Kusum Dola

Kusum Dola
Genre	Soap opera
Developed by	Leena Gangopadhyay
Written by	Leena Gangopadhyay
Directed by	Saibal Banerjee Sujit Paain, Sudip Santra
Creative director	Leena Gangopadhyay
Presented by	Bright Advertising Pvt. Ltd.
Starring	Madhumita Sarkar Rishi Kaushik Aparajita Ghosh Das
Theme music composer	Debojyoti Mishra
Opening theme	"Kusum Dola"
Composer	Debojyoti Mishra
Country of origin	India
Original language	Bengali
No. of seasons	12 (as listed by Hotstar)
No. of episodes	731
Production
Executive producers	Sumit Roy Satyajit Chakraborty (Magic Moments)
Producer	Saibal Banerjee
Production locations	Kolkata Jaisalmer North Bengal
Cinematography	Siddhartha Mukherjee
Editors	Sameer Soumen
Camera setup	Multi-Camera
Running time	22 minutes (approx.)
Production company	Magic Moments Motion Pictures
Original release
Network	Star Jalsha
Release	22 August 2016 (2016-08-22) – 2 September 2018 (2018-09-02)
Related
Nenjam Marappathillai Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Mein

Kusum Dola was an Indian Bengali television soap opera which aired on Bengali Entertainment Channel Star Jalsha and is available on the digital platform Hotstar. It premiered on 22 August 2016, and was telecast daily. It was produced by Magic Moments Motion Pictures of Saibal Banerjee and Leena Ganguly. In January 2018, it had a TRP of 11.2. The series ended on 2 September 2018, airing 731 episodes; and was replaced by Irabotir Chupkotha.

Kusum Dola is a series which starred Madhumita Sarkar, Rishi Kaushik and Aparajita Ghosh Das in lead roles, the latter two for the third time since their corresponding portrayal of the characters "Indra" and "Mohor" in the 2005 Zee Bangla television drama serial Ekdin Pratidin, and their respective characterizations of "Ujaan" and "Hiya" in the 2008 Star Jalsha romantic drama series Ekhane Aakash Neel, which ended in 2010.

Plot

Iman Mukherjee aka Emon is a kind-hearted, studious, and short-tempered girl who aspires to be a doctor lives with her father Police Officer Jayanta Mukherjee in Sundarpur, a village in North Bengal. She is supposed to go to Kolkata to study in a medical college and to achieve this Jayanta decides to take early retirement from his job. On the other hand, Ranojoy Chatterjee aka Rono, a Kolkata-based IPS Officer decided to go to Jaisalmer on a vacation. On the trip to Jaisalmer, Ranajay meets Roopkatha. They develop romantic feelings but are unable to express them. As they bid adieu, Rono promises to call her.

Meanwhile in Sundarpur, Iman is disturbed and tortured by Gogna, a local goon almost everyday. Gogna is obsessed with Iman and wants to marry her. When Jayanta came to know about it, he arrests Gogna and punishes him in the police station. But then he receives a call from Akhil Ghosh, a minister and orders him to release Gogna. But when Jayanta refuses, Akhil and his goons came to the police station and starting wreaking havoc and held Jayanta at gun point. Iman comes to the police station and is shocked to see Jayanta held at gun point, when she came to rescue him Akhil's goons held her at gun point too. Akhil threatens to kill Iman if Jayanta doesn't release Gogna. Having no other choice Jayanta is forced to release Gogna but warns Akhil that one day he and Gogna will pay for their sins. To take necessary steps against Gogna and Akhil, Jayanta files a request for an IPS officer to be posted in Sundarpur to deal with those goons.

Ranajay gets posted to Sundarpur and learns about Gogna's misdeeds from Jayanta and warns him to stay away from Iman. Meanwhile, Jayanta decides to postpone his retirement to assist Ranajay in arresting Gogna. Iman is upset with this decision and blames Ranajay, leading to them having a heated conversation.

On the other hand, Ranajay's brother Badshah's is going to marry a dejected Roopkatha, who is sad as Ranajay didn't contact her and thinks him to be a cheater. Ranajay learns about Badshah's wedding and decides to visit Kolkata for a few days. He's shocked to see that Roopkatha is Badshah's bride whereas Roopkatha is also shocked to learn that Ranajay is Badshah's brother.

