Kasautii Zindagii Kay (2001 TV series)

Indian Hindi-language television series

Kasautii Zindagii Kay (transl. The Trials of Life) is an Indian Hindi-language romantic drama television series produced by Ekta Kapoor's Balaji Telefilms on StarPlus.^[3][4] The show starred Shweta Tiwari, Cezzane Khan (later replaced by Hiten Tejwani), Ronit Roy and Urvashi Dholakia.^[5] The show aired from 29 October 2001 to 28 February 2008.

Kasautii Zindagii Kay explored the story of star-crossed lovers Anurag and Prerna, various stages of their love and life as well as the lives of their children and grandchildren.

Kasautii Zindagii Kay was one of the longest-running Indian television series. The entire series is digitally available on Disney+ Hotstar.

Plot

Spanning over multiple decades, the narrative revolves around Anurag, Prerna, and their children, Prem and Sneha, eventually progressing to focus on their grandchildren. Throughout the series, themes of love, betrayal, and sacrifice dominate the evolving relationships across generations.

Chapters

Cast

Main

• Shweta Tiwari as Prerna Bajaj (née Sharma) – Rajesh and Veena's eldest daughter; Shekhar, Shivani, Mitali and Mahesh's sister; Anurag's ex-wife; Rishabh's wife; Prem, Sneha, Jr. Prem and Kasak's mother (2001–2008)
• Cezanne Khan / Hiten Tejwani as Anurag Basu – Moloy and Mohini's son; Nivedita, Rakhi and Tapur's brother; Komolika, Prerna and Aparna's ex-husband; Sampada's husband; Prem, Sneha and Jr. Prem's father; Shravan's adoptive father (2001–2007) / (2007–2008)
• Urvashi Dholakia as Komolika Basu (née Majumdar) – Uma's daughter; Subrato's wife; Anurag and Akash's ex-wife; Prem and Shravan's foster mother (2001–2008)
• Ronit Roy as Rishabh Bajaj – Mahesh's brother; Menka's widower; Prerna's husband; Vishakha, Tushar, Kukki, Tanisha and Kasak's father; Sneha's adoptive father (2002–2008)

