NEW WEB VERSION OF ICONIC INDIAN SHOW WINS HEARTS GLOBALLY
IT WAS always going to be a huge risk revisiting iconic drama Pavitra Rishta, but the gamble has paid off with a newly released eight-part web adaptation on streaming site ZEE5, which has delighted audiences around the world.
Pavitra Rishta: It’s Never Too Late sees Ankita Lokhande reprise her role of Archana and Shaheer Sheikh take on Manav, which was a character originally played by late actor Sushant Singh Rajput. The romantic drama’s popularity is such that it looks potentially path-breaking and could lead to other legendary drama serials being revisited in the same unique way.
Eastern Eye asked fans on Twitter what they thought of the new Pavitra Rishta adaptation, and their response was overwhelmingly positive.
@Amee93077011: Simple yet beautiful show of true pure love.
@AnjumFeroz1: I never saw the original but have to say Shaheer Sheikh’s performance is so moving. You can believe he is Manav right to the core and Ankita Lokhande is just perfect. Absolutely ace show.
@ashdeepkerang: Shaheer and Ankita are perfect as Manav and Archana. They had a good chemistry. But I would love to praise and appreciate Randeep Rai for his mind-blowing performance as Sachin. The way he portrayed all the layers of Sachin Deshmukh is just commendable.
@BdBirdie_: It left a powerful impact on us with minimum dialogue and apt expression.
@goofyashdeep: Randeep Rai in a special appearance as Sachin Deshmukh is outstanding.
@hereforankita: Chemistry of Ankita Lokhande and Shaheer Sheikh is just another level. Loved it completely!
@I_dont_slay: Shaheer Sheikh’s performance in the last scene is still reverberating in my mind.
@ImTitli20: It is a lovely, heart touching story of two simple people. A rollercoaster ride of emotions, without any heavy drama or offensive language. A light-hearted, very clean series, which you can watch with your family without any hesitation.
@Malek01346970: Ankita is still portraying Archana after seven years with the same grace and elegance.
@Md_ShaheerSns: It’s a very pure and simple love story with so much beautiful essence of relationships. It teaches it’s never too late to love someone or realise the feeling of that love. A must watch! Shaheer Sheikh is phenomenal as Manav and Ankita Lokhande is splendid as Archana.
@imShilpy_S: Loved this beautiful and heart touching series Pavitra Rishta. Totally in awe of this rollercoaster ride of emotions. Every cast member did a marvellous job. Shaheer Sheikh has crossed all levels of excellence as simple innocent Marathi boy, Manav. He deserves all the accolades.
@mishahmd13: Makers and actors are successful in recreating the magic once again. Sometimes it’s the simplicity that touches the heart. That’s the case with this season.
@NabilaKhawaja: Simplicity at its best. Would recommend this show. I was sceptical because of the emotional attachment with Sushant Singh Rajput but Shaheer didn’t disappoint. He made Manav his own. Overall, a very good, clean, simple, emotional show.
@PyaarSachchaHai: All the characters are amazing, but I would love to especially mention Randeep Rai as Sachin Deshmukh. He made a special
appearance but left an impact that would always be etched in the hearts. He again proved how phenomenal of an actor he is and how he can win hearts with his versatility every time.
@rupali0617: Shaheer impresses as Manav. He understood Manav really well and his chemistry with Ankita, Randeep and Usha Tai came out very natural. Binge watched all eight episodes, and the last scene gave me goosebumps. He was outstanding in that scene. A very versatile actor.
@shaheers_birdie: It’s a simple yet a beautiful love story. More than dialogues their eyes and silence speak a lot.
@Shaheerparadise: It was so beautiful. Shaheer as Manav was so brilliant. The way Shaheer portrayed it, I could feel each and every emotion of Manav Deshmukh through him. Ankita as Archana was simply amazing. Shaheer and Ankita’s chemistry as Manav and Archana was fabulous. Overall, a good series.
@ShubhechhaMitra: A love story strangled between poverty and despair, which is heart wrenching. Manav-Archana’s silences speak volumes and Manav-Sachin’s limited yet impactful screen times will make your heart want more. Each performance needs an applause.
@ShaheerKudrat: In an era of sex, crime and politics-ridden OTT shows, Shaheer Sheikh chooses Manav and his highly challenging emotions. What a winning portrayal to hit the hearts straight. As true as the dew drop. As pure as a tear. Manav is recast to set another scale of emotions. Pavitra Rishta 2 is an honest hit.
@ShakhyaAkankhya: A family web show. Full of simplicity and a meaningful storyline. Shaheer, Ankita and the whole cast give full justice to their characters and the song is also soothing. Loved the episodes and eagerly waiting for the next season.
