Saat Phere – Saloni Ka Safar Explained

Runtime:	30 minutes
Music:	Abhijeet Hegdepatil
Director:	Rakesh Sarang Rajan Shahi^[1]
Starring:	Rajshree Thakur
Opentheme:	"Saat Pheron Mein" by Shreya Ghoshal
Country:	India
Company:	Sphere Origins
Network:	Zee TV
Num Seasons:	1
Num Episodes:	854
Language:	Hindi

Saat Phere – Saloni Ka Safar (International title: Saloni) is a Hindi television serial that was broadcast on Zee TV from 17 October 2005 to 28 May 2009.^[2] The story focuses on Saloni, who faces social discrimination because of her dark skin.^[3] The series starred Rajshree Thakur and Sharad Kelkar as main leads.^[4]

Plot

The story revolves around the life of Saloni, who despite being dark-skinned, sets out to prove that it doesn't matter what skin colour you might be. She marries Nahar and begins her journey fulfilling the seven rounds she took at her marriage. Saloni faces many problems, particularly, discrimination for her skin colour.

However she is talented and sets out on a journey, to create an identity for herself. She faces many enemies such as Kaveri, Karan, Kuki Kaki, Padam, Chandni / Devika, Urvashi, Abhi, Varun and more. The series is titled Saat Phere in the context of seven rounds a couple takes at their wedding. This is Saloni's journey and after generation leap, her daughter Savri also faces many obstacles, in the end Saloni is reunited with her family and her daughters get married.

