Rishi Kaushik-Ranieeta Dash starrer ‘Ishti Kutum’ to entertain the audience again

Get ready for a nostalgic trip. Bengali television’s one of the most popular mega-serials, ‘Ishti Kutum’ will entertain the audience yet again. Starting this month, the Rishi Kaushik, Ranieeta Dash and Ankita Chakraborty starrer will be aired on a leading Bengali television channel again. Recently, the same channel decided to bring back the nostalgia by re-running two of its very popular shows ‘Bojhe Na Se Bojhe Na’ (starring Yash Dasgupta and Madhumita Sarcar) and ‘Phagun Bou’ (featuring Oindrila Sen, Vikram Chatterjee and Koushik Roy in the lead roles).Now, it’s time for the audience to take a stroll down memory lane yet again holding Bahamoni’s hand.
Launched in October 2011, ‘Ishti Kutum’ is among the most popular shows on Bengali television that have been remade in seven languages including, Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Odia, Kannada, Marathi. Interestingly, the story conceptualized by director-writer-producer Leena Gangopadhyay inspired not just one but two Hindi shows, ‘Mohi’ (starring Vinita Joshi Thakkar, Karan Sharma and Rishima Roshlani) as well as ‘Imlie’( starring Sumbul Touqeer Khan, Fahmaan Khan, Gashmeer Mahajani).
A simple story, that followed a tribal girl and a journo, managed to win the hearts of tele viewers within no time. The story revolved around a tribal girl named Bahamoni and journalist Arishman. The latter visits Bahamoni’s village to interview an activist (Bahamoni’s relative). Following a twist, Archisman, who has a girlfriend in the city, is forced to marry Bahamoni. What happens to the trio, makes the major crux of the story.
‘Ishti Kutum’ ruled Bengali television for over four years and successfully crossed more than 1300 episodes. It was an instant hit among the audience, making Ranieeta aka Bahamoni a household name. Her saree and jwellery dominated the fashion trend during that period, popularizing Baha saree and oxidized ornaments.
Ranieeta’s on-screen chemistry with Rishi Kaushik was an instant hit too. The duo managed to woo the audience with their performance. But later, Ranieeta was replaced by actress Sudipta Chakraborty.