# Kasautii Zindagii Kay (2001 TV series)

Kasautii Zindagii Kay (transl. The Trials of Life) is an Indian Hindi-language romantic drama television series produced by Ekta Kapoor's Balaji Telefilms on StarPlus. The show starred Shweta Tiwari, Cezanne Khan (later replaced by Hiten Tejwani), Ronit Roy and Urvashi Dholakia. The show aired from 29 October 2001 to 28 February 2008.
Kasautii Zindagii Kay explored the story of star-crossed lovers Anurag and Prerna, various stages of their love and life as well as the lives of their children and grandchildren.
Kasautii Zindagii Kay was one of the longest-running Indian television series. The entire series is digitally available on Disney+ Hotstar.

## Plot

Anurag and Prerna fall in love with each other, only for fate to time and again separate them. Komolika and Rishabh Bajaj are vital catalysts in the story. Over a span of eighty years in the show, the story revolves around Anurag, Prerna, and their children Prem, Sneha, and eventually progressing to their grandchildren.

### Chapters

| Chapter No. | Episodes | Chapter description |
| Chapter 1 | 1 - 26 | Anurag Basu and Prerna Sharma are in love. Mohini, Anurag's mother, wants him to marry Komolika. |
| Chapter 2 | 27 – 67 | Anurag marries Komolika due to his mother's emotional blackmail; Prerna is pregnant with his child. |
| Chapter 3 | 67 – 108 | Moloy recovers from coma and learns about Anurag and Komolika's marriage. |
| Chapter 4 | 109 – 164 | Komolika and Anurag divorce. |
| Chapter 5 | 165 – 210 | Prerna marries Rishabh Bajaj to protect the assets of Basu family. |
| Chapter 6 | 211 – 276 | Bajaj's wife Menka poses problems for Bajaj as they are not divorced yet. |
| Chapter 7 | 277 – 330 | Bajaj disappears after his accident. Prerna and Anurag get engaged and married happily. |
| Chapter 8 | 331 – 374 | Bajaj creates problems in Anurag and Prerna's paradise. He clicked intimate photos with Prerna in Pune by making her unconscious, later he used these photos to blackmail her with the help of Mr. Patel, who was also involved in Prem's kidnapping. |
| Chapter 9 | 375 – 402 | Prerna and Anurag's son Prem is abducted, due to the irresponsible behaviour of Prerna, who forgot to pick up Prem from school . Prerna had ignored her responsibility towards Prem many times before, because of Kuki, Bajaj's daughter. Prem dies. |
| Chapter 10 | 403 – 441 | Anurag and Prerna's marriage fell apart due to misunderstandings and Prem's death. Anurag marries Aparna, leaving pregnant Prerna alone for her misdeed. |
| Chapter 11 | 442 – 472 | Prerna is mad at Anurag and moves to Panchmeshwar with her daughter, Sneha. |
| Chapter 12 | 473 – 511 | After eight years, Sneha visits Anurag's house. Due to the pressurised situation, Prerna unwillingly decides to engage with Bajaj. |
