logo
Exclusive - Amar Upadhyay recalls how people cried hugging him after his character Mihir died in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi; says 'Log rote the gale milte the zabardasti...'

Exclusive - Amar Upadhyay recalls how people cried hugging him after his character Mihir died in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi; says 'Log rote the gale milte the zabardasti...'

Time of India3 days ago
Amar Upadhyay
, who made a comeback to television with the second season of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, recalled at the time when his iconic character Mihir Virani was killed off in the first season.
Speaking exclusively to Times of India TV, Amar shared that fans were deeply affected, many would hug him, break down in tears, and plead with him to return to the show.
Amar shared, "I always wanted to experience love of the audience and stardom and after playing Mihir, it happened to me. When I used to go at public places after Mihir's death in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, people would mob me. Bahot bhayankar response hota tha logon ka.
Log rote the gale milte the zabardasti peeche pad jaate the, tumko wapas aana chahiye, tumhe kyun maar diya? Ye theek nahi kiya in logon ne, ye acche log nahi hai, bahot kuch bolte the.
(The response from people used to be overwhelming. Fans would cry, hug me tightly, and insist that I return to the show. They would say things like, "Why did they kill you off? This wasn't right. These people didn't do the right thing. They're not good people."
They would say all sorts of things out of love and emotion)."
He added, "All the ladies who watched our show, even men used to complain. It felt amazing that a work that I've been part of had become so successful and even till today people call me as Mihir, it was a huge thing for me."
Amar shares that even today, there is a strong fan following for his character Mihir. The love and admiration from the audience have never faded, proving how deeply the role connected with viewers. He says, "People still call me Mihir even kids who were born after the show and the kids who have not watched the show. They also call me Mihir and when I ask them why do you call me Mihir, they tell me their moms call me Mihir. That's why the buzz around the second season is so high.
"
Watched Salman Khan's Sultan, spoke to Haryanvi friends to learn the accent: Molkki's Amar Upadhyay
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi season 2 actress Tanisha Mehta on playing Vrinda: Every morning I offer water to the Tulsi plant
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi season 2 actress Tanisha Mehta on playing Vrinda: Every morning I offer water to the Tulsi plant

Time of India

timean hour ago

  • Time of India

Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi season 2 actress Tanisha Mehta on playing Vrinda: Every morning I offer water to the Tulsi plant

Actress Tanisha Mehta, who will play the female lead role of Vrinda in Smriti Irani-starrer 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi season 2' has talked about her connection with Tulsi plant in her real life. Tanisha said: "Tulsi, a plant that holds deep cultural and spiritual significance. It's believed to protect the home from negative influences and bring positive energy, happiness, and harmony. It represents devotion and is a reminder of spiritual values and traditions.' 'And it is one of the plants that I planted at my home after I shifted.." She said that she has become a very 'dharmik' (religious) person. "A lot of people don't know this about me, but throughout the years I've actually become a very dharmik (religious) person. It's not something I usually talk about, but I do have my personal beliefs and practices.' Talking about the rituals she follows, the actress said: 'There's a ritual I've been following for a long time now — every Monday morning, I visit the mandir right below my building. I perform Mahadev Abhishek. Every morning I offer jal (water) to Surya devta (sun), and also to the Tulsi plant. It's a quiet, grounding practice that brings me a lot of peace." The actress is aware of the responsibility that comes with the iconic family drama. 'I'm giving it everything I have. I just hope the audience welcomes me with the same love they've always given to this show. I get goosebumps every time I think about it. I'm very grateful to Ekta Kapoor Ma'am for this opportunity," she said. On professional front, Tanisha is known for featuring in shows like Shubh Laabh Aapkey Ghar Mein (2021), Lag Ja Gale (2023), and Ikk Kudi Punjab Di (2023). Shubhaavi Choksey on doing mature roles as a young actress: I lost my dad when I was 22, had a lot of burden

Kyunki Star Hiten Tejwani Recalls Ekta Promised Him "Something Bigger" After Kutumb Success: "She Said Don't Worry..."
Kyunki Star Hiten Tejwani Recalls Ekta Promised Him "Something Bigger" After Kutumb Success: "She Said Don't Worry..."

