TV Show Review | Sanskaar: The show inculcates family values; Rated 3 Stars

Colors may have brought the curtains down on their popular reality show Bigg Boss recently but have replaced the show by another equally family oriented new serial in the fiction genre which is sure to continue to keep  families glued to their television sets . Their new offering Sanskaar - Dharohar Apno Ki premiered on January 14, 2013 at  9:00 pm.

The show focuses on a lovely, warm, close-knit Gujarati joint family who live in the town of Keshavgadh. The show deals about the family culture of Gujaratis , their lifestyle and the emotional bonding among the various members of the family.

A trend observed of late in the television industry  is that most shows are seen to be venturing abroad for their shoots. Sanskaar….. Dharohar Apno Ki too follows in their footsteps and  most of the serial has been shot abroad viz. in the US being the main plot of the story.

Sanskaar… Dharohar Apnon Ki is a tale of a small town boy, Jaikishan Vaishnav (Jay Soni) who is a brilliant and bright student. He  holds a Textile Engineering degree and gets an offer to work 

in the US with a fashion magazine with a good remuneration . His close friend excited about the development brings him the good news about his US offer but for the family oriented and cultured Jaikishan news of this offer does not hold much interest . He believes that the educated young generation of today should not waste their talents by going abroad but utilize their knowledge for the betterment of their own country. He on the contrary wishes  to go and meet his family in Keshavgadh , Gujarat. Thus the story begins with the viewer taken on a journey across Gujarat and its various cultures.

His close knit family eagerly await his arrival. They have just reopened the Vaishnav Handloom Mills after a closure of nine months since the death of his grandfather.  Celebrations ensue with a lot of excitement among the locals there. Jaikishan wishes to fulfil his grand father's dream and his  dharohar (heritage) is his most prized possession. This particular episode dwells on the reception arranged for Jaikishan and the preparations which are in full swing to greet him back in his home town. But  the episode ends on a sad note when the mill catches fire and the sabotage has been carefully planned by miscreants to ruin the family.

The show brings together an ensemble cast that includes veteran actors from films, theatre and television like Aruna Irani, Sonali Sachdev, Rasik Dave, Avinash Mukherjee, Supriya Shukla to name a few along with Swapna Waghmare Joshi who also makes her debut as an actor with this role.

A very vibrant lively and colorful offering against the backdrop of Gujarat made interesting viewing. The sets were grand and beautiful depicting a palatial mansion where the loving members of joint family live. The direction and photography too was excellent and at certain points it almost seemed like an advertisement on Gujarat tourism.

With veteran actors in the serial, acting, dialogues and performances  were impressive with a lot of Gujarati dialogues thrown in. There is plenty of emotional drama especially in connection with the Vishnav Handloom Mills which the patriarch of the family who is no more had nurtured for his family. Aruna Irani portrays a different role this time as the soft spoken head ‘Ba’ of the family who helps to cement the bond among her family members. The exuberant Jay Soni with his boyish countenance too was good in his role as Jaikishan .

It was a pleasant change from most soaps seen on television today. The saying that ‘the family that prays together stays together’ is applicable here with the Vaishnav family too . Infact the show ended with a melodious song/bhajan sung by the members of the family, a trend visible of late in several serials where they seem to be more on the lines of a musical than a regular drama.

It is a show for the entire family which inculcates family values and also portrays patriotic fervour of which a glaring absence is noticed in today’s generation.

Adgully gives this truly family oriented show 3 out of 5 stars.