If you have read my book on Balaji Telefilms, you already know about my undying love for Ekta Kapoor’s family dramas, particularly those from the late ’90s to early 2000s. But today, I’m going to take a detour to talk about something that did not make it into the manuscript—my personal experience with Bade Acche Lagte Hain, the show I was writing while authoring that book!
Thanks to a colleague at Teach For India, where I was working at the time, I managed to get a meeting with Balaji’s then-creative director (you truly never know where you’ll find your next connection).
Balaji was looking for new writers, and I had two shows under my belt—400 episodes of Balika Vadhu and 150-odd episodes of Hamaar Sautan Hamaar Saheli, a Bhojpuri serial on Mahuaa TV, both from the same producers.
The interview took place on the fifth floor of Balaji House, which I later learned was where all the big creative discussions happened. Ekta’s cabin was at the center of it all. What I later discovered was that this very floor had once been the set of Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii !
The hallway, Babuji’s room on the left, Om and Parvati’s bedroom on the right—now transformed into cabins for writers and creatives. And Ekta’s cabin? That was once a revolving set for various bedrooms and drawing rooms from the show. One floor down (the fourth floor), a huge space had housed the Agrawal family’s living and dining room!
From Bajirao to Bade Acche…
At the time, Balaji was working on its own Bajirao Mastani—nearly a decade after Bhansali announced his film and about five years before it actually fructified. The show was in its early stages, with rough story arcs being developed for a potential 500-episode run. A massive effort, with ideation meetings, historical research, and brainstorming sessions—not just with Ekta and the creatives, but also with historians hired exclusively for the project.
Though I was initially slated to join Bajirao, the project was shelved before I officially joined. Rumors at the time suggested rife due to creative overlaps between the film and television treatments—I was never able to verify this however. Nevertheless, the historians and creative team were reassigned to another historical project, which eventually became Jodha Akbar on Zee TV. The timeline for Jodha… was very lenient, as Zee TV had provided ample time before an airing time slot would be made available; the need for writers was therefore limited at such an early stage.
As it happens on television, writing requirements come and go as the need arises. And that is exactly how I found myself on the already running Bade Acche Lagte Hain, a show that would soon take the flagship spot on Sony Entertainment Television!
Writing Ram and Priya’s Journey…
My first meeting with the Bade… creative team took place over an elaborate Rajasthani thali at Infinity Mall. The other writers and Mitu, the creative director of the show (who I immediately nicknamed M&M, and with whom I developed a bond right away—our shared, undying love for Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii being a major common factor—me as a viewer and her as the former Creative Head of the show), were all there.
Anyway, back to Bade… — I eagerly tuned in as characters, subplots, and cliffhangers were debated. It quickly became clear that Balaji’s way of working was different from other production houses.
Unlike what I was used to, where story dockets and screenplays are sent to channel heads for feedback—usually resulting in multiple rounds of revisions—things worked a little differently with Ekta. She had a Midas-touch track record that allowed her to limit channel interference, with networks generally weighing in on broad storylines as opposed to individual episodes.
In the Balaji Blueprint, writers and creatives would meet with Ekta daily, with the agenda posted on a sheet of white paper outside her cabin every morning. Apart from our show, Balaji’s other projects at the time tussling for a slot in her schedule included Pavitra Rishta, Parichay (headlining Sameer Soni on Colors), Kyaa Huaa Tera Vaada, and the upcoming Jodha Akbar (remember those historical research meetings?). These were just the shows—I haven’t even mentioned the film meetings.
Every meeting typically began with us narrating the episode to Ekta, covering major plot points, scene breakdowns, and dialogue suggestions. She would revise on the spot, often adding spontaneous elements to enhance the characters or the drama—sometimes in ways that shocked us all (more on that later—I’ll need an entirely new post to explain that creative process!).
As awkward as it is, one of the first episodes I worked on was the highly discussed one in which Ram and Priya consummate their marriage. If memory serves me right, their lip-to-lip kiss was aired only during the prime-time telecast and censored for all repeat broadcasts. Not to mention the nationwide Twitter trend (a new phenomenon for a TV serial at the time) and the many controversial comments that were passed around.
Interestingly enough, my first meeting with the cast took place under the umbrella of this scene. Ekta called in Ram Kapoor, Sakshi Tanwar and the director to discuss how it would be shot—something she often did when a scene was critical to the story. One of the highlights of the meeting, as I recall, was the debate over whether to use Inn Lamhon Ke Daaman Mein or Bahon Ke Darmiyan for the background score. While Sony had used Bahon Ke... for the episode’s promo, Balaji went with Inn Lamhon Ke… in the actual episode. ( Fun Fact: promos are often written, filmed, and edited by the channel’s creative team). I recall Sakshi and I agreeing on the grandeur of the crescendo in Inn Lamhon Ke… towards the end, which would elevate the emotional impact of the scene.
Later that night, in my starstruck naivety, as we left Ekta’s office and waited for the elevators, I blurted to Sakshi, “I have to tell you, my entire family is such a big fan of Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii. I know you’ve heard this a million times!” She laughed and started telling me stories from Balaji’s early days—of the yet-to-be-built elevators and the four-story climb actors and crew members made to reach their shooting floors—up a staircase that was still getting its railings installed!
Like half of the nation, I too could never shake off the ‘Parvati Bhabhi’ tag from Sakshi. I became infamous for absentmindedly writing ‘Parvati’ instead of ‘Priya’ in my screenplays (In my defense, soap opera writers write around the clock—so a little jumble here and there should be forgiven).
To make matters worse, during brainstorming sessions, our story writer, Sonali Jaffar—who had also penned Ekta’s earlier hit show Kasamh Se starring Ram Kapoor—would occasionally refer to him as his former hero Jay Walia instead of ‘Ram.’ This would then be followed by M&M’s hilarious frustration, who at one point screamed in exasperation as she sat between the two of us — ‘Main kya karoon— pareshaan ho gayi hoon!’ (looking at both of us)—’Ek taraf Jay Walia, ek taraf Parvati!‘
A few months into my journey with the show, we were running a story track in which Priya goes to jail to save Ram from a false case he’s been framed for. I recall meeting Sakshi on set and quoting verbatim a comment my aunt had recently made at a cousin’s wedding—‘Woh Parvati toh abhi jail mein hai!’
Sakshi just sighed and smiled, while M&M, who was also in the room, commented— ‘This man is the reason why half of India still calls you Parvati!’
And I’ll let you in on a little secret… I felt quite content that day 🙂
Well that’s all folks! Until the next soap opera saga, keep that Bollywood magic alive in your hearts!