Ranajay confronts Roopkatha and while the misunderstanding is cleared, Ranajay refuses to break his brother's marriage but promises Roopkatha he would never love another woman. Meanwhile, Gogna decides to take advantage of Ranajay's absence and abduct Iman to marry her. When Jayanta was returning to Sundarpur from work, Gogna abducts him and takes him to his den. Iman worries about Jayanta when he doesn't return home and decides to search for Jayanta.When she goes out to search for him, Gogna abducts her too and takes her to a temple to forcefully marry her. The local villagers call Ranajay and informs him about Jayanta and Iman's abduction and requests him to come and rescue them. Ranajay leaves the wedding to return to Sundarpur making Roopkatha upset. Gogna threatens to kill Jayanta if Iman doesn't marry her, having no other choice Iman agrees to marry him. Ranajay and the local police reaches the spot before Gogna could marry Iman. Gogna tries to escape with Iman but is shot in the hand by Ranajay, who rescues both her and Jayanta. Rookatha calls Ranajay to know why he left her wedding suddenly. Ranajay explains her the situation and again promises her that she will always have a place in his heart. Badshah overhears their conversation and decides to leave his house not wanting to get in between Ranajay and Roopkatha. Badshah told his family that he needs to go to an army operation, making them sad. His family get a call from Badshah's office and learn that he's missing, leaving them shocked. Roopkatha informs Ranajay about his brother's disappearance. Ranajay, extremely sad over his brother's disappearance assures her that Badshah is alive and will return one day.

In Sundarpur, Ranajay, Jayanta and the police plan a sting operation to catch Gogna. Iman, being worried about Jayanta requests Ranajay to not include him in the operation but Ranajay refuses. Iman also requests Jayanta to not take part in the operation but he doesn't listen to her either, telling that he will retire after arresting Gogna. In the operation, Gogna shoots Jayanta leaving him injured. He is eventually arrested by Ranajay and the police and threatens Ranajay that one day he will come back for revenge and Ranajay will have the same fate as Jayanta. Ranajay takes Jayanta to the hospital where he requests Ranajay to look after Iman if he dies. Ranajay informs Iman about Jayanta's condition, a dejected Iman blames Ranajay and holds him responsible for Jayanta's condition. Despite the doctor's efforts, they were unable to save Jayanta and he passed away. Devastated, Iman tries to commit suicide but was saved by Ranajay, who donates blood for her. Villagers request Ranajay to marry Iman. Iman rejects the proposal but Rono decides to marry Imon to take care of her. He requests Roopkatha to visit Sundarpur but doesn't tell her about his marriage. Ranajay tells Iman of his commitment to Roopkatha and Iman agrees that she will not expect anything from him as a husband and tells him she can never be his wife and will leave him after she becomes a doctor. Roopkatha visits Sundarpur and is shocked to see that Ranajay and Iman got married. Later, Ranajay decides to return to Kolkata along with Iman. Ranajay's family members refuse to accept Iman as Ranajay's wife. Feeling betrayed by Ranajay, Roopkatha inflicts her frustrations on Iman. Ranajay gets emotionally attached to Iman seeing her efforts to help his family members, despite their behaviour towards her and subsequently falls in love with her, but cannot confess.

During Durga Puja celebrations, Iman helps Ranajay's sister, Koli, reunite with and marry her lover, Dipto. Emon brings Badshah back into the house. Badshah wants to free Roopkatha from their namesake relationship but she proposes they continue using it to stay close to Rono. Emon finally confesses love to Rono on his birthday. A devastated Roopkatha tries to accuse Rono of impregnating her but seeing Emon's faith in Rono's innocence, she backs down and is about to leave the house when she is asked to stay by Badhsah and the family. Gogna arrives at Kolkata and abducts Iman and misbehaves with her. Iman fought with Gogna and his goons and is eventually rescued by Ranajay, who arrests Gogna again.

