''AstitvaEk Prem Kahani'' () was a Hindi-language

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

that aired on

Zee TV Zee TV (stylised as ZEE TV) is a Hindi general entertainment pay television channel in India. It was launched on 2 October 1992, as the first privately owned TV channel in the country. It is owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. Zee TV also ...

channel for more than three years. The story focuses on the concept of a woman's identity through the character of Dr. Simran, who embodies patience, consistency, and suppression in a subtle way. She is a

gynecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined area ...

who enters a complex situation when she marries a man ten years younger than herself. It shows the ensuing struggles in her life.

Synopsis

Dr. Simran Mathur, a renowned gynecologist, is the eldest daughter of senior government officer Saurabh and homemaker Padma. Simran has two younger sisters, Kavita and Rashmi. Simran’s parents worry that their eldest daughter is unmarried and in her mid-thirties. Simran operates on a critically ill patient, Anandi, saving her and her baby. Anandi’s brother, Abhimanyu Saxena (Abhi), is smitten by Dr. Simran. Abhi, a photographer, woos Simran, who resists his advances because he is ten years younger than she. Eventually, Simran falls in love with Abhi, and when Abhi proposes to her, she agrees. Simran's and Abhi’s parents are against this match because of the age difference. Abhi and Simran elope and get married with the help of Simran’s good friend Dr. Manas. Urmila, Dr. Manas’s wife, is jealous of her husband's friendship with Simran. Saurabh renounces his daughter and resigns from his job. He is depressed and angry because he believes his favorite daughter ruined her life, and he finds solace in the arms of his

mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a d ...

, Anjali. Kavita, who lives at her parents' home with her husband Rohit, reveals that she has always been jealous of Simran for monopolising their father’s attention. Kavita takes this opportunity to get back at Simran by fueling fights with Saurabh. Abhi’s parents invite the couple to live with them, but Simran is mistreated at Abhi’s house. Abhi's immaturity causes some friction in their relationship, but the couple is able to work things out. Abhi tastes success at work and employs a new assistant, Kiran. Simran is thrilled to learn that she is pregnant, but Abhi gets nervous about impending parenthood. He starts an extramarital affair with Kiran. Abhi abandons Simran emotionally while she goes through a complicated pregnancy. Simran gives birth to a girl, whom she names Aastha. Abhi wins accolades for his work and rises in his career. He introduces Kiran to his mother, who is impressed. Eventually, Saurabh breaks up with Anjali, and Kavita changes her attitude towards Simran. Soon they learn that Kavita has cancer, and she leaves for

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

for her treatment. Abhi marries Kiran after divorcing Simran. Kiran is pregnant with Abhi's child and aborts it on the advice of rich businessman Anil Shourie. Kiran leaves Abhi and goes to live with Shourie. Abhi marries Neha, and she is soon pregnant. Simran helps Neha give birth to a daughter, but shortly after, Neha dies. Simran takes a trip to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

with Abhi,where someone kidnaps Aastha. Abhi's family want Simran to look after Neha's daughter. Simran agrees to raise her as her own, naming her Aastha, while Abhi disappears.

18 years later

Abhi is a famous writer using the pen name Anand and lives as a recluse in

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

. A girl named Sia meets him, and after some misunderstandings, it is revealed that she is actually Abhi and Simran's daughter Aastha. Sia was raised by the childless and mentally disturbed woman who had kidnapped her. Sia and Abhi reunite, and he takes her to Simran. Simran and Neha's daughter, Aastha, are living as mother and daughter. Aastha grows increasingly jealous as her best friend, Dr. Siddhant, starts to take an interest in Sia. Aastha herself has feelings for Siddhant, who is Manas and Urmila's son. Kiran tries to influence Aastha, who eventually sees through her intentions and reunites with Simran. Sia and Siddhant get engaged. The bus in which Simran and Astha are traveling becomes the target of a

bomb blast An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known ...

. Aastha is killed, and Simran loses her eyesight. In the end, Simran gets her eyesight back through surgery. She and Abhi reunite.

