Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai

''Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai'' (), popularly known as ''YRKKH'' is an Indian Hindi-language romantic family drama television series that airs on StarPlus and streams on Disney+ Hotstar. It premiered on 12 January 2009 and is the longest running Indian television soap opera. Produced by Rajan Shahi under the banner of Director's Kut Productions, it formerly starred Hina Khan, Karan Mehra, Shivangi Joshi and Mohsin Khan. Since October 2021, it stars Pranali Rathod and Harshad Chopda.

''Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai'' emerged as the winner of the musical game show ''Ravivaar With Star Parivaar''.

Plot

Akshara and Naitik, both from large Marwari joint families based in Udaipur get married. Initially, they struggle to understand each other but gradually come to understand, support, and love each other. Soon, their son, Naksh is born. Naitik falls into a coma due to an accident.

4 years later

Akshara starts working in the family business. Naitik recovers from the coma and struggles to bond with a mischievous Naksh. Naitik's mother Gayatri dies after falling off a cliff post, and his sister Rashmi gives birth to a daughter and names her Gayatri. Akshara and Naitik's daughter Naira is born. Mahendra dies and Kaveri blames Akshara for it and disowns her. Akshara and Naitik move out with their children.

10 years later

They relocate to Cape Town. Naksh returns to Udaipur and convinces Kaveri to forgive an innocent Akshara. Eventually, the family is reunited. Naksh falls for Tara, a hockey player. However, their wedding gets called off due to some misunderstandings. Out of fear of being wrongly blamed for her friend Sukanya's death, Naira flees from Udaipur.

7 years later

Naira lives in an orphanage in Rishikesh and has grown up to be headstrong but insecure and arrogant. Akshara reaches there to fund the orphanage and finds Naira. Kartik Goenka arrives in Udaipur and a love triangle is formed between him, Gayatri, and Naira. Kartik realizes his love for Naira while Gayatri has feelings for Kartik. Naira finally accepts Akshara.

Kartik confesses his love for Naira while the latter is initially confused about her feelings but later realizes her love for Kartik. Akshara dies by falling off a cliff in a car crash.

Kartik and Naira get married. Kartik hates his father Manish and his step-mother Swarna as he remarried her post his mother's death as he thinks that they were having an extra-marital affair in their office and were responsible for her suicide. Naksh and Keerti get married. Initially marrying for Naira's sake, he begins to love Keerti. Kartik reconciles with Manish and accepts Swarna as his mother after his mother's depression and hallucinations were revealed to be the reason for her suicide. Naira fulfills her parent's dream of opening a dance academy and names it "Akshara Dance Academy" as a tribute to her mother. Swarna's biological son Shubham dies of a drug overdose and Naira is blamed for hiding his drug addiction. Naira leaves as Kartik and Swarna refuse to trust her.

2 years later

Naira lives in Mumbai with Naitik. Kartik is the professor of the same class for which Naira signs up. Eventually, Kartik and Swarna realize their mistakes and reunite with Naira. Naira undergoes surgery due to a brain clot after which Naira and Kartik remarry. She enters the family business after Manish suffers a heart attack. Kartik feels insecure about Naira's busy routine. Naira finds out she is pregnant. Kartik questions Naira about her relationship with her business partner, Mihir. Naira rebukes him and storms out of the house without informing her pregnancy and meets with an accident. She is presumed to be dead by the family.

5 years later

Naira lives in Goa with their son Kairav. Soon everyone learns that Naira is alive and Kairav is Naira and Kartik's son. Despite trying to get away from each other, Kartik and Naira become closer. Soon they realize their love and reunite.

A few months later, Naira gives birth to a daughter and names her Akshara after Varsha says that the baby resembles Akshara Singhania. More family drama leads to Naira and Kartik moving out with Kairav and Akshara. Later, the family is reunited but meets with an accident. Naira falls off a cliff and dies. Kartik is left heartbroken.