| Chapter 13 | 512 – 572 | Sneha is diagnosed with leukaemia. Anurag and Prerna become closer due to Sneha's illness and have another child named Prem Jr. Bajaj realizes that Prerna only loves Anurag. |
| Chapter 14 | 573 – 623 | Aparna's plot to murder Anurag. |
| Chapter 15 | 624 – 646 | Prerna is accused of Aparna's murder. |
| Chapter 16 | 647 – 685 | Anurag does not show interest in getting back with Prerna, so she decides to marry Bajaj. Madhavi reveals her pregnancy, but Bajaj refuses to accept Madhavi as well as his unborn child. |
| Chapter 17 | 686 – 757 | Generation Leap: Shravan avenges his mother Aparna's death. |
| Chapter 18 | 758 – 781 | Anurag, Prerna and Bajaj meet with a fatal accident. Prerna suffers from amnesia; she only remembers her marriage with Anurag. After she regains her memory, she accuses Anurag of conspiracy, but she realizes her mistakes and apologizes to Anurag. |
| Chapter 19 | 782 – 833 | Bajaj's past comes out. Tanisha is Bajaj's child with Madhavi, whom he refused to accept so he could marry Prerna. |
| Chapter 20 | 834 – 873 | Yudi is actually Prem Jr. |
| Chapter 21 | 874 – 928 | Yudi's transformation. Prerna takes charge to change Prem. |
| Chapter 22 | 929 – 993 | Mukti and Yudi grow closer. Sharad assaults Mukti. |
| Chapter 23 | 994 – 1022 | An attempt to take Prerna's life. |
| Chapter 24 | 1023 – 1048 | Anurag marries Sampada. Prerna takes the blame for Sneha's offence and goes to jail. |
| Chapter 25 | 1049 – 1069 | After five years: Anurag and Sampada are living happily and have taken Prem and Sneha's responsibility. Bajaj destroys his business and leaves his family to suffer alone. He cut all relations with his family after finding out that Prerna can't love anyone but Anurag. Meanwhile, Anurag provides shelter to Bajaj's family. Prerna returns from jail. |
| Chapter 26 | 1070 – 1101 | Prem is shattered by Mukti's death. |
| Chapter 27 | 1102 – 1163 | Prem is taken to Panchameshwar for treatment. |
| Chapter 28 | 1164 – 1202 | Aparna's attempt to murder Prerna. |
| Chapter 29 | 1203 – 1250 | Kasak falsely frames Shravan for her condition and manipulates Bajaj against Shravan. Bajaj vows to destroy Shravan. Prerna shoots Anurag. |
| Chapter 30 | 1251 – 1300 | Twenty years later, Prerna's granddaughter Prerna (P2) is the protagonist. Anurag returns as Pratham Mittal. |
| Chapter 31 | 1301 – 1358 | Sampada confesses her crime. Prerna apologises to Anurag. Anurag exposes Bajaj that he is still alive. |
| Chapter 32 | 1359 – 1394 | Anurag exposes Komolika's plan. |
| Chapter 33 | 1395 – 1423 | Komolika points the gun at Anurag, but Prerna takes the bullet to save Anurag. However, both Anurag and Prerna die in each other's arms. Komolika falls off the cliff and dies. Prerna and Anurag unite in death. Prem writes a book: Kasautii Zindagii Kay on Anurag and Prerna's life. Mr. Bajaj is left alone forever and the two true love birds unite after death. |

