Narrating tales that have captivated audience attention for almost two decades now, Ekta Kapoor is back with a new story on Zee TV. Her show ‘Kumkum Bhagya’ launches on 15th April at 9 PM, replacing her own show ‘Pavitra Rishta’ which will now be aired Monday – Friday at 6:30 PM. Based loosely on Jane Austen’s classic ‘Sense and Sensibility’, the show is its Indian interpretation, following the life of a Punjabi matriarch Sarla Arora who runs a marriage hall and lives with the hope of seeing her two daughters Pragya and Bulbul who are poles apart, happily married some day. Sriti Jha and Shabir Ahluwalia will be seen in lead roles, playing Pragya and Rockstar Abhi respectively.

Ekta says, “While two of my shows are already on-air on Zee TV, it’s a pleasure to extend my partnership with Zee to a third show. ‘Pavitra Rishta’ has had a run of over four years now and the journey has been most gratifying for me as a producer. Kumkum Bhagya 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.” Speaking of his comeback as an actor, Shabir says, “With me producing shows, it was getting very difficult to manage time for acting assignments. But now, I have decided to concentrate on acting, after all you can’t be away from what you love doing for long. The role appealed to me a great deal. This is the first time that I will be playing a rockstar on television.”

- Dharmishtha Dagia