Soon, Kairav meets a boxer named Sirat who is Naira's lookalike, which makes Kairav think that his mother has returned. After several demands from Kairav, Kartik brings Sirat from Jaisalmer to the Goenka house. Sirat reveals her former love Ranveer. Kartik realizes that Sirat and Ranveer had a misunderstanding, caused by Ranveer's father, Narendranath, and got them married. Sirat falls for Kartik. Ranveer falls ill and asks Kartik to take care of Sirat. Ranveer dies and Narendranath holds Sirat responsible and gets her arrested on murder charges. Kartik bails her out and Sirat goes away from Kartik.

6 months later

Sirat changes her name to Simran and settles in Dalhousie with an elderly couple. Kartik finds out about Sirat and convinces her to return to Udaipur. Sirat and Kartik expose Narendranath and she is acquitted of all charges. Sirat and Kartik confess their love to each other and get married. They have a daughter, Aarohi. Sirat resumes her boxing training for a championship and qualifies for the Asian Championship.

8 years later

Akshara discovers that not Sirat, but Naira is her real mother. Sirat's mother, Sheela returns and manipulates Aarohi against the family. Kartik dies in a plane crash leaving the entire family in shock. Sirat slips down the stairs and falls to her death. Aarohi holds Akshara responsible for Sirat's death and starts detesting her.

12 years later

Akshara has grown up to be a kind and family-loving girl. She is a singer and musician. Aarohi aspires to be a doctor and still hates Akshara. Dr. Abhimanyu Birla is a practicing surgeon at Birla Hospital and Medical Institute. A love triangle is formed between the three. However, Aarohi and Abhimanyu's marriage is fixed after Akshara refuses to accept his love for Aarohi's sake. But soon Akshara and Abhimanyu confess their love in front of their families. Soon their marriage rituals begin and both families reach Jaipur where Abhimanyu and Akshara get married in a grand ceremony.

Later it is revealed that Harshvardhan was having a secret extra-marital affair with Dr. Avni Rathore and Neil is their illegitimate son. Manjari knew about it and brought him home through adoption after Avni left him at an orphanage. Manjari and Harshvardhan heads for a divorce but Harshvardhan reforms himself and they reconcile.

Soon a fire breaks out at Birla Hospital and Abhimanyu suffers a pinched nerve in his right hand. Akshara contacts a renowned physiotherapist, Dr. Kunal Khera, for his treatment. Meanwhile, Anisha proposes to Kairav for marriage but Akshara learns about her having an affair with a married man and her plan to continue the affair post-marriage and confronts her for the same which Kairav overhears. On their Mehendi day, Kairav refuses to marry Anisha for her betrayal and asks her to reveal the truth to the families. Anisha who lacks the courage to tell this truth commits suicide and the Birla family blames Kairav and Akshara for her death thinking Kairav murdered her and Akshara attempting to save him from murder charges. Later Dr. Kunal asks Akshara to sing secretly for his sister for a year in lieu of Abhimanyu's surgery to which she agrees.

1 year later

Akshara now lives incognito in Mauritius with Kunal and his sister Maya after accepting his condition to sing secretly for Maya and remains depressed due to her separation from Abhimanyu. While Abhimanyu misunderstands her thinking that she betrayed and left him for her brother Kairav, which turns him into a ruthless surgeon.

Akshara and Kairav comes back to India and tries to prove Kairav innocent but Mahima hides the proves which leads to Abhimanyu publicly defaming Goenkas and divorce with Akshara. However Abhimanyu comes to know about Mahima's conspiracy behind framing Kairav and proves his innocence and restores Goenkas' lost reputation. Neil and Aarohi's engagement is canceled as Aarohi was marrying him for her greedy needs. Abhimanyu and Akshara realize their feelings for each other and remarry. Later, Neil and Aarohi elope and get married due to which Manish disowns her. Akshara successfully restores her lost identity as Maya's voice and resumes her singing career but meets with an accident due to which she is unable to conceive. Aarohi gets to know about this and blackmails Abhimanyu and later reveals about her own pregnancy.

