By Anil Merani: I am impressed by the new ‘Bade Achhe Lagte Hain Naya Season( Sony TV) trope of a richer woman and a poorer man, which inverts the traditional power structure of marriage, where the man consistently earns more.
Social mores are changing, at least in gender-neutral urban corporate settings. Today, Gen Z men are also more woke and ready to accept women in higher positions as partners.
However, the conflict often arises from the weight of societal and family expectations, as well as the persistence of old-fashioned, male-centric thinking.
The woman, too, feels insecure, wondering if she has married a man who is only interested in her wealth, a common perception often referred to as a ‘gold digger’.
From the bad story point of view, it would be fun to see Bhagyasree (Shivangi Joshi) fall in love with her junior, Rishabh (Harshad Mehta), and all the internal office politics, gossip, etc. She will also need to come around to accept him as her man, given her baggage.
It won’t be easy for Risabh, as well as hardcore West Delhi wallah, to accept women who would be the pants in the house.
The family angle will lead to more fireworks as his family will not accept this unequal social equation. Even Bhagyahraee’s folks will not sign on easily, given that she had fibbed to them earlier about her marriage.
Why it might work
This new equation is likely to resonate with many younger working women who don’t want to follow the traditional relationship mantra (where the man is the head of the household). Shivangi is apt to reflect their aspiration as she is a modern Indian girl who knows her roots. Too many Westernized girls will be a turn-off in our TV setting.
The flip side is that women over forty, who are the core GEC audience, might find this alien, having been brought up to have men bring in the bread.
Since Bade is about mature characters, it would be interesting to see how audiences accept Bhagyashree’s past. Will they dwell on it? Ideally, modern women dont mind physical relations before marriage. Wil this be shown or skipped?
I have just one fear: if the numbers don’t come, Ekta might change tack and reduce it to another tearjerker.
Pls, let us know how you feel about the story so far.
