Deepanjana Pal
After three seasons of "Murder ke mausam mein pyaar" (love in the time of murder), the "mur" has been slashed so that it's "Darr ke mausam mein pyaar" (love in the time of fear).
From celebrating feminine desire to championing a woman's right to work outside the home, the show fills its frames with women who are indomitable, like the quick-witted Chikki or the Chauhan family's formidable and conservative grandmother (played by Geeta Tyagi).
Often through the dialogues spoken by Chikki and Yash's younger brother. Most of the time, sharply progressive thought is packaged in a layer of humour, but the insights are delivered with the intention of packing a punch.
This is a show that worships at the altar of silliness and revels in the tropes of soap operas. Aashiqana takes the business of entertaining its audience seriously, but it’s also constantly laughing at itself and unafraid of cracking bad jokes.
In three seasons, Aashiqana has raised the bar for madcap entertainment, giving us plot twists that are untethered to reality and melodrama that's cheerfully self-aware of its clichéd excesses.