Kumkum Bhagya (transl.Vermillion in My Fate) is an Indian Hindi-language drama television series produced by Ekta Kapoor under Balaji Telefilms.[2] It premiered on 15 April 2014 on Zee TV and digitally streams on ZEE5.[3] It formerly starred Sriti Jha and Shabir Ahluwalia. Currently, it stars Mugdha Chaphekar, Krishna Kaul, Rachi Sharma and Abrar Qazi. One of the longest running Indian television soap opera, the concept of the show was originally based on Jane Austen's novel Sense and Sensibility.[1]

Kumkum Bhagya
GenreDrama
Romance
Created byEkta Kapoor
Based onSense and Sensibility
by Jane Austen[1]
Developed byEkta Kapoor
Screenplay byAnil Nagpal
Mrinal Tripathi
Dialogues
Dheeraj Sarna
Vikash tiwari
Story byAnil Nagpal
Directed byRavindra Gautam
Sameer Kulkarni
Sharad Pandey
Jeetu Arora
Deepak Chavan
Shahnawaz Khan
Khalid Akhtar
Muzammil Desai
Creative directorsShaalu
Nitin Dhall
Rajan Prachi
Tanya Rajesh
Kiran Gupta
Starring
Theme music composerLalit Sen
Nawab Arzoo
Opening theme"Kumkum Bhagya"
Country of originIndia
Original languageHindi
No. of seasons3
Production
ProducersEkta Kapoor
Shobha Kapoor
CinematographySanjay Memane
Anil Katke
Original release
NetworkZee TV
Release15 April 2014 (2014-04-15) –
present
Related
Kundali Bhagya
Bhagya Lakshmi

Plot

Cast

Main

  • Sriti Jha as Pragya Arora Mehra: Sarla and Raghuveer's eldest daughter; Preeta, Bulbul and Srishti's sister; Abhi's wife; Kiara, Prachi and Rhea's mother; Khushi and Poorvi's grandmother (2014–2021, 2023)
  • Shabir Ahluwalia as Abhishek "Abhi" Mehra: Santoshi and Prem's son; Alia's brother; Raj and Akash's cousin; Pragya's husband; Tanu's ex-husband; Kiara, Prachi and Rhea's father; Khushi and Poorvi's grandfather (2014–2021, 2023)
  • Mugdha Chaphekar as Prachi Mehra Kohli: Pragya and Abhi's second daughter; Kiara and Rhea's sister; Bunty, Neha, Bittu and Aryan's cousin; Akshay's ex-wife; Ranbir's estranged wife; Khushi and Poorvi's mother (2019–2024)
  • Krishna Kaul as Ranbir Kohli / Krishna "KK" Kakkar: Pallavi and Vikram's son; Mishti's brother; Siddharth and Mihika's cousin; Prachi's estranged husband; Trishna’s husband; Rhea's ex-husband; Khushi and Poorvi's father (2019–2024)
  • Rachi Sharma as Poorvi Kohli Malhotra: Ranbir and Prachi's younger daughter; Khushi's sister; Rajvansh's wife (2023–present)
  • Abrar Qazi as Rajvansh "RV" Malhotra: Harman and Harleen's younger son; Vikrant's brother; Poorvi's husband; Khushi and Monisha's ex-fiancé (2023–present)

