it. We can't give it a complete 1o out of 10, but yes, 9 of 10 should fit quite well.