Cast

• Rajshree Thakur^[5] as Saloni Singh – Narpat and Ambika's elder daughter; Shubhra and Samar's sister; Kalika's half-sister; Nahar's widow; Savri's mother; Shweta's adoptive mother (2005–2009)
• Sharad Kelkar as
  • Nahar Singh – Abhay's younger son; Bhabho's adopted son; Brijesh, Aditi and Piya's brother; Saloni's husband; Savri's father; Shweta's adoptive father (2005–2008) (Dead)
  • Swami Amrit – Nahar's lookalike; Gurumaa's son; Saloni's friend; Savri and Shweta's foster father (2008–2009)
• Raqesh Bapat as Neel / Neerav – Saloni's childhood friend and ex-lover; Shubhra's ex-husband; Nishi's husband (2005–2008)
• Mohan Bhandari as Narpat Singh – Narendra's brother; Ambika's husband; Shyama's ex-lover; Saloni, Shubhra, Samar and Kalika's father (2005–2009)
• Pratichi Mishra as Ambika Singh – Saloni, Shubhra and Samar's mother (2005–2009)
• Prithvi Zutshi as Narendra Singh – Narpat's brother; Manno's husband; Abhi's father (2006–2007)
• Neena Gupta as Manorama "Manno" Singh – Narendra's wife; Abhi's mother (2005–2009)
• Poonam Gulati as Shubhra Singh – Narpat and Ambika's younger daughter; Saloni and Samar's sister; Kalika's half-sister; Neel's ex-wife; Kunjan's wife (2005–2008)
• Chetanya Adib as Kunjan Singh – Shubhra's husband (2005–2008)
• Anand Suryavanshi / Mazher Sayed as Samar Singh – Narpat and Ambika's son; Saloni and Shubhra's brother; Kalika's half-brother; Kaveri's husband; Kamini's father; Nikita's adoptive father (2005–2009)
• Aanchal Dwiwedi as Kaveri Chaudhary Singh – Samar's wife; Kamini's mother; Nikita's adoptive mother (2005–2009)
• Surekha Sikri as Mrs. Singh aka Bhabho – Abhay's wife; Brijesh, Aditi, Nahar and Piya's adoptive mother; Aditya, Ishaan, Savri and Shweta's adoptive grandmother (2005–2009)
• Bharat Kaul as Abhay Singh – Bhabho's husband; Brijesh, Aditi, Nahar and Piya's father; Aditya, Ishaan and Savri's grandfather; Shweta's adoptive grandfather (2007)
• Ahmed Khan as Mr. Singh – Abhay's father; Brijesh, Aditi, Nahar and Piya's grandfather (2007)
• Akshay Anand as Brijesh Singh – Abhay's elder son; Bhabho's adopted son; Aditi, Nahar and Piya's brother; Urvashi's ex-husband; Tara's husband; Aditya's father (2005–2009)
• Ashlesha Sawant as Tara Singh – Maasa's step-daughter; Urvashi's step-sister; Brijesh's second wife; Aditya's adoptive mother (2005–2009)
• Nivedita Bhattacharya as Urvashi Singh – Maasa's daughter; Tara's step-sister; Brijesh's ex-wife; Veer's wife; Aditya's mother (2006–2009)
• Aditi Pratap as Aditi Singh – Abhay's elder daughter; Bhabho's adopted daughter; Brijesh, Nahar and Piya's sister; Dheer's wife; Ishaan's mother (2005–2007)
• Ashish Kapoor as Dheer – Aditi's husband; Ishaan's father (2005–2009)
• Amrita Prakash as Piya Singh – Abhay's younger daughter; Bhabho's adopted daughter; Brijesh, Aditi and Nahar's sister; Shridhar's ex-wife; Shekhar's wife (2005–2006)
• Amit Dolawat as Shridhar – Piya's ex-husband (2007)
• Sachin Shroff as Shekhar Sharma / Fake Abhi – Manno and Narendra's fake son; Piya's second husband (2007)
• Rachana Parulkar as Savri Singh – Saloni and Nahar's daughter; Amrit's foster daughter; Shweta's adopted sister; Aditya, Ishaan and Kamini's cousin; Nikita's adopted cousin; Daksh's wife (2009)
• *Ulka Gupta as Child Savri Singh (2009)
• Amrapali Dubey as Shweta Singh – Saloni and Nahar's adopted daughter; Amrit's foster daughter; Savri's adopted sister; Aditya, Ishaan, Kamini and Nikita's adopted cousin; Aman's ex-fiancée; Rajveer's wife (2009)
  • Hiba Nawab as Child Shweta Singh (2009)