Recurring

  • Simran Budharup as Panchi "Khushi" Kohli Randhawa: Ranbir and Prachi's elder daughter; Akshay’s adoptive daughter; Poorvi's sister; Arman's wife; Rajvansh's ex-fiancée (2023–2024)
    • Trisha Rohatgi as Child Panchi "Khushi" Kohli (2023)
  • Aakash Talwar as Arman Randhawa: Khushi's husband (2024–present)
  • Mallika Nayak as Manpreet Tandon: Ashok's second wife; Akshay and Mihika's stepmother; Prachi’s mother-figure (2023–present)
  • Kaushal Kapoor as Ashok Tandon: Prachi's former boss and father figure; Vishakha's brother; Manpreet's husband; Akshay and Mihika's father (2023–present)
  • Utkarsha Naik as Vishakha Tandon: Ashok's sister; Divya's mother; Diya’s grandmother (2023–present)
  • Riya Kapoor as Divya Tandon: Vishakha's daughter; Akshay, Mihika, Neha and Abhay's cousin; Diya’s mother (2023)
    • Mahira Sharma replaced Kapoor as Divya (2023–present)
  • Sanchita Ugale as Diya Tandon: Divya’s daughter; Poorvi’s best friend; Soham's fiancee (2023–present)
  • Srishti Jain as Monisha: Dipika's sister; Rajvansh's ex-fiancée and one-sided obsessive lover (2024–present)
  • Imran Khan as Harman Malhotra: Rajvansh and Vikrant's father; Harleen's husband (2023–present)
  • Pyumori Mehta Ghosh as Harleen Malhotra: Rajvansh and Vikrant's mother; Harman's wife; Yug's aunt (2023–present)
  • Kirti Sualy as Rajvansh's grandmother (2023–present)
  • Susheel Parashar as Rajvansh's grandfather (2023–present)
  • Preet Kaur Nayak as Dipika Malhotra: Monisha's sister; Vikrant’s wife (2023–present)
  • Rahul Ram Manchanda as Vikrant Malhotra: Dipika's husband; Rajvansh's elder brother (2023–present)
  • Nakul Ulja as Yug Malhotra: Rajvansh’s younger cousin; Diya’s love interest (2023–present)
  • Arjun Shekhawat as Ashutosh: Poorvi’s ex-fiancée (2023–2024)
  • Kavita Banerjee as Trishna Jaiswal: Krishna's wife (2024)
  • Hemant Choudhary as Amar Dayal; Jaiswal’s political rival (2024)
  • Ajay Sharma as Gajendra Jaiswal; Trishna’s father (2024)
  • Hetal Yadav as Rajni Jaiswal; Trishna's mother (2024)
  • Mrunal Thakur as Bulbul Arora Khanna: Sarla and Raghuveer's third daughter; Pragya, Preeta and Srishti's sister; Purab's first wife (2014–2016)
  • Arjit Taneja as Purab Khanna: Abhi's best friend, business partner and brother-figure; Bulbul's widower; Disha and Aliya's ex-husband; Sunny and Aryan's father (2014–2016)
    • Vin Rana replaced Taneja as Purab (2016–2021)
  • Madhurima Tuli as Tanushree "Tanu" Mehta: Alia's best friend; Abhi's ex-wife; Nikhil's ex-girlfriend (2014)
  • Supriya Shukla as Sarla Arora: Raghuveer's widow; Pragya, Preeta, Bulbul and Srishti's mother; Kiara, Prachi and Rhea's grandmother; Panchi and Purvi's great-grandmother (2014–2018)
  • Madhu Raja as Daljeet Kaur Arora: Raghuveer's mother; Pragya, Preeta, Bulbul and Srishti's grandmother; Panchi and Purvi's great-grandmother (2014–2018)
  • Jasjeet Babbar as Janki: The Aroras' handmaiden; Poorvi's mother (2014–2018)
  • Kanupriya Pandit as Sweety: Pragya and Bulbul's aunt; Sarla's sister-in-law (2014)
  • Faisal Rashid as Suresh Shrivastav: Rachna's brother; Pragya's ex-fiancé (2014–2015)
  • Daljeet Soundh as Daljeet Kaur Mehra: Matriarch of the Mehra family; Swarni and Indu's sister; Ajay and Prem's mother; Abhi, Alia, Raj and Akash's grandmother; Bunty, Neha, Bittu, Kiara, Prachi, Rhea and Aryan's great-grandmother (2014–2018)
  • Charu Mehra as Poorvi: Janki's daughter; Pragya and Bulbul's namesake sister (2014–2015)
  • Neel Motwani as Corporator Neil Thakur (2014–2015)
  • Shikha Singh as Alia Mehra: Santoshi and Prem's daughter; Abhi's sister; Raj and Akash's cousin; Purab's second ex-wife; Aryan's mother; Kiara, Prachi and Rhea's aunt (2014–2020)
  • Shivaani Sopuri as Parminder "Pammi" Kaur Mehra: Ajay's wife; Raj and Akash's mother. (2014–2021)
  • Ajay Trehan as Ajay Mehra: Daljeet's elder son; Prem's brother; Parminder's husband; Raj and Akash's father; Bunty, Neha and Bittu's grandfather (2014–2020)
