The ups and downs of child marriages (Balika Vadhu)

Member Name: angelic2004

Product:	Balika Vadhu
Date:	18/03/09 (334 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interesting subject, good acting, good storylines

Disadvantages: Have to wait for colors to launch on Sky for subtittles

Balika Vadhu is a Hindi TV serial which is shown on the channel Colors in India but the channel is waiting to make its UK launch sometime this year on Sky. Balika Vadhu is the channel's most watched programme. The title 'Balika Vadhu' means Child Bride, as you have probably guessed by now this serial is based on the plight of children, who are married off in the name of tradition and have to bear the repercussions of this marriage for the rest of their lives. Sadly this so called 'tradition' still goes on in parts of India and elsewhere.

The story is set in rural Rajasthan and follows the journey of child bride Anandi married to an equally young Jagdish. Childhood and education cut short, away from her family, Anandi has to learn to accept her new family of strangers, forge new relationships and accept new roles as a friend, lover, wife and a mother as she is still growing up.

I find it hard to imagine being married off so young, cause at that age you are just a child, spending time playing with friends and in education, you are definitely naïve and don't know much about the world yet. I don't think I even knew what I really wanted at that age. Watching this show you realise these children are confused about certain things, naïve at times, not mature enough to understand what the term marriage actually means and some having to face becoming a widow so soon, depriving them of their happiness just to follow social customs.


*Characters*

Anandi - She must be around 9 years old. She is a bubbly girl who is always asking loads of questions. The only daughter to her parents. She loves going to school but her education is cut short when her parents decide to get her married into a rich family. Distraught at first to leave her parents, friends and village, she manages to settle into a new setting despite facing some hostility from Dadisa. She accepts her new family with support of caring in-laws and forges a friendship with husband, Jagdish.


Anandi's Parents - Poor, but manages quite well. Khajaan is a loving father and husband but adheres to the norms of the society which he lives in. Bhagwati as a loving mother she wants the best for Anandi, even though she is ignorant of the evils of child marriage. Since Anandi has left home, she is always longing to see her. She wishes her daughter well in her in-laws. She is also surprised how grown up her daughter is becoming as she just remembers her as being child.


Jagdish - He must be around 12 years old. He would rather play out with friends than do his homework, but now Anandi is there she helps him with it. He's the favourite grandson of Dadisa because he is the only boy in the family. He regularly falls out with Anandi and gets jealous when she gets lots of attention from his parents, but he does stand up for his wife at times in front of his Dadisa. He even has a hand in ensuring that his wife is able to continue with her studies.


Dadisa - Jagdish's grandmother and the elder of the family. As a widow she is extremely strict and heartless. She rules the household and no one in the family dares to go against her. Although she is shown to have a somewhat soft side at times its not that often, she feels she has to be in control. As the story goes on you begin to realise that Dadisa has been through a lot and to remain as strong as she is she continues to show her bitterness. She is bound to traditions and overlooks the human aspect of any situation in order to uphold the pride of her family. She taunts her daughter - in - laws and their families at special occasions because they are the poor relation and also anyone else she despises, she is just pure evil.


Jagdish's parents - Bhairav is Jagdish's father, the younger son of Dadisa. He knows right from wrong but is caught between trying to respect his mother's wishes and doing what is right. He is a good husband, father and father-in-law. Sumitra is Jagdish's mother, she is the dutiful daughter-in-law who tolerates Dadisa's verbal abuse silently. She is a good mother and mother-in-law and as a wife understands her husband and guides him. Both parents love their daughter and daughter-in-law the same and even though they have married both their children at a young age they have taken steps to ensure they do not have sexual relations until they are wiser and understand what marriage means. Anandi sleeps in her sister-in-law's (Sugna's) room and Sugna will not be sent to her in-laws still she is 18.


Sugna - Jagdish's older sister. She is about 15 years old, married but lives with her parents. She meets her husband in secret and is very annoyed with her parents that she hasn't be sent to her husband's house yet. Even her in-laws are miffed to why she has not been sent to them yet and are worried what people will say about their son. Sugna's future looks scary with possibilities of sexual relation have already occurred between her and Pratap (her husband). Are things be about to go wrong for Sugna before she has even set foot in her husband's house?


Jagdish's uncle and aunt - Basant is Dadisa's eldest son, an alcoholic and under pressure from Dadisa to produce a heir. His first wife died in child birth after suffering many miscarriages from a young age. He then married Gehna, a girl round the same age of his niece Sugna and old enough to be his daughter. She comes from a poor family and was literally brought by Dadisa to be his bride. After being raped by him every night she is now starting to rebel against Dadisa and Basant. She is not like Sumitra to stay quiet when Dadisa taunts her, she gives her a fitting reply which make Dadisa fume even more. Gehna sticking up for herself is gaining results, Basant, a total jerk is now starting to show concern for his new wife. Will Gehna stay? What will be the outcome of this relationship? Is producing a heir in Basant's fate.


Normally Indian serials repeat the same storyline over and over again, there are just so many times a person can be nearly killed off or brought back from the dead just because the character/actor was popular. It is rare that I watch an Indian serial without feeling bored in the middle and return when an exciting plot turns up. Some storyline just run what seems like forever and after a while you really can't be bothered to follow it through. Balika Vadhu is well made, its realistic, good storylines, keeps viewers interested, good acting from the whole cast, characters you can sympathise with. At the end of each episode it gives a fact or a questions child marriages to make you think of how wrong it is to subject children to this.

Summary: Indian serial