Recurring

• Deepak Qazir as Moloy Basu – Pranay and Sanjay's brother; Mohini's husband; Rakhi, Nivedita, Anurag and Tapur's father; Prem, Diya, Sneha and Jr Prem's grandfather (2001–2005) (deceased)
• Kannu Gill as Mohini Basu – Moloy's wife; Rakhi, Nivedita, Anurag and Tapur's mother; Prem, Diya, Sneha and Jr. Prem's grandmother; Sharavan's adoptive grandmother (2001–2008)
• Yatin Karyekar as Pranay Basu – Moloy and Sanjay's brother; Yamini's husband; Subroto, Anirudh and Kajol's father (2001–2003)
• Niyati Joshi as Yamini Basu – Pranay's wife; Subroto, Anirudh and Kajol's mother (2001–2006)
• Naveen Saini as Sanjay Basu – Moloy and Pranay's brother; Geeta's husband; Samay and Shulabh's father (2001–2005)
• Monica Pradhan / Jayati Bhatia as Geeta Basu – Sanjay's wife; Samay and Shulabh's mother (2001–2006)
• Poonam Narula / Smita Bansal as Nivedita Basu Sengupta – Moloy and Mohini's second daughter; Rakhi, Anurag and Tapur's sister; Anupam's wife (2001–2003)/(2006)
• Prachi Thakker as Rakhi Basu Sengupta – Moloy and Mohini's eldest daughter; Nivedita, Anurag and Tapur's sister; Praveen's wife; Diya's mother (2001–2007)
• Aparna Jaywant as Tapur Basu – Moloy and Mohini's youngest daughter; Anurag, Nivedita and Rakhi's sister (2001–2003)
• Manish Goel / Hiten Paintal as Anupam Sengupta – Chaini's second son; Praveen and Indraneel's brother; Nivedita's husband (2001–2003) / (2006)
• Manav Gohil / Tarun Khanna as Praveen Sengupta – Chaini's eldest son; Anupam and Indraneel's brother; Rakhi's husband; Diya's father (2001–2004)
• Ankur Nayyar / Pracheen Chauhan / Prem Agarwal / Vishal Puri / Aashish Kaul as Subroto Basu – Pranay and Yamini's elder son; Anirudh and Kajol's brother; Shivani's ex-husband; Komolika's widower (2001–2006)
• Tasneem Sheikh / Prerna Shah as Kajol Basu Sharma – Pranay and Yamini's daughter; Anirudh and Subroto's sister; Mahesh's wife (2001–2003)
• Rushad Rana as Anirudh Basu – Pranay and Yamini's younger son; Subroto and Kajol's brother (2001–2002)
• Hitesh Kriplani as Samay Basu – Sanjay and Geeta's elder son; Shulabh's brother (2001–2005)
• Om Bhanushali as Shulabh Basu – Sanjay and Geeta's younger son; Samay's brother (2001–2005)
• Nandita Thakur as Veena Sharma – Rajesh's wife; Shekhar, Prerna, Shivani, Mitali and Mahesh's mother; (2001–2008)
• Manoj Pandey as Shekhar Sharma – Rajesh and Veena's elder son; Prerna, Shivani, Mitali and Mahesh's brother; Suman's husband (2001–2004)
• Kusumit Sana as Shivani Sharma – Rajesh and Veena's second daughter; Prerna, Shekhar, Mitali and Mahesh's sister; Subroto's former wife (2001–2003)
• Kishwer Merchant as Mitali Sharma – Rajesh and Veena's youngest daughter; Prerna, Shekhar, Shivani and Mahesh's sister (2001–2004)
• Shivani Gosain as Suman Sharma – Shekhar's wife (2001–2004)
• Mahesh Pandey as Mahesh Sharma – Rajesh and Veena's younger son; Prerna, Shekhar, Shivani, and Mitali's brother; Kajol's husband (2001–2004)
• Anand Suryavanshi / Vivek Mushran / Nasir Khan as Vineet Khanna – Anurag's business partner and best friend; Madhavi's husband; Tanisha's adoptive father (2001–2006)
• Sonal Sehgal / Vaishnavi Mahant as Advocate Madhavi Bose Khanna – Menaka's sister; Vineet's wife; Tanisha's mother (2004–2006)
• Poonam Joshi as Jyoti – Prerna's best friend (2001–2002)/(2003–2004)
• Sikandar Kharbanda as Indraneel Sengupta – Chaini's youngest son; Anupam and Praveen's brother; Komolika's spy (2002–2008)
• Himani Shivpuri as Chaini Sengupta – Praveen, Anupam and Indraneel's mother; (2002–2003)
• Mini Ribeiro as Uma Majumdar – Komolika's mother (2001–2002)
• Prashant Bhatt as Akash Dasgupta – Komolika's former husband (2002)
• Ruby Bhatia as Menaka Bose – Madhavi's sister; Rishabh's-wife; Tushar, Vishakha and Kukki's mother; (2002–2003) (Dead)
• Vishal Sabnani as Tushar Bajaj – Rishabh and Menaka's son; Prerna's adopted son; Vishakha and Kukki's brother; Tanisha and Kasak's half-brother; Doris's husband; Tara, Jwala, Gargi and Kanishta's father (2002–2008)
• Suzanne Bernert as Doris Bajaj – Tushar's wife; Tara, Jwala, Gargi and Kanishta's mother (2006–2008)
• Tarana Raja / Preeti Puri / Amita Chandekar as Vishakha Bajaj – Rishabh and Menaka's elder daughter; Tushar and Kukki's sister; Tanisha and Kasak's half-sister; Tanvi's mother (2002–2007)
• Mansi Parekh / Garima Bhatnagar as Kokila 'Kukki' Bajaj – Rishabh and Menaka's younger daughter; Tushar and Vishakha's sister; Tanisha and Kasak's half-sister; Tanvi's adoptive mother (2004–2007)