Meanwhile, Ranajay's friend Krishnamoy dies leaving his pregnant widow, Shruti, in Ranajau's care. Emon and the family suspect Ranajay of having an affair and mistaking Shruti's child, Michhil, to be Ranajay's illegitimate child, Emon files for a divorce. Ranajay is forced to leave the house and Shruti develops romantic feelings for him. Iman learns about her pregnancy, but is abducted by the supposedly-dead Krishnamoy who seeks revenge from Ranajay, having misunderstood his relationship with Shruti. Iman is rescued by Ranajay, whom she once again misunderstands and files a lawsuit against Ranajay for infidelity. In court, Ranajay is proved innocent and Iman repents for her actions. Also, the court declares Ranajay and Iman's divorce to be null and void. Ranajay goes to meet Krishnamoy to plead with him to change his ways for Shruti and their baby but Krishna, in a fit of rage, shoots Ranajay, who is saved after Shruti donates blood for him. Krishna is arrested.

Post recovery, Ranajay and Iman resolve their differences and reunite. Gogna returns again and kidnaps Iman, but is shot by Ranajay who comes to Emon's rescue. After Iman (now a medical intern) treats Gogna and saves him, he repents for his past actions and decides to mend his ways. Roopkatha and Badhsah confess their feelings for each other and decide to start out afresh.

Shruti is revealed to be in the last stages of breast cancer and is dying. When Ranajay is unable to make it to Iman's delivery, due to Shruti's operation, Iman breaks all ties with Ranajay and later, leaves for Ujanpur with her new-born daughter, Pekhom. Ranajay applies for a transfer to be with Iman and Pekhom. Shruti finally dies in Ujanpur Hospital only after expressing her desire to Ranajay and Iman to reunite.

Later, Ranajay is forced to arrest Iman, regarding her role in the accidental death of a patient named Parasar. He arranges for her bail, and decides to find out the true culprits as well as the persons responsible for illegal trafficking of new born children from the hospital. Madhuparna defends Iman as her lawyer, and after Nurse Ratnabali is proven guilty, Imon is released. Iman and Ranajay finally resolve their differences and relocate themselves to Kolkata returning to the Chatterjee House.

Roopkatha grows jealous and agitated over Iman's happy and peaceful life, which she herself yearns for, having no children of her own. She acts out and to pacify her Iman gives her daughter Pekhom's charge to Roopkatha, who quickly becomes over-possessive of Pekhom. Krishnamoy too arrives, having been released from jail, to take his son Michhil back with him, leaving Ranajay heartbroken.

Iman plans a family trip during which Badshah suffers a heart attack and suddenly dies. A desolate Roopkatha blames Iman. Roopkatha attempts suicide but is rescued by Ranajay. After Roopkatha is diagnosed with severe depression, Ranajay stands by her to help her recover as she begins to seek him as the loved one to fill in her loneliness.

Ranajay's family wants Roopkatha out of the house to avoid any further tensions but Ranajay dismisses the idea. Iman and other family members feel insecure due to Ranajay's growing proximity towards Roopkatha, and everyone suspect them of having an affair. A mentally unstable Roopkatha assumes herself to be pregnant and believes it to be Rono's child leading a heart-broken Iman to leave the house with Pekhom and working overtime to make ends meet. It is revealed that Roopkatha is not pregnant and instead has a tumour in her uterus that poses a threat to her life. Roopkatha struggles to accept the fact and is finally made to the leave the Chatterjee house for her own betterment so that she can start her life afresh. Iman and Ranajay, however, remain separated.

Epilogue – five years later

Five years later, Roopkatha, now a college professor, meets Iman, now a professional doctor, to invite her to her wedding with Ranajay. Later, she visits the Chatterjee house to invite them to her wedding with Ranajay. Secretly, Roopkatha plans to reunite Iman-Ranajay by remarrying them on the day of her wedding and their marriage anniversary. Meanwhile, Iman receives the Konya Rotno award. Imon, as per Roopkatha's request, manages to bring the Chatterjees to Roopkatha's wedding, much to their distaste, as all assume that Roopkatha is marrying Ranajay. However, Roopkatha surprises everyone by introducing Alok as her groom.

Iman and Ranajay have an emotional confrontation, marking their reunion, sorting out all their differences. His family members also realize his innocence and reunite with him, welcoming him and Iman back into their family. Lastly, Roopkatha, taking the heartfelt apologies, blessings and good wishes from the Chatterjees, marries Alok, marking a new phase in her life, as the series ends on a joyous note.