  • Ankit Mohan as Akash Mehra: Parminder and Ajay's younger son; Raj's brother; Abhi and Alia's cousin; Rachna's husband; Bittu's father (2014–2016)
  • Aditi Rathore as Rachna Shrivastav Mehra: Suresh's sister; Akash's wife; Bittu's mother. (2014–2016)
  • Zarina Khan as Inderjit Kaur Suri: Daljeet and Swarni's sister; Ajay and Prem's aunt; Abhi, Alia, Raj and Akash's grand-aunt; Kiara, Sunny, Prachi, Rhea and Aryan's great-grandaunt. (2014–2020)
  • Radha Israni as Swarni Dasi: Abhi, Alia, Raj and Akash's grand-aunt; Daljeet and Indu's sister (2014–2018)
    • Asha Sharma replaced Israni as Swarni (2018–2020)
  • Anurag Sharma as Raj Mehra: Parminder and Ajay's elder son; Akash's brother; Abhi and Alia's cousin; Mitali's husband; Bunty and Neha's father (2014–2021)
  • Samikssha Batnagar as Mitali Mehra: Raj's wife; Bunty and Neha's mother (2014)
    • Swati Anand replaced Batnagar as Mitali (2014–2021)
  • Haelyn Shastri as News Reporter (2015)
  • Nikhil Arya as Nikhil Sood: Tanu's ex-lover (2015–2017)
    • Rajat Dahiya replaced Arya as Nikhil (2017–2018)
    • Shaad Randhawa replaced Dahiya as Nikhil (2018–2019)
  • Bobby Khanna as Mr. Mehta: Tanu's father (2015–2017)
  • Roma Lavani as Mrs. Mehta: Tanu's mother (2015–2018)
  • Pratik Parihar as Manohar: Abhi's accountant who schemed against Pragya (2016)
  • Vijay Kashyap as Raghuveer Arora: Daljeet's son; Sarla's husband; Pragya, Preeta, Bulbul and Srishti's father; Kiara, Prachi and Rhea's grandfather (2017)
  • Nitin Goswami as Dushyant Rana: Simonica's husband who was accidentally killed by Abhishek (2017–2018)
  • Ruchi Savarn as Disha Singh: Purab's first ex-wife; Sunny's mother (2017–2019)
  • Sharhaan Singh as Sangram Singh Chautala: Disha's ex-fiancé (2017–2018)
  • Vivana Singh as Simonica Dushyant Rana: Dushyant's widow (2017–2018)
  • Shwetanshu Singh as Dr. Sheila (2017)
  • Mishal Raheja as King Singh: A rapper based in the UK; Pragya's former boss and one-sided lover (2018–2019)
  • Kaurwaki Vasistha as Kiara Mehra: Pragya and Abhi's eldest daughter; Prachi and Rhea's sister; Bunty, Neha, Bittu and Aryan's cousin (2018–2019)
  • Vedansh Jaju as Sunny Khanna: Purab and Disha's son; Aryan's half-brother (2018–2019)
  • Ashlesha Sawant as Meera: Rhea's foster mother and Abhi's ex-fiancé (2019–2021)
  • Abeer Adil as Tarun: King's cousin; Neha's husband (2018–2019)
  • Richa Rathore as Neha "Babli" Mehra: Mitali and Raj's daughter; Bunty's sister; Bittu, Sunny, Kiara, Prachi, Rhea and Aryan's cousin; Tarun's wife. (2018)
  • Roma Bali as Tarun's mother: King's aunt (2018–2019)
  • Naina Singh as Rhea Mehra: Pragya and Abhi's youngest daughter; Kiara and Prachi's sister; Bunty, Neha, Bittu and Aryan's cousin; Siddharth and Ranbir's ex-wife (2019–2020)
  • Zeeshan Khan as Aryan Khanna: Alia and Purab's son; Sunny's half-brother; Bunty, Neha, Bittu, Kiara, Prachi and Rhea's cousin; Ranbir's best friend; Mili's ex-boyfriend; Shahana's love interest (2019–2021)
    • Pulkit Bangia replaced Khan as Aryan (2022–2023)
    • Naveen Sharma replaced Bangia as Aryan (2023)
  • Abhishek Malik as Akshay Tandon: Ashok's son; Manpreet's step-son; Mihika's brother; Abhay, Neha and Divya's cousin; Prachi's fake husband; Khushi's adoptive father (2023)
  • Aafreen Dabestani as Mihika Tandon: Ashok's daughter; Manpreet's step-daughter; Akshay's sister; Abhay, Neha and Divya's cousin; Ranbir's fake fianceé (2023)
  • Sparsh Kotwal as Abhay Tandon: Vishakha and Ashok's nephew; Akshay, Mihika, Neha and Divya's cousin (2023)
  • Mehul Kajaria as Vikram Kohli: Daljeet's eldest son; Vikrant and Arun's brother; Pallavi's husband; Ranbir and Mishti's father; Siddharth's uncle/adoptive father; Abhi's friend and business partner; Khushi and Poorvi's grandfather (2019–2021)
