Balika Vadhu- A surprise attempt. Review on Balika Vadhu

I am writing review in MS after a long gap. I did read all reviews written so far both positive and some negative. For few people this serial may look outdated in this age. But one thing is clear that though India made tremendous progress we cant say all Indians have progressed, now if  there are career oriented women getting married after 35 there are also child marriages happening at some parts of India. So I feel the basic story is not outdated and I take this show in the same way as I took “astitva” some time back. Though I like this serial I certainly find some negative aspects of the show.

First let me talk about the positive side.

What attracts most in the serial is its simple narration. The story is about a  bubbly girl “Anandi” who is married to a young boy and sent to “sasural” at a tender age. It is about her sad state which doesn’t allow her to continue education and her adjustments in the new place which has ppl  who love her n who are strict with her. Apart from Anandi’s plight it is the trouble of the girls who are victims of this tradition also make us sad. When this serial started , my colleague said,  she thought the girl would be married to an old person, she said in that way she was relieved. But her fears come true in the form of Gehna who is considered to have crossed marriageable age though she is in her late teens and married to a person who is double her age. There are also Anadi’s two friends,  one a child widow and another  abandoned due to her illegitimate affair. So the story revolves around all these guls in their teens struggling with their problems.

I don’t go more details into the story. What I like the most about this family drama is its treatment. The story is told in a simple way and there is no bitching or back biting or evil planning, all characters are real including the ones we hate to love “dadisa” n her eldest son “Basant”.

Dadisa is a typical MIL who loves her sons n grand son but treats her Bahus as mere species to be used by their husbands.

Basant is an MCP who cared two hoots for his 1st wife and who wanted a unmarried gul as 2nd wife and ends up marrying a gul whom some think is bride of his nephew.

But the characters who are  a fresh change are Anandi’s in-laws. Who are sensitive but helpless at times.

Fabulous acting by each and every actor and more emphasis on Rajasthani culture and accent is a plus point to the serial.

Coming to the negative aspects

When Anandi gets married, her school teacher tries hard to stop  the marriage. She goes to the extent of bringing magistrate but finally fails to prove it. So it looked like it was a rare case but after wards it is shown that all girls in Anadi’s village and all boys in Jagdishya’s school are married as if it is  a common practice in Rajasthan then how can so many marriages go unnoticed. The director who is very particular about smallest details should have explained it better.

Though I don’t believe that this serial encourages child marriages what I find very alarming is the way the young actors especially Avika Gor who plays Anadi is portrayed by the media. Every news based channel is highlighting her as a balika who uprooted bahus like Tulsi, Parvathi….The pair is put forward as cutest couple, Avika walks ramp so on…. I really hope all this will not portray child marriage as fashionable custom.

Barring these hiccups… I find “Balika Vadhu” watchable. We all belong to one society and  want to know more about the lives of ppl around; their customs and life styles. So in that way the serial is trying to  show the lives of some girls in a sincere way. They may not be correct 100% but that is  acceptable as it is  a serial not a documentary. The family shown is only rich but not modern and also many of us here are taking it as a sincere fiction evolving  few girls who are victims of old custom so it is appealing to us and I don’t think the serial is showing India in poor light or taking India back wards.