Agar Tum Saath Ho Review: Sincere In Effort, Lacking In Performance
Show Title: Agar Tum Saath Ho
Channel: Zee Zindagi
Timings: Monday to Saturday 7 pm
Agar Tum Saath Ho is one of the four new shows launched by Zee Zindagi on 3rd October 2016. The show is about a rich brat named Neema who goes against her father and marries a middle-class boy that she loves. Her over-protective father disapproves of her choice and does everything he can to separate the couple.
Agar Tum Saath Ho (2016)
Episode 1
We see a typical university campus with students loitering around. A boy is shown running towards the building. In the background, we hear a girl complaining about something happening in the college. Students have gathered outside the college Director’s office. The boy asks a random guy what is happening inside the office. The guy tells him that Tina has officially complained against Shekhar for harassment and Neema is creating a big scene out of it. The boy looks frustrated and buzzes Neema’s father and tells him that Neema is unnecessarily getting involved in someone else’s problem. Neema’s father looks annoyed and leaves immediately for her college. In the Director’s office, we see that Neema (Ritu Barmecha) is trying to convince the Director that Shekhar is innocent and Tina is falsely accusing him of sexual harassment. The Director greets Neema’s father, Mr Bharadwaj and asks him to take a seat and tells him that Neema has been creating a ruckus over two student’s fight. Before he can say anything Neema tells her father not to interfere in her matters and asks him to leave and he obliges (Such an obedient father!). Neema and her father return home in the same car.
At home, Neema’s sister, Reema (Huh! Good choice of names for the two sisters) welcomes Darshi bua (maternal aunt) who has come to stay with them for a few days.
Neema’s father is glaring at her but she looks least bothered by it. He scolds her for interfering in others matters. He tells her that by helping others she is only creating more problems for herself and that if she ever faces any problem in the future no one will come to help her.
On arriving home, Neema too is delighted to see Darshi bua and hugs her tightly. Mr Bharadwaj asks her reason for her sudden uninformed visit to which she says that a guest is supposed to be welcomed with hugs and smiles and not queries. Mr Bharadwaj tells her that he could not welcome her with a smile because of Neema’s frequent complaints of misconduct. Neema gets into an argument with her father and stalks away to her room. Darshi bua tells Mr Bharadwaj not worry and that she will try speaking with her. Darshi bua listens to Neema’s side of the story and tells her that though her intentions are good but her way of doing things is wrong. She explains that sexual harassment is a sensitive issue and that if she wants to support the boy in this case then she will have to use some tact in doing so. Neema tells bua that she will not leave Shekhar’s side and will even risk getting suspended for him.
Neema goes to her parent’s room and apologises to her father for her rude behaviour. She says that despite their difference of opinion she loves him a lot and that she knows he loves her too. Mr Bharadwaj melts at his daughter’s apology and asks for a hug. He tells her that everyone in this world is selfish including him. For him, his family matters the most and he can go to any extent to protect them.
Shekhar calls Neema to thank her for being a true friend and supporting him. She corrects him saying that she isn’t helping him because they are friends but because she believes that he hasn’t done anything wrong and is being framed by a cunning girl.
Next morning, Neema visits the Gurudwara (place of worship for the Sikhs) and sweeps the floor of the Gurudwara (voluntary service) lost in deep thought, contemplating over something. As Neema gets in her car, an autorickshaw stops right in front of her car blocking her way. She shouts at the rickshaw driver to get out of her way but he is busy arguing with his passenger (Hitesh Bharadwaj). Neema steps out of her car and hears the passenger accusing the rickshaw driver of cheating him. She reprimands the driver for cheating. The furious driver asks the passenger if he is still interested in going with him. The irritated passenger tells him that he does not want to go in his rickshaw again and looks at Neema who is rolling her eyes at the rickshaw driver.
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First Episode First Impression
The show looks like an old Doordarshan serial because of the production quality. However, the show’s theme is interesting so it was bearable. The first episode was entirely about character building and it was neatly done. After the first episode, I know why Neema is rebellious and why her father tries to control her. The show looks like a decent watch for now.
What looked nice?
The plot is interesting. Neema leaves her affluent family to marry a regular middle-class boy. Not a new concept but then her father intervenes and tries to make her leave her husband and take her back with him. This struggle of a girl coping with her new life while keeping her over-bearing father at bay seems engaging to me. Neema looks like a strong-headed girl and it will be interesting to see if she gives in to her father’s pressure tactics or sticks by Ravi.
What did not look nice?
I wasn’t fully impressed by the show’s lead, Ritu Barmecha. For me, she came across as annoying than gutsy. Neema is a brat with a moral compass inside her conscience. However, Ritu’s portrayal of Neema looked very forced. She appeared trying too hard to look the part. I hope her acting improves as the show progresses. Another thing I disliked about the show was the preachy father. I do not like preachy characters at all and after the first episode, I can only hope for Neema’s father to stop telling Neema what is right and wrong. I understand that her father is overprotective and preaching is a part of his character sketch but for me it is vexing. Why would I want to watch a dad giving life lessons to his daughter on a daily basis?
I appreciate Zee Zindagi’s initiative of promoting good Indian shows and though I wasn’t very impressed by the first episode of Agar Tum Saath Ho, I would definitely give the show another try.
You can watch the show online here.
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