## Cast
### Main

* Shweta Tiwari as Prerna Sharma – Rajesh and Veena's eldest daughter; Shekhar, Shivani, Mitali and Mahesh's sister; Anurag's wife; Rishabh's contractual ex-wife; Prem, Sneha, Jr. Prem and Kasak's mother (2001–2008)
* Cezanne Khan / Hiten Tejwani as Anurag Basu – Moloy and Mohini's son; Nivedita, Rakhi and Tapur's brother; Prerna's husband, Komolika,Aparna and Sampada's ex-husband; Prem, Sneha and Jr. Prem's father; Shravan's adoptive father (2001–2007) / (2007–2008)
* Urvashi Dholakia as Komolika Basu (née Majumdar) – Uma's daughter; Subrato's wife; Anurag and Akash's ex-wife; Prem and Shravan's foster mother (2001–2008)
* Ronit Roy as Rishabh Bajaj – Mahesh's brother; Menka's widower; Prerna's ex-contractual husband; Vishakha, Tushar, Kukki, Tanisha and Kasak's father; Sneha's adoptive father (2002–2008)

### Recurring

* Deepak Qazir as Moloy Basu – Pranay and Sanjay's brother; Mohini's husband; Rakhi, Nivedita, Anurag and Tapur's father; Prem, Diya, Sneha and Jr. Prem's grandfather (2001–2005) (deceased)
* Kannu Gill as Mohini Basu – Moloy's wife; Rakhi, Nivedita, Anurag and Tapur's mother; Prem, Diya, Sneha and Jr. Prem's grandmother; Sharavan's adoptive grandmother (2001–2008)
* Yatin Karyekar as Pranay Basu – Moloy and Sanjay's brother; Yamini's husband; Subroto, Anirudh and Kajol's father (2001–2003)
* Niyati Joshi as Yamini Basu – Pranay's wife; Subroto, Anirudh and Kajol's mother (2001–2006)
* Naveen Saini as Sanjay Basu – Moloy and Pranay's brother; Geeta's husband; Samay and Shulabh's father (2001–2005)
* Monica Pradhan / Jayati Bhatia as Geeta Basu – Sanjay's wife; Samay and Shulabh's mother (2001–2006)
* Poonam Narula / Smita Bansal as Nivedita Basu Sengupta – Moloy and Mohini's second daughter; Rakhi, Anurag and Tapur's sister; Anupam's wife (2001–2003)/(2006)
* Prachi Thakker as Rakhi Basu Sengupta – Moloy and Mohini's eldest daughter; Nivedita, Anurag and Tapur's sister; Praveen's wife; Diya's mother (2001–2007)
* Aparna Jaywant as Tapur Basu – Moloy and Mohini's youngest daughter; Anurag, Nivedita and Rakhi's sister (2001–2003)
* Manish Goel / Hiten Paintal as Anupam Sengupta – Chaini's second son; Praveen and Indraneel's brother; Nivedita's husband (2001–2003) / (2006)
* Manav Gohil / Tarun Khanna as Praveen Sengupta – Chaini's eldest son; Anupam and Indraneel's brother; Rakhi's husband; Diya's father (2001–2004)
* Ankur Nayyar / Pracheen Chauhan / Prem Agarwal / Vishal Puri / Aashish Kaul as Subroto Basu – Pranay and Yamini's elder son; Anirudh and Kajol's brother; Shivani's ex-husband; Komolika's widower (2001–2006)
* Tasneem Sheikh / Prerna Shah as Kajol Basu Sharma – Pranay and Yamini's daughter; Anirudh and Subroto's sister; Mahesh's wife (2001–2003)
* Rushad Rana as Anirudh Basu – Pranay and Yamini's younger son; Subroto and Kajol's brother (2001–2002)
* Hitesh Kriplani as Samay Basu – Sanjay and Geeta's elder son; Shulabh's brother (2001–2005)
* Om Bhanushali as Shulabh Basu – Sanjay and Geeta's younger son; Samay's brother (2001–2005)
* Nandita Thakur as Veena Sharma – Rajesh's wife; Shekhar, Prerna, Shivani, Mitali and Mahesh's mother; (2001–2008)
* Manoj Pandey as Shekhar Sharma – Rajesh and Veena's elder son; Prerna, Shivani, Mitali and Mahesh's brother; Suman's husband (2001–2004)