  • Khyati Keswani as Pallavi Kohli: Vikram's wife; Ranbir and Mishti's mother; Siddharth's aunt/adoptive mother; Khushi and Poorvi's grandmother (2019–2023)
  • Kiran Bhargava as Daljeet "Dida" Kohli: Vikram, Vikrant and Arun's mother; Ranbir, Mishti, Siddharth and Mihika's grandmother; Khushi and Poorvi's great-grandmother (2019–2022)
    • Smita Shetty replaced Bhargava as Daljeet (2022–2023)
  • Aparna Mishra as Shahana Sharma: Beeji's granddaughter; Pragya's niece-figure; Prachi's best friend and sister-figure; Aryan's love interest (2019–2023)
  • Jaanvi Sangwan as Beeji: A nurse who took Pragya in after the latter's exile, Shahana's paternal grandmother (2019)
  • Manmohan Tiwari as Rohit "Sanju" Gill: A local gangster of Hoshiarpur; Prachi's obsessive one-sided lover (2019–2020)
  • Ashwini Tobe as Dimpy: Rhea's friend (2019–2020)
  • Shivali Choudhry as Shaina: Rhea's friend (2019–2022)
  • Pooja Singh as Mishti Kohli: Vikram and Pallavi's daughter; Ranbir's sister; Siddharth and Mihika's cousin (2019)
  • Neena Cheema as Sarita Ben: A Gujarati woman who gave refuge to Pragya and her daughters after they left Hoshiarpur for Delhi; Rishi's maternal grandmother (2019–2020)
    • Rupa Divetia replaced Cheema as Sarita Ben (2020–2021)
  • Sonali Joshi as Chief Minister Vasudha (2019)
  • Ribbhu Mehra as Ritik: Disha's friend and secret lover (2019)
  • Gautam Nain as Rishi Dhaval: Sarita's grandson; Prachi and Shahana's friend; Purab's employee (2019)
  • Kajal Chauhan as Priyanka Rane: Abhi's friend's daughter, Rishi's obsessive lover (2019)
  • Farida Dadi as Baljeet Mehra: Daljeet's sister-in-law; Abhi, Raj, Akash and Alia's grand-aunt; Bunty, Neha, Bittu, Sunny, Kiara, Prachi, Rhea and Aryan's great-grandaunt (2020–2021/2023)
  • Rose Khan as Maya Choubey, Ranbir's ex-fiancée (2020)
  • Manish Khanna as Dushyant Singh Chaubey, Maya's uncle (2020)
  • Bhupendra Khuranna as Mr. Choubey, Maya's father, Dushyant's younger brother (2020)
  • Anuradha Sharma as Mrs. Choubey, Maya's mother (2020)
  • Naina Yadav as Palak: Prachi and Shahana's friend (2021)
  • Sharukh Firoz Khan as Sharp Shooter (2021)
  • Gagan Anand as Digvijay: Abhishek's business rival (2021)
  • Gazala Silawat as Pari: Rhea's friend (2021)
  • Rohit Choudhary as Pradeep Khurana: Tanu's ex-husband (2021)
  • Dolly Sohi as Sushma Tandon: A rich businesswoman and Pragya's mentor (2021)
  • Vineet Kumar Chaudhary as Gautam Thapar: A businessman; Sushma and Pragya's business partner; Pragya's one-sided lover (2021)
  • Jatin Shah as Gaurav Thapar: Gautam's elder brother (2021)
  • Riyaz Panjwani as Mr. Thapar: Gaurav and Gautam's father (2021)
  • Kushagra Nautiyal as Siddharth "Sid" Kohli: Vikrant's son; Pallavi and Vikram's nephew/adopted son; Mihika's elder brother; Ranbir and Mishti's cousin; Rhea's ex-husband (2021–2023)
  • Shamik Abbas as Arun Kohli: Daljeet's youngest son; Vikram and Vikrant's younger brother; Teji's husband (2021)
  • Mridula Oberoi as Teji Kohli: Arun's wife (2021)
  • Abhishek Kumar as Jai Bhatt: Ranbir's best friend (2021–2022)
  • Gulshan Shivani as Stanley: Ranbir's assistant (2022)
  • Aishana Singh as Mihika Kohli: Vikrant's daughter; Siddharth's younger sister; Ranbir and Mishti's cousin (2022–2023)
  • Veronica Talreja as Mili: Aryan's ex-girlfriend and friend (2022)
  • Aalisha Panwar as Kaya Malhotra: Ranbir's former boss and Prachi's friend (2023)
  • Mimicharve Khadse as Mauli: a girl whom Prachi loved as her own after she lost Panchi in the six-year leap (2023)
  • Vishal Solanki as Satinder: Prachi's rival colleague (2023)
  • Pallavi Mahara as Damini: Aryan's suitress (2023)
  • Sharika Ahluwalia as Laali: A poor, greedy woman who raised Panchi/Khushi (2023)
  • Mohsin Khan as Balbira: Laali's boyfriend (2023)
  • Purvi Pawar as Neha Tandon: Akshay, Mihika, Abhay and Divya's cousin; Ashok's brother's daughter (2023)
  • Ipsita Jena as Priya: Prachi's assistant (2023)

