Come home to ‘Maayka’

Mix a gregarious Punjabi household with some heart-tugging emotions, all centered on the age-old theme of a girl’s lifelong bond with her maternal home and the result is ‘Maayka—Zindagi Bhar Ka Safar’ the latest show on Zee. The show has gone on air this week.

The show could well bring back the memories of ‘Amaanat’ (Zee), the Punjab-flavoured 1990s show that had its own bevy of daughters carving their destinies under the benign shadow of their father.

Plot pointers

Curiously, ‘Maayka’ casts Sudhir Pandey (the patriarch, Lahori Ram in ‘Amaanat’) as the father yet again. Only, this time, he will be accompanied by actor Nandita Puri who plays an indulgent mother to the couple’s three daughters, all of whom have their own distinct personalities.

Sudhir speak

Sudhir, for whom the show brings back memories of ‘Amaanat’, however, says that his character Brij Mohan Malhotra is quite different from Lahori Ram, although the Punjabi essence recurs. “This time, I have a wife and that adds a lot of emotional depth!” he says.

Girlie group

Actor Neha Bamb, who disappeared after ‘Kaisa Ye Pyar Hai’, resurfaces as Maahi, the youngest daughter, a romantic and a chatterbox. The other two sisters are newcomers Aarti Singh and Urmila Kanitkar. Incidentally, Aarti, who plays Soni, has signed up for a Telugu film, and Urmila, who plays Raaji on the show, is an established Marathi soap actor. She has already won an award for her role in a Marathi film ‘Savli’. “I am barely sleeping for five hours a day, and I am used to sleeping 12 hours!” groans Aarti. But she adds that the unit shares a good bonding.

Tale watch

The show will move from the impending marriage of the eldest daughter to the travails of the others, and the bonds that tie the married daughter to her parents’ home. “Mine is a sweet character, and yes, there are bound to be a few teary-eyed scenes,” laughs Urmila.

“It’s now up to the audience to decide if ‘Maayka’, the channel’s first daily soap of the year, touches a chord again with the viewers,” says Ashwini Yardi (Zee programming head).