Cast

Main

* Hina Khan as Akshara Maheshwari Singhania – Rajshree and Vishambhar's daughter; Shaurya's sister; Naitik's wife; Naksh and Naira's mother; Krish, Kairav and Akshara Birla's grandmother (2009–2016)
*Karan Mehra / Vishal Singh as Naitik "Munna" Singhania – Gayatri and Rajshekar's son; Rashmi's brother; Akshara Singhania's widower; Naksh and Naira's father; Krish, Kairav and Akshara Birla's grandfather (2009–2016)/(2016–2018)
*Shivangi Joshi as
**Naira "Tina" Singhania Goenka – Akshara Singhania and Naitik's daughter; Naksh's sister; Kartik's first wife; Kairav and Akshara Birla's mother (2016–2021)
***Ashnoor Kaur as Young Naira Singhania (2015–2016)
***Mishka Jain as Baby Naira Singhania (2015)
**Sirat Shekhawat Goenka – Naira's lookalike; Sheela's daughter; Sonu's half-sister; Ranveer's widow; Kartik's second wife; Kairav and Akshara Birla's step-mother; Aarohi's mother (2021) (dead)
***Drashti Bhanushali as Young Sirat Shekhawat (2021)
* Mohsin Khan as Kartik "Kittu" Goenka – Soumya and Manish's son; Swarna's step-son; Keerti's brother; Shubham's half-brother; Naira's widower; Sirat's second husband; Kairav, Akshara Birla and Aarohi's father (2016–2021)
**Vedant Pandya as Young Kartik Goenka (2017)
* Pranali Rathod as Akshara "Akshu" Goenka Birla – Singer and musician and a music therapist at Birla Hospital and Medical Institute; Naira and Kartik's daughter; Sirat's step-daughter; Kairav's sister; Aarohi's half-sister; Abhimanyu's wife (2021–present)
**Prachi Thakur as Young Akshara Goenka (2021)
**Kairav Waghela as Baby Akshara Goenka (2020–2021)
*Harshad Chopda as Dr. Abhimanyu "Abhi" Birla – Surgeon at Birla Hospital and Medical Institute; Manjari and Harshvardhan's son; Neil's half-brother; Akshara's husband (2021–present)
**Het Makwana as Young Abhimanyu Birla (2022)