NDTV

time5 hours ago

  • NDTV

Kyunki Star Hiten Tejwani Recalls Ekta Promised Him "Something Bigger" After Kutumb Success: "She Said Don't Worry..."

Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi is back on the Indian small screen and along with it is Hiten Tejwani as Karan Virani, the honourable outsider who becomes a part of the Virani joint family. But before the actor established himself as a key character in the popular soap opera's run in the 2000s, Hiten Tejwani shot to fame and caught the fancy of many women as the bratty but debonair Pratham in Kutumb, at a time when bad boys were still in vogue. In an exclusive interview with NDTV, the actor revealed the inside story of how he was cast in Kyunki during the TV show's original run by producer Ekta Kapoor who also backed Kutumb, which ran from 2001 to 2003. From Kutumb To Kyunki Hiten Tejwani said he joined Kyunki "very late" in 2002, two years after the show went on air. "I got in with the new generation (of Kyunki) because I was doing Kutumb. One day, Ekta called me into her office and said, 'After Kutumb, I want you to do something big. Don't worry, I'll give you something big. We'll do something bigger. Tomorrow onwards, you're doing Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi '," the actor told NDTV. The actor, now 51, said he asked no questions and knew nothing about the character he was supposed to play in Kyunki. "So, I would just reach the set and used to figure out (about my character) from the creatives or the EP or the story. Slowly, slowly, I got to know about Karan and it developed into one of the best characters and best roles I've done," he added. Hiten Tejwani - The Millennials' Crush The actor wears his stardom lightly, more so the label of the crush of several millennials. Asked how he dealt with all the female attention that came his way, especially in the 2000s, Hiten Tejwani said, "It was lovely. It feels that I'm doing something right, that people are loving me so much... That you're getting so much love back. "Even today, when many of those fans meet me, they say, 'You were my crush'. So, I jokingly ask them, 'Was? What do you mean?' But I understand, people also move on. It's understandable and natural. I am happy that those people are still my fans," he added. Hiten Tejwani And Gauri Pradhan - Reel To Rea l Hiten Tejwani and Gauri Pradhan first shared the screen in Kutumb as enemies-to-lovers Pratham and Gauri. Later, in Kyunki, they were paired opposite each other, this time as Karan and Nandini, who eventually get married after initial hurdles (Read Ansh Gujral, played by Akashdeep Saigal). Hiten Tejwani and Gauri Pradhan, who are now married for over 20 years with two children, have reprised their roles as Karan and Nandini in Kyunki 's second season. It is comfortable to work with his real-life and reel-life wife Gauri Pradhan, said Hiten Tejwani. "The best part is it's still the same, how we used to be. What you call chemistry, it has to be inbuilt. If you have to plan it, it becomes mechanical. Earlier also, it used to just happen. For us, it's still the same. She understands me, I understand her. I know how she's going to react and act. We are lucky like that." Response Of New Generation Audiences To Kyunki Season 2 It's been a week since Kyunki' s second season started premiering on Star Plus and JioHotstar and Hiten Tejwani said he doesn't know how the new generation viewers will react to the show which was a cultural phenomenon in its heyday. "We cannot judge or we cannot go to people asking, 'What do you think?' We don't know right now (how the show will be received)... You cannot be confident about it that they are going to love it... "By the messages I have received, everybody is excited for it, that is what they have been saying. That they want to watch it... There are so many fans who message me that 'I have shown this to my daughter, my son so that we'll know what Kyunki was all about'. But we don't know what's going to happen," he added. Hiten Tejwani is surely back in the limelight as Karan Virani with the second season of Kyunki and those who don't know why he was so popular on television in the 2000s will get their answer now.

