It was 16 years ago when Anurag Basu’s ‘Love Story’ aired and the tale of Aakash Sehgal and Shruti Shekhawat left an impact on everyone. Be it the story, characters or even the track ‘Teri yaadein’ soon became highly talked about. Now, actor Mishal Raheja, who played Aakash, took a trip down memory lane and also shared why it’s still so relevant.
In a candid conversation with IANS, Mishal said that even after 16 years people come up to him and talk about ‘Love Story’, which first aired in 2007 and went off air in 2008.
“Everytime I go out of Bombay someone or the other admirer has to talk about ‘Love Story’. I am always living it. People keep reminding me of that (Love Story),” said Mishal.
Would he want the show to be released? Pat came the reply from Mishal: “Absolutely. We were ahead of our time at that moment.”
Will it work with the Gen-Zs, if re-released?
The actor replied: “Yes, I think it would work because there is nothing outdated in that show. Any generation is going to like that show. What I realised is that Laagi Tujhse Lagan with god’s grace has every country has the number 1 spot… These shows have nothing outdated. So, they can definitely run on some platform where the statistics say that the age-group from 12-25 are watching.”
Decoding the reason behind the show’s burgeoning fanbase that time, Mishalsaid: “The channel was a youth channel and the youth got to watch it luckily. Had it been a GEC or a bigger channel I don’t think it would have made this big an impact at that time 16 years ago or the generation 16 years ago. We still talk about it.”
“So, everything was very lucky for that show at that time,” the actor said.
The show wasn’t just about the characters and the story. The title track and other songs too played an important role.
Mishal shared an anecdote about the title track of the show, which was a star-crossed violent love story in the Romeo-Juliet mode, set in contemporary Delhi.
The actor credits filmmaker Anurag Basu for the title track.
“He got on board nice Bengali musicians who were very fast paced. Anurag Basuji has a good sense of music too. He would write the lyrics in Hindi himself. It is amazing the kind of work he does. He is a genius at his work.”
Mishal shared that Basu knew “what kind of show was required for the youth and to make such an impact on the youth. He had the dramatisation correctly worked out.”
The actor also shared that he “unfortunately hasn’t been in touch” with his co-actress Paayel Sarkar, who played Shruti. But has been in touch with Ajay Chaudhary, who played Dev and among several others from the show.
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