Kumkum Bhagya Saavan Mahotsav

  • Vishal Singh as Rahul: Abhishek and Purab's friend; Anjali's husband (2018)
  • Rhea Sharma as Anjali: Abhishek and Purab's friend; Rahul's wife (2018)
  • Yuvika Chaudhary as Tina: Rahul's former fiancé (2018)
  • Kavita Ghai as Rahul's mother (2018)
  • Rakesh Kukreti as Rahul's father (2018)

Cameo appearances

  • Shraddha Arya as Dr. Preeta Arora: Pragya, Bulbul and Srishti's sister; Karan's wife (2017–2018)
  • Anjum Fakih as Srishti Arora: Pragya, Preeta and Bulbul's sister (2017–2018)
  • Dheeraj Dhoopar as Karan Luthra: Abhi's friend; Preeta's husband (2017–2018)
  • Manit Joura as Rishabh Luthra: Abhi's friend, Karan's elder brother (2017–2018)
  • Vijay Kashyap as Raghuveer Arora: Daljeet's son; Sarla's husband; Pragya, Preeta, Bulbul and Srishti's father; Kiara, Prachi and Rhea's grandfather (2017)

Production

Development

 
Filming location at Delhi

The series is a love story[4] produced by Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor under the banner Balaji Telefilms that airs on Zee TV. Ekta Kapoor considers the letter K to be lucky and has named many of her productions starting with K.[5] Talking about introducing a fresh concept on prime time, Zee TV Programming head Namit Sharma said, "It takes one epic show to replace another, so you can imagine. It is a passionate drama of love, a far cry from regular saas-bahu soaps and has an ensemble cast of some very talented actors."

Ekta Kapoor added, "While two of my shows (Pavitra Rishta and Jodha Akbar) are already on-air and doing immensely well on Zee TV, it's a pleasure to extend my partnership with Zee to a third show. Pavitra Rishta has had a run of over five years now and the journey has been most gratifying for me as a producer. While the audiences who are hooked on to Pavitra Rishta will continue to enjoy the show at 6:30 PM, Kumkum Bhagya will open at 9 PM, drawing maximum eyeballs. It is so contemporary in its treatment that viewers will be able to instantly spot characters out of their own lives in the show. It's a story of passionate love that anyone with a soul would be able to easily relate to".

Kapoor rejected 19 costumes while selecting the look of character Pragya.[6]

Filming

The production and airing of the show was halted indefinitely in late March 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak in India.[7] The outbreak caused the halt of filming of television shows and movies on 19 March 2020, and they were expected to resume on 1 April 2020. But shooting remained suspended and the remaining episodes were aired up to 24 March 2020.[8][9][10] After three months, the production and filming of the series resumed on 29 June 2020 and airing resumed on 13 July 2020.[11][12][13]