Cast

* Niki Aneja Walia as Dr. Simran Mathur / Dr. Simran Saxena, Saurabh and Padma's daughter Abhi's first and fourth wife, Sia's original mother, Aastha and Yash's adopted mother * Varun Badola as Abhimanyu Saxena a.k.a. Abhi (Dr. Simran's husband) / Writer Anand, Simran's first and third husband, Saurabh and Padma's son-in-law, Kiran's first husband, Sia, Yash and Aastha's father *Ajit Mehra as Mr. Mehta (Mehta Sab) (Abhimanyu Saxena / Anand and Bhavani's publisher) in

* Komal Kumari as Baby Aastha *

Yuvika Chaudhary Yuvika Chaudhary (born 2 August 1983) is an Indian actress who has appeared in Bollywood films such as ''Om Shanti Om'', '' Summer 2007'' and '' Toh Baat Pakki!''. In 2009, she also acted in a Kannada movie, '' Maleyali Jotheyali'', in a lead r ...

as Aastha Saxena (Abhi and Neha's daughter - dead, died in bomb blast) * Upasana Shukla as Sia Saxena / Aastha Saxena / Aastha Siddhant Awasthi (Abhi and Simran's daughter; she changes her name from Sia to Aastha in memory of her late sister Aastha) * Vineeta Thakur as Neha (Abhi's third wife - dead, died soon after pregnancy and giving birth to Aastha) *

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as Bhavani Shankar; Abhimanyu Saxena (Anand)'s friend * Alok Nath as Saurabh Mathur (Padma's husband, Simran, Kavita and Rashmi's father, Abhi, Rohit and Pranay's father-in-law) * Harshada Khanvilkar as Shaguna (Simran's housekeeper) *

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as Dr. Manas Awasthi (Simran's friend, Urmila's husband and Sid's father) *

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as Urmila (Manas's wife, Sid's mother) *

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as Kiran (Abhi's second wife and Yash's mother) * Abbas Khan / Vishal Singh as Dr. Siddhant Awasthi a.k.a. Sid (Manas and Urmila's son; Aastha (Siya)'s husband; Abhi and Simran's son-in-law) *

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as Mr. Saxena (Abhi's father, Simran's father-in-law) * Kanika Shivpuri as Mrs. Saxena (Abhi's mother, Simran's mother-in-law) * Parmeet Sethi as Dr. Brian *

Himani Shivpuri Himani Bhatt Shivpuri (born 24 October 1960) is an Indian actress known for her character roles in Bollywood films and Hindi soap operas. Her films include '' Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!'' (1994), ''Raja'' (1995), '' Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge'' (1 ...

as Radha; Neha's mother, Aastha's (Abhi and Neha's daughter)'s grandmother *

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as Dr. Abhimanyu Joshi a.k.a. Manu *

Sindhu Tolani Sindhu Tolani is an Indian actress working in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Hindi language films. Tolani was born in Mumbai, India on 19 July 1983. She has been a '' Fair & Lovely'' cream model in North India. Film career Sindhu Tolani started h ...

/ Aanchal Saxena /

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as Rashmi; Simran's sister * Nitesh Pandey as Dr. Pranay (Rashmi's second husband) *

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/ Payal Nair as Kavita (Simran's sister) - dead, died soon after pregnancy *

Sanjeev Seth Sanjeev Seth is an Indian TV actor. Currently, he is known for his role of ''Vishambharnath Maheshwari'' in Star Plus's Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai and its spin-off Yeh Rishtey Hain Pyaar Ke. Personal life 32 year old Seth married 12-year-you ...

as Rohit (Kavita's husband) *

Nandita Puri ''Kuch Toh Log kahenge'' (English: ''People Will Talk)'' is an Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy/family drama television series on Sony Entertainment Television India. It premiered on 3 October 2011 and ended on 28 March 2013. The series r ...

as Padma (Saurabh's wife, Simran, Kavita and Rashmi's mother, Abhi, Rohit and Pranay's mother-in-law) - dead, died in sleep *

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as Anandi; Mr. and Mrs. Saxena's daughter; Abhi's sister - dead, died soon after pregnancy * Ninad Kamat as Anandi's husband * Iqbal Azad/