Recurring

*Karishma Sawant as Dr. Aarohi "Aaru" Goenka Birla – Intern doctor at Birla Hospital and Medical Institute; Sirat and Kartik's daughter; Kairav and Akshara's half-sister; Neil's wife (2021–present)
**Siya Makwana as Young Aarohi Goenka (2021)
*Paras Priyadarshan as Neil Birla – Harshavardhan and Avni Rathore's son; Manjari's adopted son; Abhimanyu's half-brother; Akshara's brother-in-law; Aarohi's husband(2021–present)
*Mayank Arora as Kairav Goenka – Naira and Kartik's son; Sirat's step-son; Akshara's brother; Aarohi's half-brother; Anisha's former fiancé (2021–present)
**Shaurya Shah / Tanmay Shah / Aarambh Trehan as Young Kairav Goenka (2019)/(2019–2020)/(2020–2021)
**Krishiv Mutha as Baby Kairav Goenka (2019)
*Sharan Anandani as Vansh Goenka – Gayatri and Vivaan's son; Samarth's step-son; Vatsal's half-brother (2021–2022)
**Maaz Champ / Siddharth Dubey as Young Vansh Goenka (2019–2020)/(2020–2021)
*Swati Chitnis as Suhasini Ajmera Goenka aka Mimi – Matriarch of Goenkas; Tejasvini and Purushottam's sister; Manish and Akhilesh's mother; Keerti, Kartik, Shubham, Mansi, Luv and Kush's grandmother; Krish, Kairav, Akshara and Aarohi's great-grandmother (2016–present)
*Parul Chauhan / Niyati Joshi as Swarna Goenka – Manish's second wife; Shubham's mother; Keerti and Kartik's step-mother; Krish, Kairav, Akshara and Aarohi's step-grandmother (2016–2019)/(2019–present)
*Sachin Tyagi as Manish Goenka – Suhasini's elder son; Akhilesh's brother; Soumya's widower and Swarna's husband; Keerti, Kartik and Shubham's father; Krish, Kairav, Akshara and Aarohi's grandfather (2016–present)
*Nupur Joshi as Soumya Goenka – Priyanka's sister; Manish's first wife; Keerti and Kartik's mother; Krish, Kairav, Akshara and Aarohi's grandmother (2017)
* Ali Hassan as Akhilesh Goenka aka AG – Suhasini's younger son; Manish's brother; Surekha's husband; Mansi, Luv and Kush's father (2016–present)
*Shilpa Raizada as Surekha Goenka – Akhilesh's wife, Mansi, Luv and Kush's mother (2016–2021)
* Kanchi Singh / Deblina Chatterjee / Simran Khanna as Gayatri "Gayu" Deora – Rashmi and Nikhil's daughter; Sameer's step-daughter; Naksh and Naira's cousin; Vivaan's fiancée; Samarth's ex-wife; Vansh and Vatsal's mother (2016–2017)/(2018–2019)/(2019–2021)
**Payal Bhojwani as Young Gayatri Deora (2015–2016)
**Zenia Shastiker as Baby Gayatri Deora (2014–2015)
*Devaj Bhanushali as Baby Vatsal Goenka – Gayatri and Samarth's son; Vansh's half-brother (2020)
*Anmol Jyotir as Luv Goenka – One of Surekha and Akhilesh's twin sons; Mansi and Kush's brother (2020–2021)
**Shreshth Saxena as Young Luv Goenka (2016–2019)
*Apoorv Jyotir as Kush Goenka – One of Surekha and Akhilesh's twin sons; Mansi and Luv's brother (2020-2021)
**Shubh Saxena as Young Kush Goenka (2016–2019)
*Anita Kanwal as Tejasvini Ajmera – Suhasini and Purushottam's sister (2018)
* Gaurav Wadhwa as Shubham "Aryan" Goenka – Manish and Swarna's son; Keerti and Kartik's half-brother (2017–2018)
*Samir Onkar as Samarth Goenka – Suhasini's nephew; Manish and Akhilesh's cousin; Gayatri's ex-husband; Vatsal's father; Vansh's step-father (2018–2020)
*Preyal Shah as Reem – Akshara and Abhimanyu's wedding planner; Vansh's love interest (2021)
*Ami Trivedi as Manjari Birla – Mahima's sister; Harshvardhan's wife; Abhimanyu's mother; Neil's adoptive mother; Akshara and Aarohi's mother-in-law (2021–present)
*Vinay Jain as Dr. Harshvardhan "Harsh" Birla – PhD doctor; Anandvardhan's brother; Manjari's husband; Abhimanyu and Neil's father; Akshara and Aarohi's father-in-law (2021–present)
*Pragati Mehra as Dr. Mahima Birla – Heart surgeon; Manjari's sister; Anandvardhan's wife; Parth, Anisha and Nishtha's mother; Shefali's mother-in-law (2021–present)
*Ashish Nayyar as Dr. Anandvardhan "Anand" Birla – Heart surgeon; Harshvardhan's brother; Mahima's husband; Parth, Anisha and Nishtha's father; Shefali's father-in-law (2021–present)
*Neeraj Goswami as Dr. Parth Birla – Doctor and musician; Mahima and Anandvardhan's son; Anisha and Nishtha's brother; Shefali's husband; Shivansh's father (2021–present)