Casting

Shabbir Ahluwalia,[14] who was also cast in Ekta's TV series Kayamath, was selected to portray the lead role of Abhishek Prem Mehra. Ahluwalia made his comeback after Zee twenty years. Actress Sriti Jha landed in lead role in the show.[14] Mrunal Thakur was selected to portray the second leading role of Bulbul[15] while Arjit Taneja was cast opposite her.[15][16] In May 2014, Shikha Singh entered the show as the main antagonist Alia Mehra,[16][17][18] while Madhurima Tuli was cast to portray the negative role of Tanu. Later, Tuli had to shoot for her film Baby so, this role was later played by Leena Jumani from September 2014.[19] Actor Faisal Rashid was selected to portray the role of Suresh (Pragya's fiancé) who played an important role in April–May 2014, but in May 2015 he quit the series. Actress Supriya Shukla was cast to play the role of Sarla Arora, while Madhu Raja played the role of Daljeet Arora. Other supporting cast members include Samikssha Batnagar, Ankit Mohan, Charu Mehra and Amit Dhawan. Bhatnagar, who portrayed the supporting role of Mitali was replaced by Swati Anand within the month of launch while Anurag Sharma replaced Amit. In 2015, Neel Motawani (who was also cast in other shows of Ekta) was selected to play the negative role of Neel; while in June 2015 Nikhil Arya entered the series playing the role of main male antagonist Nikhil Sood.[20]

In December 2015, Mrunal Thakur opted out from the show and was to be replaced by Kajol Shrivastava, however the character of Bulbul was phased out of the series after Mrunal's departure. In August 2016, Ankit Mohan quit the show so his character left as well. In September 2016, Arjit Taneja quit the show and was replaced by Vin Rana. In October 2016, Nikhil Arya was replaced by Rujut Dahiya.[21] In July 2017, actress Ruchi Savarn entered the show as Purab's new love interest. Mishal Raheja as King Singh and Kaurwakee Vashista as Kiara Mehra entered the show after the leap. Actor Abeer Adil was cast in 2018 as King's cousin Tarun and Roma Bali as Tarun's mother.

In March 2019, a twenty-year leap was introduced with which several new characters entered in the show and became pivotal characters. In March 2019, Mugdha Chaphekar, Krishna Kaul and Naina Singh were introduced as leads of the second generation who play Prachi, Ranbir and Rhea respectively alongside Sriti and Shabbir. In August 2020, Naina left the show as she was not happy playing a negative role anymore and Pooja Banerjee replaced Singh as Rhea. In February 2022, Pooja Banerjee quit the show because her due date was near, and she was replaced by Tina Ann Philip.[22]

The show then introduced the third generation post a leap of twenty years in November 2023, with Rachi Sharma and Abrar Qazi roped in as the new leads with Sharma portraying Prachi and Ranbir's younger daughter Poorvi Kohli while Qazi as Rajvansh Malhotra respectively.[23] Simran Budharup was roped in to play grown-up version of Prachi and Ranbir's elder daughter Khushi Kohli Randhawa replacing Trisha Rohatgi who played childhood version of same.[24]

In February 2024 Srishti Jain was cast to play negative lead Monisha thus making her second collaboration with Balaji Telefilms after Bade Achhe Lagte Hain 3.[25]

Spin-off

Kundali Bhagya

A spin-off series Kundali Bhagya premiered on 12 July 2017 and ran till 6 December 2024. The series narrated the story of Pragya's sisters, Preeta and Srishti and their attempt to find their mother Sarla and how they meet the rich and famous Luthra family. Later that show too took a generation leap and story shifted to Preeta's sons Rajveer and Shaurya. The show starred Supriya Shukla, Shraddha Arya, Dheeraj Dhoopar, Manit Joura, Anjum Fakih, Shakti Arora, Shakti Anand, Paras Kalnawat, Sana Sayyad, Baseer Ali and Adrija Roy.[26][27][28]

Bhagya Lakshmi

A similar series Bhagya Lakshmi premiered on 3 August 2021. It traces the love story of Pragya's best friend, Lakshmi and Rishi. It stars Aishwarya Khare and Rohit Suchanti.[29][30]

Reception

Critical reception

Here's celebrating a show that has stood the test of time and crossed the boundaries of language, a big thank you to each and every one of you from all over the world for all the love you have given Kumkum Bhagya, for always keeping it at the top, no matter where it aired, and what language. We, as a team, are truly grateful that you let us entertain you for half a decade.

