Fan’s Perspective: ‘SaraswatiChandra’ – Popularity beyond ratings

The Indian television industry is all about numbers. TVT and TRP ratings decide the fate of the shows. Shows with higher ratings continue for years and years and shows with lower ratings are always at the chopping block regardless of the story. However, these number games have not stopped some shows to go beyond the national boundaries and create a splash. One such show is the magnum opus ‘Saraswatichandra’ produced by Bollywood�۪s best director Sanjay Leela Bhansaali, which was later taken over by the Sphere Origins.

Starting from the magnificent sets to larger than life characters, ‘Saraswatichandra’ managed to garner immense popularity in no time. The lead actors Gautam Rode and Jennifer Winget Singh Grover reached new heights of popularity portraying the characters of Saraswatichandra Vyas and Kumud Sundari Desai respectively. Along with them, Shiny Doshi, Varun Kapoor, Vinita Joshi Thakkar, Aniruddh Singh, Monica Bedi, Chetan Pandit, Ali Raza Namdar, Alpana Buch, Ragini Shah, Aanshul Trivedi, Soni Singh, Vahbbiz Dorabjee Dsena, and Sai Ballal among the other cast members took the show�۪s popularity to new horizons with their impeccable performances.

Unfortunately, despite the amazingly talented cast and a great story, the show always remained at the average rating levels. However, these numbers were nothing in front of the infinite love the show has received from the viewers all across the globe. What created this galore of love is the spell bounding chemistry between Gautam and Jennifer, amazingly realistic negative portrayals of Monica, Aanshul, and Soni, and so natural and real looking performances of the rest of the cast. Religious followers of the show whole-heartedly shower the show, the characters, and the actors with their undying love, support, and blessings via various fan clubs on the Internet.

There are so many fan clubs of ‘Saraswatichandra’ on Facebook and Twitter with thousands of followers from all around the world. One such fan club is ‘SaraswatiChandra’ (@Saraswtichndra). Ran by five lovely ladies, Sudha (a housewife), Himani (a college student), Astha (a full-time employee), Devi (a college student), and Mitsu (a college student), SaraswatiChandra recently reached 4000 followers and became one of the biggest Saraswatichandra fan clubs on twitter. These followers discuss about the episodes, tweet their wishes, use their artistic skills to make picture edits, and convey their messages to the stars of the show. They love Saraswatichandra so much that they call themselves the ���SCFamily�۝. For these fans, numbers do not matter at all. All they wish to see is their beloved SaMud and their journey to happily-ever-after with a spoon full of family meethaas, a pinch of mirchidaar tadka of Kalika, Pramad, and Ghuman, a little bit of bitterness of Badi Kaki, and lot of khatta-meetha pyaar of the siblings.

When contacted, the administrators of ‘SaraswatiChandra’ (@Saraswtichndra) said, ���We get unbelievable response on every single twist and turn. We recall when Kusum had fallen for Saras, we used to get innumerable tweets to get her back on track and bring Saras and Kumud together. Their love and support for the show brought us where we are today and the unflinching admiration from them keeps us going.�۝ Upon reaching 4000 followers, they asked their followers to tweet their responses to ���Saraswatichandra is a class apart and the best show ever because��_�۝ and look what some the followers had to say…

AMRITA��3 GaUtAm RoDe ?@AmritaDas8 @Saraswtichndra #ILoveSCBecoz it�۪s an emotional outburst… romantic outlook of SARAS & KUMUD… brings family in dining room at 7:30..

Amber Patel ?@amber_patel1 @Saraswtichndra #ILoveSCBecoz gives us msg of a universal truth tht “u wil always find rainbow bt aftr little rain” & ���luv gives life colours�۝

Sonakshi ?@sonakshidey @Saraswtichndra #ILoveSCBecoz it unites the family since it caters to all age groups. Best actors n portrays flavours of emotions

��?? ?@Anu_Pri @Saraswtichndra #ILoveSCBecoz pyara parivaar n I feel I�۪m inside d screen. I don�۪t miss any epi. If I miss I won�۪t wait for repeat 😀 I’ll dwnld

ayushi_leo ?@LeosssAyu @Saraswtichndra #ILoveSCBecoz it gives me energy, strength & happiness.. It has become my imp necessity of life. My lyf is incomplete without sc.

DilliChat @DilliChat @Saraswtichndra #ILoveSCBecoz it has: great characters ��� Saras & Kumud; the best leads, excellent ensemble; subtle aesthetics; good writing 🙂

bharti gola ?@GolaBharti @Saraswtichndra #ILoveSCBecoz this is the first show that tells me what is love, what is bonding, and last but not the least what is smile.

Neeta ?@neetalovesHAY @Saraswtichndra #ILoveSCBecoz Teamwork makes D dream work. Perfect in all department. @gautam_rode He justifies the title. Family show

They also asked the same question to a couple of other show fan clubs and this is what they had to say…

Saras&KumudFC ?@saraskumud #ILoveSCBecoz Saraswatichandra is a class apart & the best show because of our 2 amazing and fantastic main leads! & the intense love story!

? T???G?????R??? ? ?@GautamRodeTeam #ILoveSCBecoz of d unconditional luv between samud nd the title ���mukammal mohhobbat ki adhoori dastaan�۝ justified. Plus enchanting act of Gautam and Jenny nd d whole team as well

So, the moral of the story is… no matter what TVT and TRP ratings say, ‘Saraswatichandra’s fate is defined by undying love of the fans for their SaMud and all the members of their ‘Saraswatichandra’ parivaar.

Written by Mitsu Jain