Kumkum Bhagya

Kumkum Bhagya(transl.Vermillion in My Fate) is an IndianHindi-language drama television series produced byEkta KapoorunderBalaji Telefilms.It premiered on 15 April 2014 onZee TVand digitally streams onZEE5.It formerly starredSriti Jha,Shabir Ahluwalia,Mugdha Chaphekar, Krishna Kaul, Rachi Sharma andAbrar Qazi. Since February 2025, it starsPranali Rathodand Akshay Bindra as the fourth generation leads. One of thelongest running Indian television soap opera, the concept of the show was originally based onJane Austen's novelSense and Sensibility.
The series is alove storyproduced byEkta KapoorandShobha Kapoorunder the bannerBalaji Telefilmsthat airs on Zee TV. Ekta Kapoor considers the letterKto be lucky and has named many of her productions starting withK.Talking about introducing a fresh concept on prime time, Zee TV Programming head Namit Sharma said, "It takes one epic show to replace another, so you can imagine. It is a passionate drama of love, a far cry from regular saas-bahu soaps and has an ensemble cast of some very talented actors."
Ekta Kapoor added, "While two of my shows (Pavitra RishtaandJodha Akbar) are already on-air and doing immensely well onZee TV, it's a pleasure to extend my partnership with Zee to a third show.Pavitra Rishtahas had a run of over five years now and the journey has been most gratifying for me as a producer. While the audiences who are hooked on toPavitra Rishtawill continue to enjoy the show at 6:30 PM,Kumkum Bhagyawill open at 9 PM, drawing maximum eyeballs. It is so contemporary in its treatment that viewers will be able to instantly spot characters out of their own lives in the show. It's a story of passionate love that anyone with a soul would be able to easily relate to".
Kapoor rejected 19 costumes while selecting the look of character Pragya.
The production and airing of the show was halted indefinitely in late March 2020 due to theCOVID-19outbreak in India.The outbreak caused the halt of filming of television shows and movies on 19 March 2020, and they were expected to resume on 1 April 2020. But shooting remained suspended and the remaining episodes were aired up to 24 March 2020.After three months, the production and filming of the series resumed on 29 June 2020 and airing resumed on 13 July 2020.
Shabbir Ahluwalia,who was also cast in Ekta's TV seriesKayamath, was selected to portray the lead role of Abhishek Prem Mehra. Ahluwalia made his comeback after Zee twenty years. ActressSriti Jhalanded in lead role in the show.Mrunal Thakurwas selected to portray the second leading role of BulbulwhileArjit Tanejawas cast opposite her.In May 2014,Shikha Singhentered the show as the main antagonist Alia Mehra,whileMadhurima Tuliwas cast to portray the negative role of Tanu. Later, Tuli had to shoot for her filmBabyso, this role was later played byLeena Jumanifrom September 2014.Actor Faisal Rashid was selected to portray the role of Suresh (Pragya's fiancé) who played an important role in April–May 2014, but in May 2015 he quit the series. Actress Supriya Shukla was cast to play the role of Sarla Arora, while Madhu Raja played the role of Daljeet Arora. Other supporting cast members includeSamikssha Batnagar,Ankit Mohan, Charu Mehra and Amit Dhawan. Bhatnagar, who portrayed the supporting role of Mitali was replaced by Swati Anand within the month of launch whileAnurag Sharmareplaced Amit. In 2015, Neel Motawani (who was also cast in other shows of Ekta) was selected to play the negative role of Neel; while in June 2015 Nikhil Arya entered the series playing the role of main male antagonist Nikhil Sood.
In December 2015, Mrunal Thakur opted out from the show and was to be replaced by Kajol Shrivastava, however the character of Bulbul was phased out of the series after Mrunal's departure. In August 2016, Ankit Mohan quit the show so his character left as well. In September 2016, Arjit Taneja quit the show and was replaced byVin Rana. In October 2016, Nikhil Arya was replaced by Rujut Dahiya.In July 2017, actressRuchi Savarnentered the show as Purab's new love interest. Mishal Raheja as King Singh and Kaurwakee Vashista as Kiara Mehra entered the show after the leap. Actor Abeer Adil was cast in 2018 as King's cousin Tarun and Roma Bali as Tarun's mother.
In March 2019, a twenty-year leap was introduced with which several new characters entered in the show and became pivotal characters. In March 2019,Mugdha Chaphekar, Krishna Kaul andNaina Singhwere introduced as leads of the second generation who play Prachi, Ranbir and Rhea respectively alongside Sriti and Shabbir. In August 2020, Naina left the show as she was not happy playing a negative role anymore andPooja Banerjeereplaced Singh as Rhea. In February 2022, Pooja Banerjee quit the show because her due date was near, and she was replaced byTina Ann Philip.
The show then introduced the third generation post a leap of twenty years in November 2023, with Rachi Sharma andAbrar Qaziroped in as the new leads with Sharma portraying Prachi and Ranbir's younger daughter Poorvi Kohli while Qazi as Rajvansh Malhotra respectively.Simran Budharup was roped in to play grown-up version of Prachi and Ranbir's elder daughter Khushi Kohli Randhawa replacing Trisha Rohatgi who played childhood version of same.
In February 2024,Srishti Jainwas cast to play negative lead Monisha thus making her second collaboration withBalaji TelefilmsafterBade Achhe Lagte Hain 3
In February 2025, the show introduced the fourth generation post a twenty years leap withPranali Rathodand Akshay Bindra roped in as the new leads. Rathod portraying the role of Prarthana Malhotra, daughter of Rajvansh "RV" and Poorvi Malhotra.
A spin-off seriesKundali Bhagyapremiered on 12 July 2017 and ran till 6 December 2024. The series narrated the story of Pragya's sisters, Preeta and Srishti and their attempt to find their mother Sarla and how they meet the rich and famous Luthra family. Later that show too took a generation leap and story shifted to Preeta's sons Rajveer and Shaurya. The show starredSupriya Shukla,Shraddha Arya,Dheeraj Dhoopar,Manit Joura,Anjum Fakih,Shakti Arora,Shakti Anand,Paras Kalnawat,Sana Sayyad,Baseer AliandAdrija Roy.
A similar seriesBhagya Lakshmipremiered on 3 August 2021. It traces the love story of Pragya's best friend, Lakshmi and Rishi. It starsAishwarya KhareandRohit Suchanti.
The show climbed to Top 5 most-watched shows across all GECs, after only a few weeks of its launch.It was touted as the biggest fiction launch of 2014.The serial is very popular among Indian women.The show also gave tough fight to the long-time Hindi GEC leaderDiya Aur Baati Humthat aired at same slot onStar Plus.
Reruns of Kumkum Bhagya premiered onZee Anmolfrom 2017 and received high ratings in the BARC rural chart when Zee Anmol wasFTA. It began running on the network again from episode 1 from 10 June 2020, due to the return toDD Free Dish.
The show also managed to strike a chord with West Africans too.ActorKartik Aaryanalso watched the show during the lockdown.