• Ali Merchant as Rajveer – Shweta's husband (2009)
• Puneet Sachdev as Aman – Shweta's ex-fiancé (2009)
• Aham Sharma as Aditya Singh – Brijesh and Urvashi's son; Tara's adopted son; Ishaan and Savri's cousin; Shweta's adopted cousin (2009)
• Shalini Kapoor as Madhu (2009)
• Gaurav Vaish as Ishaan – Dheer and Aditi's son; Aditya and Savri's cousin; Shweta's adopted cousin (2005–2009)
• Keerti Gaekwad Kelkar as
  • Chandni Singh, Padam Singh's daughter /
  • Devika Nahar Singh, Nahar's ex-wife (2006–2007)
• Sachin Sharma as Dev, Chandni's husband (2007)
• Meenakshi Verma as Padma Gajpratap Singh – Shubhra's mother-in-law, Kunjan's mother (2005–2008)
• Tej Sapru as Gajpratap Singh – Shubhra's father-in-law, Kunjan's father (2007–2008)
• Apara Mehta as Kuki Veer Singh – Brijesh, Aditi, Nahar and Piya's aunt, Veer's ex-wife, Kshitij's mother (2006–2008), antagonist
• Sadiya Siddiqui as Gayatri Singh – Saloni's paternal aunt, Dhananjay's wife (2005–2007)
• Sachin Khurana as Dhananjay – Gayatri's husband (2005–2007)
• Nattasha Singh as Juhi (2006)
• Shaleen Bhanot as Karan – Shubhra's boyfriend (2005–2006), antagonist
• Farida Dadi as Maa Sa, Tara's stepmother, Urvashi's mother (2006–2008)
• Akshay Sethi as Yug (2006–2007)
• Aastha Chaudhary as Urmila Singh, Padam Singh's out-of-wedlock daughter (2007)
• Jasveer Kaur as Katari (2006)
• Narendra Gupta as Aapji – Neel's grandfather (2005–2006)
• Vineet Kumar – Kaveri's father
• Sharmilee Raj as Chamki (2007)
• Barkha Madan as Reva Sehgal – Brijesh, Aditi, Nahar and Piya's stepsister (2006–2007)
• Shahbaz Khan as Padam Singh – Chandni, Devika and Urmila's father (2007), antagonist
• Shweta Kawatra as Reva Sehgal – Brijesh, Aditi, Nahar and Piya's stepsister (2005)
• Sonika Sahay as Ginni – Nikita's mother (2007–2008)
• Gunjan Walia as Vrinda – Dheer's second wife and Ishaan's stepmother (2007–2008)
• Niyati Joshi as Piya Singh, Brijesh, Aditi and Nahar's younger sister, Shridhar's ex-wife, fake Abhi / Shekhar's wife (2006–2009)
• Poonam Joshi as Dr. Nishi – Neel's second wife, Brigadier and Shanti's former daughter-in-law (2007–2008)
• Mahru Sheikh as Shanti, Brigadier's wife, Dr. Nishi's mother-in-law (2007–2008)
• Rajeev Verma as Brigadier, Shanti's husband, Dr. Nishi's father-in-law (2007–2008)
• Pracheen Chauhan as Kshitij Singh – Nahar and Brijesh's cousin, Veer and Kuki's son, Kalika's husband (2008)
• Amita Nangia as Shyama Singh – Narpat's girlfriend and Kalika's mother (2008)
• Aashka Goradia as Advocate Kalika Singh / Advocate Kalika Kshitij Singh – Saloni's stepsister, Narpat and Shyama's daughter, Kshitij's Wife, Veer and Kuki's daughter-in-law (2008)
• Pratima Kazmi as Lali Maasi (2008), Antagonist
• Zahida Parveen as Savitri – Savri's adoptive mother (2008–2009)
• Mihir Mishra as Dr. Varun – Nahar's friend (2008), antagonist
• Vishal Watwani as Rohit – Neel's friend (2005–2006)
• Amit Sarin as Advocate Pratap Chauhan (2006)
• Amit Jain as Daksh – Savri's husband, Saloni's son-in-law (2009)
• Parikshit Sahni as Veer Singh – Brijesh, Aditi, Nahar and Piya's uncle, Kuki's ex-husband, Kshitij's father, Urvashi's husband, Kalika's father-in-law (2007–2008)
• Sonal Pendse as Neelima – Nahar's ex-girlfriend (2006)
• Yusuf Hussain as Shamsher Singh – Tara and Urvashi's father (2006)
• Sonia Singh as Tanya – Samar's secretary (2007)
• Vijay Badlani as Sushant – Shekhar's friend (2007)
• Iira Soni as Kamini Singh – Samar and Kaveri's daughter (2009)
  • Navika Kotia as Child Kamini Singh (2009)
• Sujata Krishnamurthy as Guruma – Swami Amritanand's mother (2008–2009)