Cast

Main

• Madhumita Sarkar as Dr. Imon Chatterjee (née Mukherjee): an M.B.B.S. and M.D. private-practicing doctor and college lecturer, Rono's wife, Pekhom's mother, Jayanta's daughter.
• Rishi Kaushik as Ranajoy Chatterjee aka Rono: an IPS officer, Imon's husband, Pekhom's father, Jayanta's son in-law and colleague.
• Aparajita Ghosh Das as Roopkatha Majumder (née Ghoshal) aka Doll: formerly Badshah's wife, a college professor and Alok's wife.

Recurring cast

• Badshah Moitra as Late Mrityunjoy Mukherjee a.k.a. Badshah – A former army officer who previously worked as an N.G.O. worker as well. He is Madhabilata's son, Rono's elder cousin brother and Roopkatha's husband. He was also Emon's sworn elder brother.
• Madhabi Mukherjee as Madhabilata Mukherjee a.k.a. Madhu – The eldest Chatterjee sibling as well as the eldest daughter of the Chatterjee household. She is Badshah's mother, Rono's paternal aunt and previously, Roopkatha's mother-in-law.
• Sabitri Chatterjee as Sabitri Chatterjee a.k.a. Sabu – The second Chatterjee sibling and the second-eldest daughter of the Chatterjee household. She is Rono's paternal aunt.
• Santu Mukherjee as Jyotirmoy Chatterjee a.k.a. Habu – The fourth of the Chatterjee siblings and the second son of the Chatterjee household. He is Radharani's husband, Rono's father, Emon's father-in-law and Pekhom's grandfather.
• Goutam De as Hiranmoy Chatterjee a.k.a. Gabu – The fifth Chatterjee sibling and the third son of the Chatterjee household and a close associate of his elder brother, Habu. He is Sapna's husband, Tublu's father, Rono's paternal uncle and Mithu's father-in-law.
• Laboni Sarkar as Kumudini Bose (née Chatterjee) a.k.a. Kumu – The sixth-known Chatterjee sibling and the youngest daughter of the Chatterjee household. She is Rono's paternal aunt.
• Anusuya Majumdar as Nayanmani Chatterjee – The wife of Late Chinmoy Chatterjee, Koli's mother, Rono's aunt and Dipto's mother-in-law.
• Rita Dutta Chakraborty as Radharani Chatterjee – Jyotirmoy's wife and the second daughter-in-law of the Chatterjee household. She is Rono's mother, Emon's mother-in-law and Pekhom's grandmother.
• Suchismita Chowdhury as Sapna Chatterjee – Hiranmoy's wife and the third daughter-in-law of the Chatterjee household. She is Tublu's mother, Rono's aunt and Mithu's mother-in-law.
• Shankar Chakraborty as Dr. Ananyo Bose – Kumudini's husband, Ani's father, Rono's uncle. He was Emon's professor in college and became her senior colleague.
• Bidipta Chakraborty as Kamalkoli Bose (née Chatterjee) a.k.a. Koli – Nayanmani's daughter, Dipto's wife and Rono's elder cousin.
• Suman Banerjee as Anirban Bose a.k.a. Ani – Ananyo-Kumudini's son, a XEROX shop-owner and Rono's elder cousin.
• Sudip Sarkar as Tanmoy Chatterjee a.k.a. Tublu – Hiranmoy-Sapna's son, Mithu's husband, Rono's younger cousin brother and Emon's sworn brother.
• Abhishek Chatterjee as Diptoman Bose a.k.a. Dipto, Koli's husband and Rono's brother-in-law.
• Sneha Chatterjee Bhowmik as Mayitree Chatterjee a.k.a. Mithu, Tublu's wife and Rono's sister-in-law
• Chandan Sen as Late Jayanta Mukherjee – Emon's father, Rono's father in-law, a police officer and Rono's colleague of Sundarpur.
• Subhadra Chakraborty as Bhanumati a.k.a. Bhanu – Emon's caretaker and foster mother.
• Phalguni Chatterjee as Nirupam Ghoshal – Roopkatha's father.
• Saswati Guha Thakurata as Jayashree Ghoshal – Roopkatha's mother.
• Joyjit Banerjee as Gogna – A local goon of Sundarpur village
• Debjani Chakraborty Kaushik in a cameo appearance as a silly girl and co-passenger in bus (2016)
• Debolina Mukherjee in a cameo appearance as another silly girl (the first girl's sister) and co-passenger in a bus (2016)
• Tathagata Mukherjee as Krishnamoy Bose "Kanhaiya" – Ranojoy's college friend, Shruti's husband, the former leader of an anti-social rebel group, Michhil's father.
• Roosha Chatterjee as Late Shruti Bose née (Ghosh) – Krishanmoy's wife, Michhil's mother, Rono's protégé-turned-close friend.
• Anindita Saha Kapileshwari in a cameo appearance as Shruti's neighbour. (December 2017)
• Koushik Roy as Shramanjit Ganguly – Rono's lawyer and later on, friend, Madhuparna's husband.
• Madhubani Ghosh as Madhuparna Ganguly née (Sen) – Emon's lawyer and later on, friend, Shramanjit's wife.
• Kaushik Chakraborty as Dr. Amolin Bose – Emon's senior colleague at Ujanpur Government Nursing Home.
• Diganta Bagchi as Emon's opposition lawyer
• Debdut Ghosh as Alok Majumdar – Roopkatha's second husband (cameo appearance in the last episode)
• Sonal Mishra as doctor (2018)

