7 TV serials that Broke Stereotypes: From Rubina Dilaik’s Shakti- Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki to Rupali Ganguly’s Anupamaa
Here we have got you 7 Hindi TV serials that go beyond usual family drama, and break stereotypes by challenging societal norms, and beliefs.
![Pic credit- Rubina Dilaik Instagram, IMDB Rubina Dilaik as Soumya, Rupali Ganguly as Anupamaa](https://www.pinkvilla.com/images/2024-07/22453264_shakti-astitva-ke-ehsaas-ki-anupamaa-1.jpg)
Have you wondered how some serials have influenced a larger part of society, and connected with the audience?
For decades, daily soap operas have been a significant part of our lives. Gone are the days when TV serials were only about melodramas, and predictable stories. Now, a new wave of shows each with different formats has had a greater influence on challenging societal norms. With loads of entertainment, these serials offer unique perspectives on eunuchs, widows, child marriage, and many such serious topics.
7 TV Serials That Broke Stereotypes
Explore and learn about how these 7 TV serials broke stereotypes and gave a fresh approach to the audience.
1. Shakti- Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki
Main Cast- Rubina Dilaik, Vivian Dsena, Jigyasa Singh, Simba Nagpal, and Cezanne Khan
The Colors TV show Shakti- Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki starred Rubina Dilaik, and Vivian Dsena as the first lead, and later the legacy was continued by Jigyasa Singh and Simba Nagpal.
The story revolves around Soumya- a eunuch who received hatred from her father, and grandmother, but was always protected by her mother. Later Soumya got married to Harman who always protected her. This serial broke stereotypes of eunuchs being treated differently and spoke for their equal rights, and being accepted as respected individuals.
2. Balika Vadhu
Main Cast- Avika Gor, Shashank Vyas, Avinash Mukherjee, Sriti Jha, Sargun Mehta, Surekha Sikri, Pratyusha Banerjee, Sidharth Shukla, and Toral Rasputra
The show, aired from 2008-2016 on Colors TV, grabbed the audience's interest with its captivating storyline. The story centers on Anandi who gets married at a young age to Jagdish who later falls in love with Gauri. This show focused on Anandi who faced, and overcame multiple challenges, and later remarried to Shiv.
Throughout the story, the show kept giving social messages to the audience, and this serial played a huge role in changing the perspective on one of the biggest issues- child marriages.
3. Gangaa
Main Cast- Aditi Sharma, Vishal Vashishtha, Shakti Anand, and Ruhana Khanna
The &TV show, premiered in 2015, focused on the serious problem of child widow custom. The story follows the journey of Ganga who had to live as a widow her entire life but with courage, she kept questioning society’s traditions. Against all the norms and beliefs, she had a will to live life to the fullest.
This show gave a strong message about the child widow custom that is still believed in some parts of the country.
4. Naamkarann
Main Cast- Aditi Rathore, Zain Imam, Barkha Bisht Sengupta, Viraf Patel, and Arsheen Namdar
Naamkarann aired on StarPlus from 2016 to 2018. The show is about Avni who was born out of wedlock and never had her naming ceremony. Due to his mother’s pressures, Avni’s father was not able to accept her, and thus Avni broke the stereotype of keeping her father’s name and chose to add her mother’s name, and was named Avni Aisha.
Later the show focused on Neil, and Avni's relationship who together fought against Dayawanti Mehta, Avni’s grandmother who never accepted her.
5. Uttaran
Main Cast- Tina Datta, Rashami Desai, Nandish Singh Sandhu, Sparsh Khanchandani, Sreejita De, Ishita Panchal, Ajay Chaudhary, and Mrunal Jain
This 2008 Colors TV show is one of the popular soap operas and follows the story of two childhood friends Tapasya, and Ichcha, who belong to different statuses. With the other's manipulative statement, slowly the feeling of jealousy ruined their relationship.
The slow was later carried by Tapasya, and Ichcha’s daughters, teaching the importance of friendship that goes beyond all society standards.
6. Udaan
Main Cast- Spandan Chaturvedi, Meera Deosthale, Vijayendra Kumeria, Paras Arora, Vidhi Pandya, and Sai Ballal
Udaan, a popular and one of the longest-running Colors TV shows aired in 2014, is about a victim of bonded child labor- Chakor. Due to financial problems, Chakor was used as a servant who had to serve Kamal.
Chakor a free-spirited girl who later became an aspiring marathon runner, fought against this bonded child labor, giving an important lesson to the audience.
7. Anupamaa
Main Cast- Rupali Ganguly, Gaurav Khanna, Nidhi Shah, Madalsa Sharma, and Sudhanshu Pandey
One of the most popular TV serials, Anupama is a StarPlus show launched in 2020. It tells the story of a married woman who rejects her cheating husband and refuses to be the bechari. Anupamaa after being cheated by her husband did not accept him back into her life and moved on to become an independent woman.
Being a divorced woman, Anupamaa faced multiple problems, but she didn’t bend and encouraged housewives. She also remarried at the age of 40 stating that there is no age to find the perfect partner. This serial has been the inspiration of many girls who suppressed following their dreams and were dependent on their husbands.
In conclusion, these serials not only entertained the audience but gave a different approach to the problems that resonated with the Indian audience.
![](https://www.pinkvilla.com/assets/images/newsletter-icon.png)