# Balika Vadhu (TV Series)

Balika Vadhu (transl. The Child Bride) is an Indian soap opera that airs on Colors TV. The story is set in rural Rajasthan and revolves around child marriage, a social evil still prevalent in some parts of India.

## Cast

* Avika Gor as Anandi (As a child, the main protagonist)
* Pratyusha Banerjee as Anandi (As an adult)
* Avinash Mukherjee as Jagdish (As a child)
* Shashank Vyas as Jagdish (As an adult)
* Surekha Sikri as Kalyani
* Neha Marda as Gehna
* Anup Soni as Bhairon
* Satyajit Sharma as Basant
* Smita Bansal as Sumitra
* Sakshi Tanwar as Teepri
* Bhairavi Raichura as Bhagawati
* Veebha Anand and Janvi Chheda as Suguna
* Vikrant Massey and Sachin Shroff as Shyam
* Chetanya Adib as Khajan Singh
* Rajendra Gupta as Mahavir Singh
* Amar Sharma as Madan Singh
* Asmita Sharma as Radha
* Farida Jalal as Badi Jiji
* Mamta Chaturya as Poolie
* Sadiya Siddiqui as Sandhya
* Anjum Farookhi as Gauri

## Plot

The show is set in rural Rajasthan and portrays, among other prevailing social ills, the social evilof child marriage. It features Anandi, married at age 10 to Jagdish, the only grandson of Kalyani Devi. Kalyani Devi is a strict conservative matriarch of a traditional Rajasthani family. She has two sons, Bhairon and Basant. Basant, the elder son, is a widower. Gehna, the daughter of two parents heavily in debt to Kalyani Devi, is forcibly married to him. Initially, there are many differences between the couple due to the age gap and incompatibility but they have a son named Nandu. Bhairon, the second son, is married to Sumitra and has two children, Jagdish and Suguna. Suguna, also a child bride, has her husband Pratap dead suddenly and is made to follow the hard life of a widow at the tender age of 16. She later marries Shyam in the face of much social opposition. Suguna's in-laws, Radha and Madan Singh initially do not accept her but later realise their mistake. Anandi's parents, Bhagawati and Khajan Singh earn their living by farming. However, they often face problems but are always helped by Bhairon. Mahavir Singh is Kalyani's elder brother-in-law who harbours a grudge against her and tries making life hell for her family. However, he later realises his mistake and goes to jail as a punishment. He is actually Basant's real father but Kalyani raised him at her dead sister-in-law's asking. Teepri is a childhood friend of Bhairon and Basant. She is madly in love with Bhairon and tries to break the entire family. However, it is revealed that Teepri has a mental problem and she is taken away to be treated. The show thus throws light on the social evil of child marriage and the ostracising of widows and widowers prevalent in some of the rural parts of India through the various travails of its characters. Anandi and Jagdish got separated when Anandi turned 13. Anandi went to her village and stayed with Bhagawati as her father, Khajan Singh was sent to jail for selling fake ghee. He realised his mistake and wanted to repent for his crimes.
On July 22, 2010 the show took a five-year leap. Anandi and Jagdish are grown-up and are replaced by new actors. Bhagawati is re-united with Khajan Singh, now a good man. Anandi returns to Jagdish's house but she will have to face Kalyani who has become more tyrannical than ever. There are also problems between Basant and Gehna. Gehna rebels against Kalyani's wrongdoings and gets punished by her because of this. Shyam's uncle, Ramacharan purposely injures Suguna's son Varun and he is unable to walk. However, he gets exposed and is thrown out of his haveli by Madan Singh, his younger brother. Mahavir Singh, now a reformed man returns to Kalyani's haveli. Jagdish decides to become a doctor. Kalyani disapproves of his decision and forces him not to go. However, Anandi helps him escape. This infuriates Kalyani who declares that there is no relationship between her and Anandi much to everyone's shock. Jagdish faces ragging as a serious problem in his new college. He must fight his seniors with the help of Gauri - a new friend of his at college. They become increasingly close. Meanwhile, Anandi's best friend Phooli has become extremely lonely. She was widowed at a very young age and is therefore ostricised. She craves for a life partner which leads her to write love letters to herself. The villagers believe that she is disgracing them by dating a boy and she is told never to leave her house again. Kalyani forbids Anandi to ever meet her again. Anandi agrees to these terms though she does not believe that Phooli can do such a thing. Because of how clever Gauri is, Jagdish taunts Anandi because she left her studies at a young age and therfore is very ignorant. This hurts Anandi a lot. Anandi meets her former teacher Sandhya who is saddened by how Anandi gave up her studies. She tells Anandi that she has realised that child marriage is a sin and that she is trying her best to stop it. Sandhya tells Anandi that she wanted her help but realises that Anandi is too weak. Anandi begins to realise her mistake. Now, she saves her friend Gulli from what she had to got through which made her what she is now. She also proves that Phoolie is innocent. Sandhya is extremely proud of Anandi. Anandi continues working for the betterment of society. Meanwhile, Jagdish and Gauri keep getting closer to each other. This soon turns into passionate love. Anandi discovers this on a trip to Mumbai, where Jagdish tells her that they both live in two different worlds and greatly insults her. He also introduces her as a distant relative to his friends. Anandi decides that she is going to resume her studies which she had given up due to Kalyani's disapproval. Her decision is supported by Bhairon and Sandhya. However, once more, Anandi will have to face Kalyani as an obstacle to reach her goal. Anandi exposes how Jagdish pretends that he is from a rich family in Jaipur, and that his status is single. Everyone is heartbroken, but they forgive him. The story progresses four years ahead. The distance between Jagdish and Anandi has increased. He is now madly in love with Gauri, who is actually the girl whom he was nearly married to by Kalyani. Jagdish and Gauri become doctors. He comes to Jetsar for a visit, where everyone discovers how he has forgotten his values and respect for elders. He wants to settle down in Mumbai, far away from his family. This deeply upsets Bhairon, and Kalyani. He also insults Shyam, who tries to persuade him to stay back. This prompts Suguna to slap him. Even though Gehna and Basant reprimand him for being rude to Shyam, he remains indifferent. He then heads to Jaipur, where he plans to meet Gauri to Mumbai for his higher studies. Meanwhile, Bhagawati and Khajan Singh come to know of Jagdish's intentions. Bhagawati says that it is Anandi's duty to accompany Jagdish to Mumbai, and stay with him. However, Anandi says that she does not want to go to Mumbai with Jagdish, and is happy where she is with her family.

## Reception

The show was a smash hit when it hit the television soaps bandwagon. It immediately got the needed popularity and was appreciated by viewers. It was considered as a path breaking show and it paved the way for many more shows depicting village life and social evils. The story, characters, setup were admired and appreciated by all for authenticity. The series has received highest television ratings among most shows on other Indian television channels. The series has received the "Best Drama Series (Fiction)" award at the Apsara Guild Awards.

## Controversy

Balika Vadhu took centre stage in the National Politics when members of Janata Dal (United) raised serious objections to the show's content and demanded it be taken off-air. They said the serial was glorifying child marriage and the I&B Ministry should act against it. However, the show never went off-air but started showing slogans at the beginning and at the end depicting the negative effects of child marriage.