  • Swapnali Kulkarni as Child Kokila "Kukki" Bajaj (2002–2003)
• Geetanjali Tikekar as Aparna Ghosh – Anurag's ex-wife; Shravan's mother; Kritika's grandmother (2003–2007)
• Yash Tonk as Debo – Anurag's friend; Aparna's ex-husband; Shravan's father; Kritika's grandfather (2004)
• Unknown as Prem Basu – Anurag and Prerna's elder son; Sneha and Jr. Prem's brother; Kasak's half-brother (2002–2003) (Dead)
• Jennifer Winget as Sneha Basu Gill – Anurag and Prerna's daughter; Bajaj's adopted daughter; Prem and Jr. Prem's sister; Kasak's half-sister; Sharad's ex-wife; Omi's wife; Jr. Prerna's mother (2005–2007)
  • Shriya Sharma as Child Sneha Basu (2004–2005)
• Shabbir Ahluwalia as Omi Gill – Sneha's second husband; Jr. Prerna's father (2006–2007)
• Moonmoon Banerjee as Sampada Basu – Anurag's wife (2005–2007)
• Karanvir Bohra / Vikas Sethi as Jr. Prem Basu – Anurag and Prerna's younger son; Prem and Sneha's brother; Kasak's half-brother; Devki's husband; Palchin's widow; Dhara and Rudraksh's father (2005–2008)
• Tina Parekh as
  • Mukti Deshmukh – Jeevan's daughter; Jr. Prem's love interest (2005–2006) (Dead)
  • Devki Basu – Mukti's lookalike; Jr. Prem's second wife; Rudraksh's mother (2006–2008)
• Shubhangi Atre / Monika Singh / Shriya Bisht as Palchin Verma Basu – Jr. Prem's ex-wife; Dhara's mother (2007–2008)
• Kratika Sengar Dheer as Jr. Prerna "P2" Gill Garewal – Sneha and Omi's daughter; Saksham's love interest; Nihal's wife (2007–2008)
• Naman Shaw as Nihal Garewal – Devyana's younger son; Vardaan's brother; Jr. Prerna's husband (2007–2008)
• Wasna Ahmed as Dhara Basu Garewal – Jr. Prem and Palchin's daughter; Rudraksh's half-sister; Vardaan's wife (2007–2008)
• Mridul Sanghvi as Vardaan Garewal – Devyana's elder son; Nihal's brother; Dhara's husband (2007–2008)
• Deepak Bajaj as Rudraksh Basu – Jr. Prem and Devki's son; Dhara's half-brother (2007–2008)
• Rakshanda Khan as Advocate Dorasti – Lawyer (2005)
• Amar Upadhyay / Sanjeet Bedi as Advocate Mahesh Bajaj – Rishabh's brother; Yuvraj's father (2005–2007)
• Sanjay Batra as Jeevan Deshmukh - Bajaj family's driver and Mukti's father (2005–2006)
• Tuhina Vohra as Devyana Garewal - Nihal's mother (2007–2008)
• Karan Singh Grover as Sharad Gupta - Sneha's ex-husband (2005–2006)
• Ravi Jhankal as Mr. Verma - Palchin's father (2007)
• Pratap Sachdev as Mr. Gupta - Bajaj's friend (2003–2006)
• Anju Mahendru as Kamini Gupta - Sharad's mother (2005–2006)
• Amit Singh Thakur as Shailendra Gupta - Sharad's father (2005–2006)
• Karan Patel as Karan (2005–2006)
• Sai Deodhar as Debonita - Komolika's niece (2006)
• Jitendra Trehan as Baba - Sampada's father (2006–2007)
• Lucky Raajput as Lucky - Yudi's friend (2006)
• Navneet Nishan as Anahita Gill - Omi's aunt (2006–2007)
• Ankita Bhargava Patel as Shipra - Omi's girlfriend (2006)
• Sunny Nijar as Saksham - Jr. Prerna's love interest (2007) (Dead)
• Jatin Shah as Yuvraj Bajaj - Mahesh and Nandini's son (2006) (Dead)
• Prachi Desai as Prachi Chauhan - Gurukul's student (2007)
• Sandeep Baswana as Dr. Jatin - Devki's doctor (2007)
• Barkha Bisht as Diya Sengupta – Rakhi and Praveen's daughter; Prem, Sneha and Jr. Prem's cousin (2005)
• Abhinav Kapoor / Pradeep Kharab / Puneet Sachdev as Shravan Basu – Aparna and Debo's son; Anurag's adoptive son; Tanisha's husband; Kritika's father (2005–2007)
  • Chintan Shah as Child Shravan Basu
• Shubha Verma as Tanisha Khanna Basu – Rishab and Madhvi's daughter; Vinit's adoptive daughter; Vishaka, Tushar and Kukki's half-sister; Shravan's wife; Kritika's mother (2005–2007)
• Gazala Selmin as Kritika Basu – Sharavan and Tanisha's daughter (2007–2008)
• Surveen Chawla / Parineeta Seth as Kasak Bajaj – Prerna and Rishab's daughter; Vishakha, Tushar, Kukki, Tanisha, Prem, Sneha and Jr. Prem's half-sister; Shravan's ex-fiancée; Kritika's surrogate mother (2005–2006) / (2007) (Dead)
• Nidhi Uttam as Tara Bajaj – Tushar and Doris' eldest daughter; Jwala, Gargi and Kanishtha's sister (2007–2008)
• Praneeta Sahu as Jwala Bajaj – Tushar and Doris' second daughter; Tara, Gargi and Kanishtha's sister (2007–2008)
• Sreejita De as Gargi Bajaj – Tushar and Doris' third daughter; Tara, Jwala and Kanishtha's sister (2007–2008)
• Rudrakshi Shetty as Kanishtha Bajaj – Tushar and Doris' youngest daughter; Tara, Jwala and Gargi's sister (2007–2008)
• Shriya Parekh as Taanvi Bajaj - Visakha and Aditya's daughter; Kukki's adopted daughter (2007–2008)

