So Many OTPs, So Little Time

Neil Khanna -  a character that had been a fresh breath of air in a highly MCP dominated industry. He was the ideal son, the ideal grandson, the ideal friend and the ideal husband. In short, he was the ideal man that every woman dreams of having.

He carried his own baggage, but he didn’t let his baggage and sorrows define who he was as a person, and nor did he blame the world for his problems. He wasn’t judgemental. He wished to always see the good in people, and he believed in their good even when they themselves didn’t.

He didn’t kick Avni out of the house, each time things got difficult. Not even after the ten year leap, where he himself told her (despite being deeply hurt by her actions of leaving him), that it was her house as much as it was his, and that he holds no right to ask her to get out of the house.

He always stood for what’s right, even if it meant standing against his own family. And each time his own family stood against Avni, he stood with her, holding her hand, refusing to let her give any form of justification to his family - a duty many tellywood husbands fail to successfully do.  

He truly was the NayiSoch that Starplus constantly attempted to achieve.

Because he knew -and more importantly understood- that she didn’t need a man to stand complete. And so he never tried to complete her. He just wanted to be her “humsafar”- someone she could share her burdens and joys with.

He is, hands down, my favourite male character from whatever little tellywood I have watched in my life, and Zain Imam did a fantastic job at perfectly portraying the flawlessly flawed character of Neil Khanna. He breathed life into his character while keeping in mind the essence of what his character was made of, in each and every scene regardless of whether he was the focus or not.

Zain Imam