As finally curtains fall on the show which we've been tracking for almost ten months now, I am sure none of us would have imagined that we would actually be waiting for the show to end when we first started watching it. This, in a sense, implies that there were certain elements which we really liked & some others which we hated. These are the two categories which I seek to highlight briefly in this topic (my concluding post on IF). I concede I have been quite inactive on this forum for the past several weeks, but I assure the reader that I have been watching the show quite regularly & therefore I may be permitted to attempt this analysis! :-)
THE HIGHS: What Kept Us Hooked
1) The Genre: The PHs/CVs deserve the credit for choosing and believing in the concept. The 'supernatural' was always there on Indian TV but five-days-a-week & 'drama with a supernatural thrill' was a new venture. Most of us, I guess, started watching because of the freshnes in the genre.
2) The Acting: Simran as the "chudail/aatma/Chandralekha" was mesmerising. Mudit as the "playful Punjabi lad/Chudail's innocent victim" was brilliant & Annie as the "chirpy friend/caring wife/possessed human" was adorable.
3) The Script & Screenplay Before The Revamp: The content & narration before the revamp were fascinating & intriguing and were very successful in maintaining the suspense, thrill and anticipation - all this without stretching the plot or adding unnnecessary side tracks.
4) The Background Music: This may sound a bit biased. But, I sincerely felt the guitar tunes, the background themes, etc all beautifully complimented the narration & trajectory of the story!
THE LOWS: What We Totally Disliked
1) The Revamp: Uprooted the well-established characters, storyline & suspense all of a sudden. Took the viewers for granted and in a huge way ruined a majority of the effort that was put in until then. I have to say the show couldnt recover from this fatal revamp.
2) The Repetitive Tale: All was not lost until the CVs decided to recycle the story with new faces and names. Surely, Shivani Surve deserved a far better script for her character. But, presenting the same old tale sounded the death-knell for the show, alienated & frustrated more viewers & finally we began waiting for the show to end.
3) The Shaitan/Patalika/Chandal/Shalaka, etc. : I personally felt that Anamika acting alone in all her ventures to woo Jeet was much more captivating & enthralling than the addition of these poorly conceived characters. Not attaching Anamika to the powers of the Shaitan or Patal/Patalika would have also kept her character grey rather than totally negative. This would have made it easier for the viewer to connect with Anamika's feelings and objectives and would have also made the screenplay much much more interesting & intriguing.
4) The Regularity of Blunders: After the revamp, it became hard to believe that the same people were working on the script & characterisation as earlier. The blatant inconsistencies, the howling blunders & the complete disregard for details sealed the fate of the show.
5) The Really Bad Post Revamp Script: The ills of the revamp could have been cured had there been fresh ideas, strongly written characters, new screenplay & a completely different perspective to the story after the revamp. But instead, the 'marriage-hurry', 'the blood sucking', 'the weakly written black magic tricks', 'the directionless story' - all added up as the last few nails in the coffin of the show!
This then, was my tribute/concluding observation/epilogue to the show which I have been sincerely following over the past several months. I have tried to keep out all my biases & likes & dislikes, but some may still have creeped in! I am not claiming to speak for all of us, but atleast some of us!
Please feel free to comment, criticise & add your own highs/lows to this analysis - one last time. This list is by no means exhaustive. Its just a bird eye's view of the journey of this show. Thank You for reading this & all my previous posts!
Thanks a lot!
Adieu!