From simple saas to chic MILs!

The saas is no more a mere saas on Indian Television, she is today a glamorous woman who also has a career of her own and takes care of her looks and attire but what has not changed is her manipulative ways

There was a time when we had the typical saas in the form of maajis and baas ruling the Indian Television as dominating mother-in-laws. This was prominent till the era of ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ and ‘Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii’ type sagas which were a huge hit on TV and we saw the saas in simple sarees with hair tied in buns but if we see the current scenario the setting has changed dramatically with these characters going in for a complete outward makeover while still keeping their bahus on a tight leash.

Today we have the current MILs (the new term for mother-in-laws) who flaunt their attire as much as they flaunt their up-in-the-air attitude. Here is a look at some who look glam and confident on shows across various general entertainment channels.

Suchitra Pillai in Colors hit show ‘Beintehaa’ is a dusky beauty who is also a model and theatre person who went on to take up the character of Suraiya Abdullah playing mother to the main lead Zain (Harshad Arora) and saas to Aaliya (Preetika Rao). Kitchen as well as kitchen politics as usual play a major role in this show but the difference out here is that Suraiya is shown to be a master chef who clearly knows how to cook for her family and also acts as a consultant to the Barkat Royale chain of hotels which her family owns. With long hair cascading down her waist she wears rich sarees and accessories and never has one hair out of place as she dominates the house and all those staying in it with all glamour intact.

After playing the rustic Ammaji in ‘Naa Aana Is Desh Meri Laado’ with all conviction Meghna Malik went in for a drastic modern make over for her next show ‘Gustakh Dil’ on Life OK. Playing the character of Barkha Bharadwaj she now wears a short crop cut which complements her slim look and wears designer sarees with classy jewellery. Shown to be an intelligent woman who knows how to play her game she never enters the kitchen but has full control over her home and family members.

Making a much awaited comeback the beautiful and talented Simone Singh has an author backed role in Star Plus’s ‘Ek Hasina Thi’. Playing Saakshi Goenka she has a complete rich look with silk sarees and pearls giving her a classy look. A complete negative character with a dark past she plays the main trouble maker for Durga (Sanjeeda Sheikh) who is married to her nephew Dev even as her son Shaurya (Vatsal Seth) is in love with her.

Achint Kaur in ‘Jamai Raja’ on Zee TV plays the stern looking modern mother-in-law to Jamai Raja Ravi Dubey. Achint with her strict demeanour and voice has a no nonsense air about her. She too is not a sit at home mom but a jewellery designer who knows how to run her business as much as how to run the lives of her daughter and damaad.

A businesswoman who knows her mind is played by Rukhsar Rehman in Zee TV’s ‘Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya’. Extremely stylish she likes to dress up and given her western look she carries off her dolled up look well even as she gives a hard time to her bahu played by Kaanchi Singh.

The light eyed beauty Amprapali Gupta created hell in the lives of the main leads Asad and Zoya in ‘Qubool Hai’ on Zee TV and now after the 20 year leap she continues to play games in the lives of Aahil and Sanam the current main leads of the show. She is now Aahil’s (Karanvir Bohra) mother and a very dangerous saas to Sanam (Surbhi Tiwari), and her character has moved on from wearing salwar kameez to designer brocade sarees with matching jewellery.