Local streaming platforms have great stories to tell, but struggle with tech, user experience
Local streaming platforms have great stories to tell, but struggle with tech, user experience

Mint

time7 hours ago

  • Mint

Local streaming platforms have great stories to tell, but struggle with tech, user experience

Even as domestic video-streaming platforms invest in local language stories that speak to regional communities, most of them are battling tech and user experience issues. Customers of platforms including AAO NXT, discovery+, Chaupal and Sun NXT say it is common for payments to get stuck, not to be able to resume a show from where they left it, or not get recommendations tailored to individual tastes. In these aspects, foreign platforms such as Netflix and Prime Video score well and local platforms have a long way to go. Most regional platforms are bootstrapped or operate on limited funding. When juggling content licensing, marketing and tech infrastructure, they often get the shorter end of the stick. They also lack access to product and engineering talent that has worked on large-scale streaming platforms. 'Many local OTT platforms struggle with core UI or UX (user interface or user experience) features like playback continuity, which means resuming from where you left off, personalized recommendations, search and discovery of similar content and subtitle and quality controls," said Vicky Rajani, director of Sai Digital Broadcast Media Pvt. Ltd, which owns SINDHIPLEX, a Sindhi language video streaming platform. 'These are critical features that users expect but require deep technical infrastructure and experienced engineering talent." Experts such as Rajani said there are three key reasons regional streaming services struggle with user experience and tech issues. Firstly, their tight budgets that are focused more on content acquisition than tech. Secondly, the tech is often built by third-party vendors with little understanding of OTT nuances. And thirdly, the absence of personalized algorithms, which require massive data pipelines and backend systems and aren't easy to build or maintain. As a result, execution suffers due to the complexity of building and maintaining a high-performing OTT app across multiple devices. Persistent challenges Gurjit Ghuman, chief technology officer at Chaupal, a platform specializing in Punjabi, Haryanvi and Bhojpuri content, agreed that challenges like these are common and often persistent. Features like show continuity, smooth forwarding or rewinding, and personalized discovery are not always implemented well. These gaps directly affect viewer experience. There are also issues with buffering, app crashes, poor UI, and limited compatibility with different devices, all of which make it harder to retain users in the long run, Ghuman added. 'In many cases, the people running these platforms or making key decisions don't have a strong tech background. That creates a gap in understanding which technical path is best for long-term success. Choosing the right tech partner becomes a guessing game. Once you're locked into an agreement with a tech company, it's very difficult to exit because of the heavy data involved. On top of that, building a reliable and refined tech product needs significant investment," Ghunan added. Rajat Agrawal, chief operating officer and director of Ultra Media & Entertainment Group, which owns Marathi language OTT platform Ultra Jhakaas, agreed that the Indian OTT market is highly competitive, with numerous players vying for attention. This competition can often lead to prioritization of content acquisition and marketing over technical refinement. However, smaller platforms need to invest in advanced personalization algorithms to throw up relevant content, Agrawal pointed out. Experts emphasized that foreign players like Netflix come with a strong global brand presence, which attracts users in India. They can leverage global resources, including technology, content acquisition, and marketing expertise, to garner subscriptions. Also, with a large global user base, they can negotiate better deals with content providers and technology vendors. Friction points Smaller OTT platforms, on the other hand, should focus on developing cost-effective technology solutions such as cloud-based infrastructure and open-source software, the experts said. They should prioritize user experience and optimize streaming quality, recommendation algorithms, and content discovery to retain users. 'Global players operate with massive data pools, sophisticated AI, and engineering teams in the hundreds. Their UX is the result of years of iterative testing, deep analytics, and a global view of user behaviour. That's an obvious advantage," agreed Kaushik Das, founder and CEO of AAO NXT, an Odia language platform, admitting that many local platforms, including theirs in the early days, have grappled with these challenges. Das added that this doesn't mean smaller OTTs can't innovate within their means. They should prioritise focus on three or four friction points that matter most to their core audience. 'Build lean, test fast and keep evolving. We've learned that you don't need to do everything overnight. Just solve real problems consistently, and your audience will notice," Das said.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store