* Kusumit Sana as Shivani Sharma – Rajesh and Veena's second daughter; Prerna, Shekhar, Mitali and Mahesh's sister; Subroto's former wife (2001–2003)
* Kishwer Merchant as Mitali Sharma – Rajesh and Veena's youngest daughter; Prerna, Shekhar, Shivani and Mahesh's sister (2001–2004)
* Shivani Gosain as Suman Sharma – Shekhar's wife (2001–2004)
* Mahesh Pandey as Mahesh Sharma – Rajesh and Veena's younger son; Prerna, Shekhar, Shivani, and Mitali's brother; Kajol's husband (2001–2004)
* Anand Suryavanshi / Vivek Mushran / Nasir Khan as Vineet Khanna – Anurag's business partner and best friend; Madhavi's husband; Tanisha's adoptive father (2001–2006)
* Sonal Sehgal / Vaishnavi Mahant as Advocate Madhavi Bose Khanna – Menka's sister; Vineet's wife; Tanisha's mother (2004–2006)
* Poonam Joshi as Jyoti – Prerna's best friend (2001–2002)/(2003–2004)
* Sikandar Kharbanda as Indraneel Sengupta – Chaini's youngest son; Anupam and Praveen's brother; Komolika's spy (2002–2008)
* Himani Shivpuri as Chaini Sengupta – Praveen, Anupam and Indraneel's mother (2002–2003)
* Mini Ribeiro as Uma Majumdar – Komolika's mother (2001–2002)
* Prashant Bhatt as Akash Dasgupta – Komolika's former husband (2002)
* Ruby Bhatia as Menka Bose – Madhavi's sister; Rishabh's ex-wife; Tushar, Vishakha and Kukki's mother (2002–2003) (Dead)
* Vishal Sabnani as Tushar Bajaj – Rishabh and Menka's son; Prerna's adopted son; Vishakha and Kukki's brother; Tanisha and Kasak's half-brother; Doris's husband; Tara, Jwala, Gargi and Kanishta's father (2002–2008)
* Suzanne Bernert as Doris Bajaj – Tushar's wife; Tara, Jwala, Gargi and Kanishta's mother (2006–2008)
* Tarana Raja / Preeti Puri / Amita Chandekar as Vishakha Bajaj – Rishabh and Menka's elder daughter; Tushar and Kukki's sister; Tanisha and Kasak's half-sister; Tanvi's mother (2002–2007)
* Mansi Parekh / Garima Bhatnagar as Kokila 'Kukki' Bajaj – Rishabh and Menka's younger daughter; Tushar and Vishakha's sister; Tanisha and Kasak's half-sister; Tanvi's adoptive mother (2004–2007)
** Swapnali Kulkarni as Child Kokila "Kukki" Bajaj (2002–2003)
* Geetanjali Tikekar as Aparna Ghosh – Anurag's ex-wife; Shravan's mother; Kritika's grandmother (2003–2007)
* Yash Tonk as Debo – Anurag's friend; Aparna's ex-husband; Shravan's father; Kritika's grandfather (2004)
* Unknown as Prem Basu – Anurag and Prerna's elder son; Sneha and Jr. Prem's brother; Kasak's half-brother (2002–2003) (Dead)
* Jennifer Winget as Sneha Basu Gill – Anurag and Prerna's daughter; Bajaj's adopted daughter; Prem and Jr. Prem's sister; Kasak's half-sister; Sharad's ex-wife; Omi's wife; Jr. Prerna's mother (2005–2007)
** Shriya Sharma as Child Sneha Basu (2004–2005)
* Shabbir Ahluwalia as Omi Gill – Sneha's second husband; Jr. Prerna's father (2006–2007)
* Moonmoon Banerjee as Sampada Basu – Anurag's wife (2005–2007)
* Karanvir Bohra / Vikas Sethi as Yudi / Jr. Prem Basu – Anurag and Prerna's younger son; Prem and Sneha's brother; Kasak's half-brother; Devki's husband; Palchin's widow; Dhara and Rudraksh's father (2005–2008)
* Tina Parekh as
** Mukti Deshmukh – Jeevan's daughter; Jr. Prem's love interest (2005–2006) (Dead)
** Devki Basu – Mukti's lookalike; Jr. Prem's second wife; Rudraksh's mother (2006–2008)
* Shubhangi Atre / Monika Singh / Shriya Bisht as Palchin Verma Basu – Jr. Prem's ex-wife; Dhara's mother (2007–2008)
