MUMBAI: As more and more foreign nationals come to India, one is often prompted to ask “Can a foreigner feel at home in India?” Sahara One will address this question through its brand new, light hearted family show ‘FIRANGI BAHU’ to go on air from Monday, November 11 at 7:30 p.m. The show will put forth a concept that has never been seen in the history of Indian Television: a foreigner who comes to stay in her sasural in India.
It is a well known fact that foreigners are fascinated by India, its colorful festivals, traditions and diverse cultural heritage. This fascination makes them want to try and become a part of Indian culture. At the same time Indians too, are quite curious about the West. They have accepted Western influences on Indian food, attire, art, music and many other things. However when it comes to the sacred institution of marriage, Indians still consider people from the West to be unwelcome representatives of a world that is too different and alien. And it is amidst this background that ‘FIRANGI BAHU’ is set.
The show will take viewers through the journey of a British girl, Camili Jonathan, who marries into the conservative Desai family in Rajkot, Gujarat.
The story starts with Pranay Desai (Rohit Bhardwaj) the youngest son of the Desai family, who is in London for higher studies and meets Camili Jonathan (Sippora).
Slowly through her eyes, Pranay begins to see India, his own country, in a new light. He begins to admire things that he had overlooked over the years, despite being an Indian himself. In the process, Pranay falls in love with Camili’s simple lifestyle and her perspective of India.
Aware of his conservative family background, he decides to marry Camili in London and return to India.
Commenting on this, Sharad Raj, Content and Programming Head, Sahara One, says, “At Sahara One we are constantly innovating with the aim of providing interesting and novel content to viewers. This is the first time that a foreigner is playing a bahu in a Hindi serial. This is clutter breaking; a real FIRST TIME event on Indian television. Moreover, this provides sufficient scope for drama and lighter moments. Viewers will enjoy watching a European lady adapt to a conservative Gujarati family. At the same time, her journey will result in a lot of drama. I hope viewers support us in our endeavour to bring them something new. And I hope they appreciate the effort we have made to do this.”
Adds Vipul D Shah, Managing Director & CCO (Chief Creative Officer), Optimystix Entertainment India Pvt. Ltd., "Firangi Bahu is a clutter breaking concept, which is an unusual and never-seen-before concept on Indian Television. Firangi Bahu is a slice of life, dramedy (Drama & Comedy) story of Camili Jonathan, a 20 year old British citizen, who falls in love with a Gujarati boy in London.
Motivated purely by love and devotion, she decides to settle in India in a joint Gujarati family (her sasural). This is in a way, a celebration of India and Indianness through a foreigner’s point of view. All characters and situations in the serial are endearing and believable."
Sahara One’s show ‘FIRANGI BAHU’, showcases the struggle of Camili Jonathan, a British girl, who enters India and its culture that is rich, diverse and different from her own. In the process she discovers her own ability to adapt, after getting married into a traditional, conservative Indian family and winning over members of the family with her knowledge and love of Indian culture.
‘FIRANGI BAHU’ will introduce the beautiful SIPPORA ZOUTEWELLE, a Dutch debutant actress, who will play the title role of FIRANGI BAHU. The Desai family will see an ensemble of seasoned actors like Indira Krishna, Pranoti Pradhan, Deepmala Parmar, Dilip Darbar, Hetal Puniwala, Paresh Bhatt and Rohit Bhardwaj.