Production

In November 2008, the shootings and telecast of all the Hindi television series including this series and films were stalled on 8 November 2008 due to dispute by the technician workers of FWICE (Federation of Western India Cine Employees) for increasing the wages, better work conditions and more breaks between shootings.^{[6] [7]} FWICE first took a strike on 1 October 2008 when they addressed their problems with the producers and production was stalled.^[8] A contract was signed after four days discussions and shooting were happening only for two hours content in a day then after which differences increased between them while channels gave them time until 30 October 2008 to sort it out. Failing to do so lead to protests again from 10 November 2008 to 19 November 2008 during which channels blacked out new broadcasts and repeat telecasts were shown from 10 November 2008.^{[9] [10]} On 19 November 2008, the strike was called off after settling the disputes and the production resumed.^[11] The new episodes started to telecast from 1 December 2008.^{[12] [13]}

Lead Sharad Kelkar was supposed to shoot for only 30 episodes for the series. But, good response for the series made him to continue until he quit before the generation leap.^{[14] [15]} However, he returned to the series for the finale episode.

In October 2008, lead Rajshree Thakur confirmed quitting the show to spend time with her family and quit along with Kelkar when the series took a generation leap in April end of 2009.^[16] In April 2009, the series took a generation leap with addition of new casts, with story focussing on lead character Saloni's children when Rachana Parulkar was cast as Saawri.^[17]

The series which was one of the top rated show for a long time with more than 6+ TVR. Later, when the ratings dipped, a generation leap was taken which was also unsuccessful in increasing the ratings as before which made channel to end the series in the same month after it.^[18] Speaking about ending the series, Producer Sunjoy Wadhwa said, "Saat Phere was Saloni’s story. The leap meant regenerating a story from scratch, which isn’t working for us. So, it’s best to end it now" and stated its ended on 22 May 2009.^[19] However, it ended on 28 May 2009.^[20]

Reception

Critics

India Today described the plot of the series as simple.^[21]

Ratings

Initially, it ranged between 1.8-2 TVR. Within a month it started averaging 2-3 TVR and then gradually increased until ranging 6+TVR during 2006 becoming one of the most watched Hindi GEC.^[22] In April and May, it averaged 4.44 TVR overall.^[23] In December 2006, it garnered 5.1 TVR.^[24] In week ending 17 March 2007, it garnered 1.59 TVR.^[25] As in July 2007, it averaged 3.4 TVR.^[26]

The highest rating garnered in its runtime was 6.61 TVR during May 2006.^[27]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Leap of faith. The Indian Express. 3 September 2010 .
2. Web site: To die or not to die?. The Telegraph.
3. Web site: Two new shows propel Zee TV back into the soap game, unveil new traditional woman. India Today. 26 June 2006 .
4. Web site: Fair in love war. The Telegraph.
5. Web site: Rajshri quits Saat Phere. 2008-10-23. Tellychakkar Dot Com. en. 2020-05-10.
6. Web site: Cine technicians go on strike. The Indian Express.
7. Web site: Charming Kunwar. The Indian Express.
8. Web site: Work hit as 1.5 lakh cine workers strike work. Outlook India.
9. Web site: Strike off, TV shooting to resume. The Indian Express.
10. Web site: No more repeat of TV soaps as TV industry strike ends. India Today. 19 November 2008 .
11. Web site: No more repeat telecast of TV soaps as strike ends. Live Mint. 20 November 2008 .
12. Web site: New look return. The Telegraph.
13. Web site: Zee TV comes with a bang after the strike. Indian Television dot com.
14. News: Sharad Kelkar's goodbye on 'Saath Phere'. The Times of India. 21 May 2009 .
15. Web site: Leap year. The Indian Express.
16. Web site: I am quitting the show. The New Indian Express. 14 May 2012 .
17. Web site: Rajshri's look-alike on Saat Phere. Hindustan Times. 20 April 2009 .
18. Web site: Saloni's 'safar' ends. Daily News and Analysis.
19. Web site: Saat Phere to go off air. Hindustan Times. 8 May 2009 .
20. Web site: Saat Phere goes off air. The Indian Express.
21. Web site: Two new shows propel Zee TV back into the soap game, unveil new traditional woman. India Today. 26 June 2006 .
22. Web site: Saat Phere: The dark girl theory. Indian Television dot com.
23. Web site: Sony, Star One bid to get back on narrative track. Indian Television dot com.
24. Web site: How Zee scripted its own success story. Rediff.com.
25. News: Soaps continue to have a ball despite World Cup . The Economic Times. Sharma . Samidha .
26. Web site: In the name of the father. Business Today. 17 July 2007 .
27. Web site: Being second best isnt easy. The Financial Express. 25 June 2006 .