Special appearances

Production

Development

Ekta Kapoor stated that Anurag was named after her director friend, while Prerna was named after the daughter of her father's friend, actor Prem Chopra.^[6]

The series was primarily filmed on sets at Killick Nixon Studio, set number 7B in Mumbai.^[7]

In early 2003, a sequence was shot in Australia.^[8]

In October 2003, the series had a crossover episode with Des Mein Niklla Hoga Chand, adding a unique twist to the storyline.^[9][10]

In 2005, several episodes of the series (Episode 708 to Episode 721) were filmed in Singapore and Malaysia, adding an international flavor to the narrative.

In 2007, Cezanne Khan, who portrayed Anurag, was replaced by Hiten Tejwani in the series.^[11]

Cancellation

In November 2007, it was confirmed that Kasautii Zindagii Kay would go off-air in January 2008.^[12] However, the series eventually ended on 28 February 2008. Speaking about the conclusion of the show, Kapoor stated, "I won't deny that the TRPs of Kasautii Zindagii Kay had gone down quite a bit and moreover, I didn't have a story to tell."^[13]

Reboot series

A reboot of the show, also titled Kasautii Zindagii Kay, aired on StarPlus from 25 September 2018 to 3 October 2020. However, unlike the original series, the reboot did not sustain the expected ratings.^[14][15] This reboot was also remade in the Kannada language on Star Suvarna, titled Premloka.^[16]

Reception

Critics

Rediff.com praised the show, stating, "One nice thing about Kasautii Zindagii Kay is that all characters in the serial are very strong. Be it the protagonists or antagonists, every character stands on firm ground."^[17]

Ratings

Kasautii Zindagii Kay became the third-longest-running and top-rated Hindi GEC (General Entertainment Channel) series after Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii—all three produced by Balaji Telefilms.^[18][19] The show recorded one of the highest TRPs, contributing to StarPlus maintaining its top position in the ratings.^{[20][21][22][23]}

The series started with an average rating of 4.44, which grew in subsequent years, achieving average TRPs of 7.51 in 2002, 8.83 in 2003, and 9.14 in 2004.^[24] By 18 November 2003, Kasautii garnered a 9.9 TVR, placing it in third position.^[25] The crossover episode with Des Mein Niklla Hoga Chand in October 2003 further boosted its ratings, garnering over 14+ TVR.^[26]

In 2005, the show maintained its third position with a 10.93 TVR, but in the following year, it saw a slight drop to 8.78 TVR, though it retained its ranking.^[27]

By the second week of January 2007, the show continued to hold third place, albeit with a reduced rating of 5.6 TVR.^[28][29]

Despite being one of the top-rated Indian television series and maintaining its position among the top 10 programs until 2008, Kasautii dropped to eleventh position in January 2008, after which it was soon cancelled.^[30]

Awards

Soundtrack

The Kasautii Zindagii Kay soundtrack has recorded more than hundred tracks during its airing from 2001 to 2008 and won several awards. The tracks include versions of Bollywood hit songs Kya Pyaar Karoge Mujhse,^[31] Ajeeb Dastan Hai Yeh,^[32] Hum Bewafa Hargiz Na Thay,^[33] Kal Ho Naa Ho, Jiyen To Jiyen Kaisy^[34] and Do Ajnabi Kidar Ja Rahy Hain.

