Kyunki It Was Never Just a Serial

K se kyunkii, K se Kasauti and K se the kind of conditioning Ekta Kapoor’s serials bought into Indian households.

Remember when evenings in our home had their own timetable? Dinner by 8, wrapping up by 8.45 and by 9 the family would have settled infront of the TV, not because everyone was free but because Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi was about to begin. God forbid someone changed the channel or worse , the cable stopped working. These shows had a chokehold on Indian households, Parvatio, Tulsi , Prerna were basically family members. And just when things started getting interesting, the episode would end with a dramatic zoom in, a shocked expression, and a preview of what was to come next. And there we were, staring at the screen in disbelief. Abhi kyun nahi dikhaya? Itna important scene tha, aur yahin khatam kar diya? Ab kal 9 baje tak wait karna padega? The confusion and desperate need to know what happened next - Ekta Kapoor knew exactly how to leave an entire household hanging until the next evening.

Komolika twirling her hair with her signature cunning smile that made everyone suspicious the moment she walked into a room. (Photo source: Pinterest)

But to say that her serials only taught women to hold up the traditional daughter in law image would be the tip of the iceberg, because every once in a while her television universe offered something different. 

Beneath every dramatic zoom in and fall, there were stories, stories that dared to step outside the usual saas-bahu narrative. Shows like Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye explored a woman rebuilding her life after betrayal, while Bade Achhe Lagte Hain gave us Priya, a working woman with opinions, ambitions, and a personality that extended beyond keeping her family happy. These women weren't always waiting for someone else's approval to make their next move. They had careers and lives of their own. And that was interesting because, for once, the story wasn't just about how well a woman could hold a family together, but about what happened when she began to build something for herself.

Smriti Irani as Tulsi Virani, a strong, independent woman who stood up for what she believed (Photo source: Pinterest )

And honestly, it felt good to see that something as deeply rooted in our everyday lives as television could show families a different side of womanhood. They were characters whose struggles felt strangely similar. So when Priya chose to stand up for herself it quietly challenged the idea that being a good woman meant putting everyone else before herself. For once standing up simply meant knowing your worth. Perhaps that was the most interesting part. In a country where family opinions often carry as much weight as personal choices, seeing these stories play out in the living rooms of millions of households mattered. These serials created room for conversations that might not have happened otherwise.

Looking back, Ekta Kapoor’s serials were a mixed bag. One minute, they were reinforcing the very traditions we needed to question, and the next, they were showing us women who wanted something beyond them. Maybe that’s why they’re still worth talking about. Somewhere between all the drama, they also shaped the way we looked at families, relationships, and the people within them