But in the corridors of power of the Indian content landscape, family rules the roost. For, the most successful shows on TV have family as the lynchpin. Not content with that, Ms Kapoor now has designs on ruling the digital content space too. The reasons are many— a steadfast, quality bunch of writers and directors; the presence of top stars such as Ram Kapoor, Ronit Roy, Sakshi Tanwar, etc. Another substantial reason is the deep pockets of the production house, which allows it to churn out shows at astonishing speeds— shows that are both lavish, and brimming with high quality production values. Hum is the story of three sisters who love each other to death. Each sister will do anything for the happiness of the other two. Devina, the eldest sister Ridhima Pandit , Isha, the middle one Karishma Sharma , and Sakshi, the youngest Payal Bhojwani , are the daughters of Roop, erstwhile Princess of Daulatganj Priya Nair. Having eloped from her royal home, to marry her commoner husband who died early, Roop lives with her three daughters, in her delusional world of royalty sans riches. Her conviction in her blue-bloodedness considers her two elder daughters working at menial jobs, beneath their royal standing. Devina is a cool, calm and collected girl, simple and sweet in nature, always standing strong for her family like the proverbial Rock of Gibraltar. Sakshi is a precocious kid, whose only aim in life is unbridled gluttony. Isha is feisty, fiery and firmly focussed on getting rich, come hell or high water. And it is Isha who catches our immediate attention. Isha is sassy, street-smart and a go-getter. She thinks on her feet, can talk herself out of any situation and is as glib as they come. Her glibness comes to the fore, to save the day in myriad sticky situations. Devina finds work as a waitress at a cafe, while Isha smooth-talks Vikram into becoming his image consultant. Both girls fall for Rahul, hook, line and sinker— Devina is taken in with his kind-heartedness, while Isha, with his roguish charm. The series, after labouring through many twists and turns, ends in an interesting climax. Season 1 comprises ten episodes. Two more seasons are in the offing, and with the way Season 1 ends, Season 2 promises to be spicy and salacious. All the actors have done an adequate job. Ridhima Pandit plays her part of the sweet and unassuming Devina pretty well. Her incandescent smile lights up the screen. Karishma Sharma is sharp and on-point, as the upwardly mobile Isha. The series features long-drawn-out, no-holds-barred love-making scenes— there are two, in the first four episodes itself— leaving us wondering at the implausibility of it all. We yearn for the romantic scenes of yore— the coquettish smiles, the coy looks, the slow building of love. The ten-episode, 18-minute quickies that are web series, have sounded the death knell of that brand of romance. The story is nothing to sings paeans to. The dialogues are pedestrian, while the characters and situations are pretty ordinary too. The ending of Season 1 is pretty interesting though, and will make die-hard Ekta fans come back for more. As for those who like watching intelligent content, give Hum a wide berth. Written by Rashmi Paharia.