@Smitha26Mar84: It is lovely. It’s so emotionally beautiful. After a long time, a web series that touches your heart with just emotions, love, acting and chemistry. Shaheer has outdone himself wonderfully and Ankita is just superb as always.
@SwetaSinghh: Such an amazing rollercoaster of emotions. Shaheer was the perfect choice to play Manav. He lived the character. @_super_shah_: Sweet, subtle, emotional, and painful. Manav and Archana made us fall in love with them, and their love story. Loved it!
US president Donald Trump gestures next to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Ben Gurion International Airport as Trump leaves Israel en route to Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, to attend a world leaders' summit on ending the Gaza war, amid a US-brokered prisoner-hostage swap and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, in Lod, Israel, October 13, 2025.
‘They make a desert and call it peace’, wrote the Roman historian Tacitus. That was an early exercise, back in AD 96, of trying to walk in somebody else’s shoes. The historian was himself the son-in-law of the Roman Governor of Britain, yet he here imagined the rousing speech of a Caledonian chieftain to give voice to the opposition to that imperial conquest.
Nearly two thousand years later, US president Donald Trump this week headed to Sharm-El-Sheikh in the desert, to join the Egyptian, Turkish and Qatari mediators of the Gaza ceasefire. Twenty more world leaders, including prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and president Emmanuel Macron of France turned up too to witness this ceremonial declaration of peace in Gaza.
This ceasefire brings relief after two years of devastating pain. Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed. More of the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas are returning dead than alive. Eighty-five per cent of Gaza is rubble. Each of the twenty steps of the proposed peace plan may prove rocky. The state of Palestine has more recognition - in principle - than ever before across the international community, but it may be a long road to that taking practical form. Israel continues to oppose a Palestinian state.
The ceasefire will be welcomed in Britain for humanitarian relief and rekindling hopes of a path to a political settlement. It offers an opportunity to take stock on the fissures of the last two years on community relations here in Britain too. That was the theme of a powerful cross-faith conversation last week, convened by the Board of Deputies of British Jews, to reciprocate the expressions of solidarity received from Muslims, Christians and others after the Manchester synagogue attacks, and challenge the arson attack on a Sussex mosque.
Jewish and Muslim civic voices had convened an ‘optimistic alliance’ to keep conversations going when there seemed ever less to be optimistic about. The emerging news from Gaza was seen as a hopeful basis to deepen conversation in Britain about how tackling the causes of both antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice could form part of a shared commitment to cohesion.
This conflict has not seen a Brexit-style polarisation down the middle of British society. Most people’s first instinct was to avoid choosing a side in this conflict. The murderous Hamas attack on Jews on October 7, 2023 and the excesses of the Israeli assault on Gaza piled tragedy upon tragedy. The instinct to not take sides can be an expression of mutual empathy, but is not always so noble. It can reflect confusion and exhaustion with this seemingly intractable conflict. A tendency to look away and change the subject can frustrate those whose family heritage, faith solidarity or commitments to Zionism and Palestine as political ideas make them feel more closely connected.
Others have felt this conflict thrust upon them in an unwelcome way - including British Jews fed up with the antisemitic idea that they can be held responsible at school, university or work for what the government of Israel is doing. Protesters for Palestine perceive double standards in arguments about free speech - as do those with contrasting views. The proper boundaries between legitimate political protest and prejudice are sharply contested.
Hamit Coksun is an asylum seeker who speaks somewhat broken English. He would seem an unusual ally for Robert Jenrick. Yet the shadow justice secretary went to court to offer solidarity, after Coskun had burned a Qu’ran outside the Turkish Embassy, while shouting “F__ Islam” and “Islam is the religion of terrorism”. He had been fined £250, but the appeal court overturned his conviction. The judgment was context-specific: this specific incendiary protest took place outside an embassy, not a place of worship, in an empty street, and did not direct the comments at anybody in particular.
The law does not protect faiths from criticism, and indeed offers some protection for intolerant and prejudiced political speech too, though the police can place conditions on protest to protect people from abuse, intimidation or harassment on the basis of their faith.
So it can be legal to performatively burn books - holy or otherwise - though this verdict makes clear it does not offer a green light to do so in every context.
But how far should we celebrate those who choose to burn books? Cosun advocates banning the Qu’ran, making him a flawed champion of free speech. Jenrick is legitimately concerned to show that there are no laws against blasphemy in Britain, but could anybody imagine that he would turn up in person to show solidarity to a man burning the Bible, Bhagvad Gita or Torah, shouting profanities to declaring religion of war or genocide? The court’s defence of the right to shock, offend and provoke is correct in law. Those are hardly the only conversations that a shared society needs.
Sunder Katwalawww.easterneye.biz
Sunder Katwala is the director of thinktank British Future and the author of the book How to Be a Patriot: The must-read book on British national identity and immigration.
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