Don't fiddle too much with a formula that works. Star India and UTV keep these parameters top of the mind in the making of Bhabhi, a daily afternoon soap set to launch on Monday, 18 March.

Bhabhi (brother's wife), a half hour family drama, replaces Sanskruti, which has completed it's year-long run, in the 1:30 pm slot and continues in the tradition of the the great Indian soap. The USP of this particular serial appears to be that there are no scheming in-laws plotting each other's downfall. The twists and turns in the plot are provided by happenstance.

With the launch of Bhabhi, both the main afternoon soaps on Star Plus are UTV productions. And if the serial brings in anywhere close to the kind of ratings that UTV's other offering Shagun delivers, then all concerned with the project will have more than enough reason to smile.

The serial, which has been mainly shot on sets in Mumbai's Gemini Studios as well as some outdoor locations, is sceduled to run for a year, UTV creative director Neeraj Naik says.