Background and production

Development

Screenwriter Leena Gangopadhyay who has previously written down the script for Bengali TV shows like ETV Bangla's long-running drama series Sonar Horin and another daily soap Binni Dhaner Khoi, Zee Bangla's partition-themed love saga Keya Patar Nouko, and Star Jalsha's serials Ishti Kutum and Jol Nupur; developed the central idea for Kusum Dola.

She made the main female protagonist, tentatively named Shimul, a village girl who is bright in her studies and quite upfront by nature. Circumstances force the girl to marry a man (the lead hero), who is previously committed to another woman (the third main lead). Ganguly decided to have the backdrop of an extended family, and had the other woman (named Roopkatha) marry the hero's brother and live in the same house as the hero (named Rono).

Casting

Rishi Kaushik who had previously collaborated with Ganguly and Banerjee in their production Ishti Kutum, was selected to portray the lead role of IPS Ranojoy Chatterjee a.k.a. Rono. Later Rishi said in a 2018 interview that his character "Rono" is reserved and headstrong like his real-life self. Aparajita Ghosh Das who had been playing the heroine in another TV serial Kojagori (on Zee Bangla), was cast in to play the other prominent lead character, Roopkatha, taking into account her onscreen chemistry with Kaushik. Actress Madhumita Sarkar, noted for her portrayal of Juni in medical romance-drama series Care Kori Na, and Pakhi and Khushi respectively in the romance saga Bojhena Se Bojhena; was cast to portray Shimul (later named Emon).

Broadcast and streaming services

The series premiered on 22 August 2016 and replaced Prasenjit Chatterjee starrer Mahanayak TV series and was telecast everyday on Bengali GEC Star Jalsha and its corresponding channel with HD feed, Star Jalsha HD. It is available via optimum cable connection or by satellite TV connections. The show has been distributed by Star India, in association with Novi Digital Entertainment. On the digital platform, Kusum Dola is available for viewing on the app Hotstar. New episodes are released earlier than on TV, and the service is available for viewers having a premium subscription plan.

Filming

The show has been filmed at several locations, the most prominent being Kalimpong.

Soundtrack

The title song for the series Kusum Dola has been sung by singer Anwesha Dutta Gupta, who has frequently collaborated with the production house Magic Moments Motion Pictures for recording theme songs for Bengali television serials. While, the original music has been given by Debojyoti Mishra.

Kusum Dola Soundtrack:

No.	Title	Singer	Length
1.	"Kusum Dola Title Song"	Anwesha Dutta Gupta	2:33

Adaptations

Language	Title	Network(s)	Airing history	Notes
Bengali	Kusum Dola	Star Jalsha	22 August 2016 – 2 September 2018	Original
Tamil	Nenjam Marappathillai	Star Vijay	9 October 2017 – 23 February 2019	Remake
Telugu	Manasu Maata Vinadu	Star Maa	19 August 2020 – 4 October 2021	Dubbed from Tamil version
Hindi	Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin	StarPlus	5 October 2020 – present	Remake
Kannada	Marali Manasagide	Star Suvarna	9 August 2021 – present	Remake
Arabic	حبيبتي_من_تكون؟	MBC Bollywood	4 October 2021 - present	Dubbed from Hindi version

External links

• Official Website at Hotstar