* Kratika Sengar Dheer as Jr. Prerna "P2" Gill Garewal – Sneha and Omi's daughter; Saksham's love interest; Nihal's wife (2007–2008)
* Naman Shaw as Nihal Garewal – Devyana's younger son; Vardaan's brother; Jr. Prerna's husband (2007–2008)
* Wasna Ahmed as Dhara Basu Garewal – Jr. Prem and Palchin's daughter; Rudraksh's half-sister; Vardaan's wife (2007–2008)
* Mridul Sanghvi as Vardaan Garewal – Devyana's elder son; Nihal's brother; Dhara's husband (2007–2008)
* Deepak Bajaj as Rudraksh Basu – Jr. Prem and Devki's son; Dhara's half-brother (2007–2008)
* Rakshanda Khan as Advocate Dorasti – Lawyer (2005)
* Amar Upadhyay / Sanjeet Bedi as Advocate Mahesh Bajaj – Rishabh's brother; Yuvraj's father (2005–2007)
* Sanjay Batra as Jeevan Deshmukh - Bajaj family's driver and Mukti's father (2005–2006)
* Tuhina Vohra as Devyana Garewal - Nihal's mother (2007–2008)
* Karan Singh Grover as Sharad Gupta - Sneha's ex-husband (2005–2006)
* Ravi Jhankal as Mr. Verma - Palchin's father (2007)
* Pratap Sachdev as Mr. Gupta - Bajaj's friend (2003–2006)
* Anju Mahendru as Kamini Gupta - Sharad's mother (2005–2006)
* Amit Singh Thakur as Shailendra Gupta - Sharad's father (2005–2006)
* Karan Patel as Karan (2005–2006)
* Sai Deodhar as Debonita - Komolika's niece (2006)
* Jitendra Trehan as Baba - Sampada's father (2006–2007)
* Lucky Raajput as Lucky - Yudi's friend (2006)
* Navneet Nishan as Anahita Gill - Omi's aunt (2006–2007)
* Ankita Bhargava Patel as Shipra - Omi's girlfriend (2006)
* Sunny Nijar as Saksham - Jr. Prerna's love interest (2007) (Dead)
* Jatin Shah as Yuvraj Bajaj - Mahesh and Nandini's son (2006) (Dead)
* Prachi Desai as Prachi Chauhan - Gurukul's student (2007)
* Sandeep Baswana as Dr. Jatin - Devki's doctor (2007)
* Barkha Bisht as Diya Sengupta – Rakhi and Praveen's daughter; Prem, Sneha and Jr. Prem's cousin (2005)
* Abhinav Kapoor / Pradeep Kharab / Puneet Sachdev as Shravan Basu – Aparna and Debo's son; Anurag's adoptive son; Tanisha's husband; Kritika's father (2005–2007)
** Chintan Shah as Child Shravan Basu
* Shubha Verma as Tanisha Khanna Basu – Rishab and Madhvi's daughter; Vinit's adoptive daughter; Vishaka, Tushar, Kukki and Kasak's half-sister; Shravan's wife; Kritika's mother (2005–2007)
* Gazala Selmin as Kritika Basu – Sharavan and Tanisha's daughter (2007–2008)
* Surveen Chawla / Parineeta Seth as Kasak Bajaj – Prerna and Rishab's daughter; Vishakha, Tushar, Kukki, Tanisha, Prem, Sneha and Jr. Prem's half-sister; Shravan's ex-fiancée; Kritika's surrogate mother (2005–2006) / (2007) (Dead)
* Nidhi Uttam as Tara Bajaj – Tushar and Doris' eldest daughter; Jwala, Gargi and Kanishtha's sister (2007–2008)
* Praneeta Sahu as Jwala Bajaj – Tushar and Doris' second daughter; Tara, Gargi and Kanishtha's sister (2007–2008)
* Sreejita De as Gargi Bajaj – Tushar and Doris' third daughter; Tara, Jwala and Kanishtha's sister (2007–2008)
* Rudrakshi Shetty as Kanishtha Bajaj – Tushar and Doris' youngest daughter; Tara, Jwala and Gargi's sister (2007–2008)
* Shriya Parekh as Taanvi Bajaj - Visakha and Aditya's daughter; Kukki's adopted daughter (2007–2008)