— Shabir Ahluwalia on the series completing 5 Years.[31]

The show climbed to Top 5 most-watched shows across all GECs, after only a few weeks of its launch.[32] It was touted as the biggest fiction launch of 2014.[33] The serial is very popular among Indian women.[citation needed] The show also gave tough fight to the long-time Hindi GEC leader Diya Aur Baati Hum that aired at same slot on Star Plus.[citation needed]

Reruns of Kumkum Bhagya premiered on Zee Anmol from 2017 and received high ratings in the BARC rural chart when Zee Anmol was FTA. It began running on the network again from episode 1 from 10 June 2020, due to the return to DD Free Dish.[citation needed]

The show also managed to strike a chord with West Africans too.[34] Actor Kartik Aaryan also watched the show during the lockdown.[35][36]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Recipient Result Ref(s)
2015 Star Guild Awards Best Upcoming Drama Series Ekta Kapoor Won [37]
Gold Awards Best Actress in Negative Role (Critics) Shikha Singh Won [38]
Best Actor in a Lead Role (Critics) Shabbir Ahluwalia
Best Actress in a Lead Role (Popular) Sriti Jha Nominated
Best Actor in a Lead Role (Popular) Shabbir Ahluwalia
Best TV Show of the Year (Fiction) Ekta Kapoor
Indian Telly Awards Best Onscreen Couple Sriti Jha & Shabbir Ahluwalia Won
Best Actress in a Lead Role Sriti Jha
BIG Star Entertainment Awards BIG Star Most Entertaining Fiction Series Ekta Kapoor Won [39]
BIG Star Most Entertaining Television Actor - Female Sriti Jha Nominated [40]
BIG Star Most Entertaining Television Actor - Male Shabbir Ahluwalia
2016 9th Boroplus Gold Awards Boroplus Face of the Year Sriti Jha Won [41]
Best Actor in a Lead Role (Popular) Shabbir Ahluwalia
Best TV Show of the Year (Fiction) Ekta Kapoor
Best Actress in Negative Role (Critics) Shikha Singh Nominated
Best Actor in Supporting Role (Popular) Arjit Taneja
Best Actress in a Lead Role (Popular) Sriti Jha
Indian Television Academy Awards Best Actor (Popular) Shabbir Ahluwalia Won
Ghana Movie Awards Best Foreign TV Series Ekta Kapoor Won
2017 Gold Awards Best TV Show of the Year (Fiction) Ekta Kapoor Won [42][43]
Best Onscreen Jodi Sriti Jha & Shabbir Ahluwalia Nominated [44]
Best Actress in Negative Role (Popular) Shikha Singh
Best Actor in Supporting Role (Popular) Arjit Taneja
Best Actress in a Lead Role (Popular) Sriti Jha
Best Actor in a Lead Role (Popular) Shabbir Ahluwalia
2018 11th Keshking Gold Awards Best Actress in Negative Role (Popular) Shikha Singh Won
Best Actor in a Lead Role (Popular) Shabbir Ahluwalia
Best Actress in a Lead Role (Popular) Sriti Jha
Gold Award for Fittest actor of Television Vin Rana
Best Television Show (Fiction) Ekta Kapoor
Gold Producer's Honour
(For Completing 1000 Episodes)
Ekta Kapoor
Telly Technical and Trade Awards Best Editor (Fiction) Vikas Sharma Won [45]
2019 Indian Telly Awards Best Daily Series Ekta Kapoor Won [46]
Best Jodi Shabbir Ahluwalia & Sriti Jha Nominated [47]
Best Actor in Lead Role (Male) Shabbir Ahluwalia
Best Actor in Lead Role (Female) Sriti Jha
Best Actor in Supporting Role (Male) Mishal Raheja
Best Actor in Negative Role (Male) Shaad Randhawa
Best Actor in Negative Role (Female) Leena Jumani
Gold Awards Best Actress in a Supporting Role Mugdha Chaphekar Won
Best Actor in a Supporting Role Krishna Kaul Nominated [48]
Best Actress in a Lead Role (Popular) Sriti Jha
Best Actor in a Lead Role (Popular) Shabbir Ahluwalia
Best Onscreen Jodi Sriti Jha & Shabbir Ahluwalia
Best TV Show of the Year (Fiction) Ekta Kapoor
Television Personality of the Year (Female) Sriti Jha
Television Personality of the Year (Male) Shabbir Ahluwalia
2022 Indian Television Academy Awards Best Actor in Lead Role (Popular) Shabir Ahluwalia Nominated [49]
Best Actress in Lead Role (Popular) Sriti Jha
Best Television Show - Fiction (Popular) Ekta Kapoor

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