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...

as Dr. Ashwin (Urmila's lover) - dead *

Sonica Handa ''Do Hanson Ka Joda'' is a soap opera that aired on NDTV Imagine. Lyricist Raghvendra Singh is the creative director in this serial. The Show Reruns Again on India's No. 1 Channel Dangal Plot Do Hanson Ka Joda is the story of Preeti, a young dr ...

as Naghma (Manu's wife) *

Anjali Mukhi Anjali Mukhi is an Indian television actress. She is best known as Sudha in ''Saas Bina Sasural'' and Saroj Singh in Doli Armaano Ki. Career Anjali Mukhi made her television debut with ''Khwaish'' on Sony TV. She was last seen in ''I Luv My Ind ...

as Gauri Joshi (Manu's sister) * Naveen Bawa as Dr. Abhimanyu Joshi's elder brother * Shalini Arora as Dr. Abhimanyu Joshi's sister-in-law * Manju as Dr. Meena *

Monaz Mevawala ''Meet Mila De Rabba'' is a Hindi language drama series that aired on Sony Entertainment Television. The story is about a young Punjabi woman's poignant love story and highlights the trials of the bubbly girl who happily accepts her fate, simpl ...

as Amisha Dalaal *

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as Dr. Sarla Dalaal * Neena Cheema as Sulochana * Pallavi Joshi as Leela *

Mrinal Kulkarni Mrinal Deo-Kulkarni (born 21 June 1971) is a senior film, TV actress and director of India. She is better known for her role as Meerabai in doordarshan's Meerabai seriel and angel in Hindi TV serial ''Son Pari''. She has acted in Marathi langua ...

as Dr. Sakshi, Yash's girlfriend - dead, died in car accident * Raja Sevak as Dr. Sakshi's husband * Amit Raj as Yash Saxena, Abhi and Kiran's son; Dr. Sakshi's boyfriend; Simran's adoptive son * Malvika Shivpuri / Ananya Banerjee as Poonam *

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as Shankar, Shaguna's husband *

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as Nishant *

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as Hospital Receptionist *

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as Rhea * Kiran Randhawa as Kiran's landlady *

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as Nurse Leela * Kunal Kumar as Rahul *

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as Rashmi's father-in-law *

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as Dr. Simran Mathur / Dr. Simran Saxena's assistant *

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as Satya, Amla's husband; Saurabh's brother-in-law *

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as Amla, Satya's wife; Saurabh's sister; Simran, Kavita and Rashmi's aunt * Vivek Gomber as Harsh *

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as Catherine * Shalaka Ranadive as Archana Sareen - Sia (Aastha's kidnapper) dead, died in hospital after car accident *

Seema Bhargava Seema Bhargava Pahwa (born 10 February 1962) is an Indian actress known for her comedic characters in films and television. She rose to prominence for her role of ''Badki'' in the popular Doordarshan soap opera '' Hum Log'' (1984-1985). As a t ...

as Archana's mother, Sia's grandmother *

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as Dr. Brian's wife * Akshay Anand as Anil Shourey, Kiran's ex-boyfriend * Daya Shankar Pandey as Inspector * Richa Bhattacharya as Patient *

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as Yash Kapoor (Saxena)

Production

The series had a crossover with ''Reth''.

Awards

2003 3rd Indian Television Academy Awards Best Actress (Drama) - Niki Aneja Walia as Dr. Simran Mathur Best Director (Drama) - Ajai Sinha 2005 2nd Apsara Awards Best Drama Series - Astitva...Ek Prem Kahani Best Actress - Niki Aneja Walia as Dr. Simran Mathur / Saxena Best Actor - Varun Badola as Abhimanyu Saxena / Anand 2005 Indian Television Academy Awards Best Actor (Drama) - Varun Badola as Abhimanyu Saxena / Anand Best Teleplay - Astitva...Ek Prem Kahani - Gajra Kottary & Purnendu Shekhar

References

External links

Official site on IMDb.comFull episodes on Rajshri.com
{{Zee TV Programmes Indian television soap operas Zee TV original programming 2002 Indian television series debuts 2006 Indian television series endings