### Special appearances

| Jeetendra | at completion of 1000 episodes |
| Tushar Kapoor | at completion of 1000 episodes |
| Ekta Kapoor | at completion of 1000 episodes |
| Shobha Kapoor | at completion of 1000 episodes |
| Kajol | guest appearance for condolence of Prem's death |
| Smriti Irani | guest appearance for condolence of Prem's death |
| Sakshi Tanwar | guest appearance for condolence of Prem's death |
| Mouli Ganguly | guest appearance for condolence of Prem's death |
| Juhi Parmar | cameo to promote Kumkum - Ek Pyara Sa Bandhan and as a guest appearance for condolence of Prem's death |
| Aamna Sharif | cameo to promote Kahiin to Hoga |
| Anita Hassanandani | cameo to promote Kkavyanjali |
| Eijaz Khan | cameo to promote Kkavyanjali |
| Prachi Desai | cameo |
| Pallavi Subhash | cameo to promote Karam Apnaa Apnaa |
| Mohammed Iqbal Khan | cameo to promote Karam Apnaa Apnaa |
| Jay Bhanushali | cameo to promote Kayamath |
| Panchi Bora | cameo to promote Kayamath |
| Sara Khan | cameo to promote Sapna Babul Ka...Bidaai |
| Parul Chauhan | cameo to promote Sapna Babul Ka...Bidaai |
| Arjun Bijlani | cameo to promote Miley Jab Hum Tum |
| Sanaya Irani | cameo to promote Miley Jab Hum Tum |
| Harshad Chopda | cameo to promote Kis Desh Mein Hai Meraa Dil |
| Additi Gupta | cameo to promote Kis Desh Mein Hai Meraa Dil |

## Production
### Development

Ekta Kapoor stated that Anurag was named after her director friend, while Prerna was named after the daughter of her father's friend, actor Prem Chopra.
The series was primarily filmed on sets at Killick Nixon Studio, set number 7B in Mumbai.
In early 2003, a sequence was shot in Australia.
In October 2003, the series had a crossover episode with Des Mein Niklla Hoga Chand, adding a unique twist to the storyline.
In 2005, several episodes of the series (Episode 708 to Episode 721) were filmed in Singapore and Malaysia, adding an international flavor to the narrative due to the show's popularity in those countries.
In 2007, Cezanne Khan, who portrayed Anurag, was replaced by Hiten Tejwani in the series.

### Cancellation

In November 2007, it was confirmed that Kasautii Zindagii Kay would go off-air in January 2008. However, the series eventually ended on 28 February 2008. Speaking about the conclusion of the show, Kapoor stated, "I won't deny that the TRPs of Kasautii Zindagii Kay had gone down quite a bit and moreover, I didn't have a story to tell."

## Reboot series

A reboot of the show, also titled Kasautii Zindagii Kay, aired on StarPlus from 25 September 2018 to 3 October 2020. However, unlike the original series, the reboot did not sustain the expected ratings. This reboot was also remade in the Kannada language on Star Suvarna, titled Premloka.

## Reception
### Critics

Rediff.com praised the show, stating, "One nice thing about Kasautii Zindagii Kay is that all characters in the serial are very strong. Be it the protagonists or antagonists, every character stands on firm ground."

### Ratings

Kasautii Zindagii Kay became the third-longest-running and top-rated Hindi GEC (General Entertainment Channel) series after Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii—all three produced by Balaji Telefilms. The show recorded one of the highest TRPs, contributing to StarPlus maintaining its top position in the ratings.
The series started with an average rating of 4.44, which grew in subsequent years, achieving average TRPs of 7.51 in 2002, 8.83 in 2003, and 9.14 in 2004. By 18 November 2003, Kasautii garnered a 9.9 TVR, placing it in third position. The crossover episode with Des Mein Niklla Hoga Chand in October 2003 further boosted its ratings, garnering over 14+ TVR.
In 2005, the show maintained its third position with a 10.93 TVR, but in the following year, it saw a slight drop to 8.78 TVR, though it retained its ranking.
By the second week of January 2007, the show continued to hold third place, albeit with a reduced rating of 5.6 TVR.
Despite being one of the top-rated Indian television series and maintaining its position among the top 10 programs until 2008, Kasautii dropped to eleventh position in January 2008, after which it was soon cancelled.

## Soundtrack

The Kasautii Zindagii Kay soundtrack has recorded more than hundred tracks during its airing from 2001 to 2008 and won several awards. The tracks include versions of Bollywood hit songs Kya Pyaar Karoge Mujhse, Ajeeb Dastan Hai Yeh, Hum Bewafa Hargiz Na Thay, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Jiyen To Jiyen Kaisy and Do Ajnabi Kidar Ja Rahy Hain.