Original serial versions

References

1. ""If you restrict the story to the main characters, the viewer enjoys it more": Ravindra Gautam". Indian Television dot com.
2. "Ekta Kapoor shares how Kasautii Zindagii Kay and Kutumb 'busted the rating charts' 18 years ago". The Times of India. 30 October 2019.
3. "Kasautii Zindagi Kay TV basti". tvbasti.com. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
4. "Kasautii Zindagi Kay Episodes". briyanshu.blogspot.com. Archived from the original on 7 June 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
5. "Audiences are used to seeing characters dying and coming back". tellychakkar.com. Archived from the original on 13 December 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
6. "Ekta Kapoor on Kasautii Zindagii Kay 2: I am nervous as whenever my shows are too hyped, they usually don't work". The Times of India. 24 September 2018.
7. "Kutte kya mean hai". Mumbai Mirror.
8. "'Kyunki...' storyline moving to Australia". Indian Television dot com. Archived from the original on 8 January 2009.
9. "Star Plus to marry 'Kasauti' and 'Des Mein' in special show". Indian Television dot com.
10. "Two 'K 'serials to overlap today". Hindustan Times.
11. "Kasauti Zindagi Kay 2: After playing Anurag, Hiten Tejwani to play Mr Bajaj? Here's the truth". India Today.
12. "Finally... the 'Kasautii' ends!". Daily News and Analysis.
13. "It's their loss if they don't understand the power of Balaji". Mumbai Mirror.
14. "Erica Fernandes begins shooting for Kasautii Zindagii Kay promo". The Times of India. 9 July 2018. Archived from the original on 13 August 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
15. "Kasautii Zindagii Kay wraps up on October 3". Mumbai Mirror.
16. "Vijay Suriya's 'Premaloka' to premiere on July 22 - Times of India". The Times of India. 8 July 2019. Archived from the original on 20 July 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
17. "Do soap stars watch their own shows?". Rediff.com.
18. "The rise and rise of Ekta Kapoor". India Today. 17 August 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
19. "Ekta Kapoor gets nostalgic as Kasauti Zindagi Kay 2 premiere nears, thanks Shweta Tiwari, Cezanne Khan and Urvashi Dholakia". India Today. 23 September 2018.
20. "Crorepati Gone, Star To Slug It Out For 9-10 Pm Money". Business Standard.
21. "'Des Mein' ousts 'Kyunki..' & 'Kahaani..' from No. 1 position". Indiantelevision.org. 19 May 2003. Archived from the original on 29 October 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
22. "STAR's airtime rates up 20% for prime time spots". The Economic Times. 29 August 2002.
23. "Star Plus Six It's Break; Zee Improvide: Hindi JC Study". Indian Television dot com.
24. "A case study on how the 3 most celebrated shows retained their premier position over four years..." Indian Television. Archived from the original on 5 January 2020.
25. Nagaraj, Sudha (6 December 2003). "Jassi jaisi koi nahin, but uski TRP thik nahin". The Economic Times.
26. "Adding to the content". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020.
27. "TELEVISION 2006 Reality ruled the roost". The Tribune (India). Archived from the original on 25 March 2021.
28. "Zee closes in on Star Plus top spot". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021.
29. "Sonys prime time TRPs plummet". The Financial Express. 29 June 2007.
30. "Dramatic twist in long-running Star-Balaji soap". Live Mint.
31. "Kya Pyaar Karoge Mujhse (Dil Mera Pooch Raha Hai) - Kasauti Zindagi Kay - All Versions". youtube.com. Retrieved 8 January 2015.^{[dead YouTube link]}
32. "Kasauti Zindagi Kay | Anurag & Prerna | Ajeeb Dastan Hai Yeh All Versions JUKE BOX". youtube.com. Retrieved 8 January 2015.^{[dead YouTube link]}
33. "Kasauti zindagi ki (hum bewafaa hargish na the)". youtube.com. Retrieved 8 January 2015.^{[dead YouTube link]}
34. "Jiyen To Jiyen kaise [Kasauti-Zindagi-ki] [Serial]". youtube.com. Retrieved 8 January 2015.^{[dead YouTube link]}

External links

• Kasautii Zindagii Kay at IMDb
• Kasautii Zindagii Kay on Hotstar
• Kasautii Zindagii Kay at the Wayback Machine (archived 10 March 2010) (Star TV)