*Sehrish Ali / Nisha Nagpal as Shefali Birla – Journalist; Parth's wife; Shivansh's mother (2021) / (2021–present)
*Orrish Arora as Shivansh "Shivu" Birla: Parth and Shefali's son; Mahima and Anandvardhan's grandson; Abhimanyu, Anisha, Neil and Nishtha's nephew(2022-present)
*Kashish Rai as Anisha Birla – Mahima and Anandvardhan's elder daughter; Parth and Nishtha's sister; Kairav's ex-fiancée (2022)
*Niharika Chouksey/Nancy Roy as Nishtha Birla – Mahima and Anandvardhan's younger daughter; Parth and Anisha's sister (2021–2022)/(2022-present)
*Mrunal Jain as Dr. Kunal Khera: Abhimanyu's physiotherapist; Maya's brother who asks Akshara to hide her real identity and sing for his sister in lieu of Abhimanyu's surgery (2022)
*Navika Kotia as:
**Maaya "Mau" Khera- Dr. Kunal Khera's sister for whom Akshara was asked to live incognito and sing secretly in lieu of Abhimanyu's surgery by Kunal (2022)
**Prerna "Chikki" Singhania – Singhania's adoptive daughter (2013–2014)
***Reem Shaikh as Young Prerna (2012)
*Medha Jambotakar as Kaveri Singhania aka Bhabhimaa – Mahendra's widow; Nandini's mother; Anmol's grandmother; Yash's adoptive grandmother (2009–2021)
*Sanjai Gandhi / Abhijeet Lahiri as Mahendra Pratap Singhania aka Daddaji – Patriarch of Singhanias; Parvati and Rajshekar's brother; Kaveri's husband; Nandini's father; Anmol's grandfather; Yash's adoptive grandfather (2009–2010)/(2010–2015)
*Sandeep Mehta as Rajshekhar "Raj" Singhania – Mahendra and Parvati's brother; Gayatri Singhania's widower; Devyani's husband; Naitik and Rashmi's father; Muskaan and Naman's step-father; Naksh, Gayatri Deora and Naira's grandfather; Mishti's step-grandfather (2009–2018)
*Sonali Verma as Gayatri Singhania aka Chhoti Dulhan– Rajshekar's first wife; Naitik and Rashmi's mother; Naksh, Gayatri Deora and Naira's grandmother (2009–2013)
* Kshitee Jog as Devyani Singhania – Ayurvedic doctor; Suresh's ex-wife; Rajshekar's second wife; Naman and Muskaan's mother; Naitik and Rashmi's step-mother; Mishti's grandmother; Naksh, Gayatri and Naira's step-grandmother (2014–2021)
*Rohan Mehra / Rishi Dev / Shehzad Shaikh as Naksh "Duggu" Singhania – Akshara and Naitik's son; Naira's brother; Keerti's husband; Krish's father (2015–2016)/(2016-2018)/(2018-2021)
**Shivansh Kotia as Young Naksh Singhania (2012–2015)
**Bani as Baby Naksh Singhania (2012)
* Mohena Singh / Harsha Khandeparkar as Keerti Goenka Singhania – Soumya and Manish's daughter; Swarna's step-daughter; Kartik's sister; Shubham's half-sister; Naksh's wife; Krish's mother (2016–2019)/(2020-2021)
*Saksham Vasu as Krish Singhania – Naksh and Keerti's son; Kairav, Akshara and Aarohi's cousin (2020–2021)
**Dwiti Gajera as Baby Krish Singhania (2019)
*Zarina Roshan Khan as Muskaan Agrawal Awasthi – Devyani and Suresh's daughter; Naman's sister; Alok's wife (2014–2015)
* Amit Dolawat as Alok Awasthi – Akshara's college-mate and former admirer; Muskaan's husband (2009; 2014–2015)
* Anshul Pandey as Naman Agrawal – Devyani and Suresh's son; Muskaan's brother; Karishma's former husband; Mishti's father (2014–2016)
*Pooran Kiri as Suresh Agrawal – Devyani's ex-husband; Naman and Muskaan's father (2014–2015)
*Priyanka Udhwani as Karishma Agarwal – Naman's ex-wife; Mishti's mother (2014–2017)
* Rhea Sharma as Mishti Agrawal Rajvansh – Karishma and Naman's daughter (2019)
**Aarna Sharma as Child and Teenage Mishti (2015–2017; 2019)
*Neha Saroopa as Rashmi Singhania Desai – Gayatri Singhania and Rajshekar's daughter; Naitik's sister; Nikhil's ex-wife; Sameer's wife; Gayatri Deora's mother (2009-2016)
* Mazher Sayed as Sameer Desai – Rashmi's husband; Gayatri's step-father (2015–2016)
*Shravani Goswami as Rama Deora – Rajendra's wife; Nikhil's mother; Gayatri's grandmother (2011–2016; 2018–2020)
* Nidhi Uttam as Nandini Singhania Chauhan – Kaveri and Mahendra's daughter; Mohit's wife; Yash's adoptive mother, Anmol's mother (2009–2019)
*Ayush Agarwal / Shamik Abbas as Mohit Chauhan – Rukmini's son; Koyel's brother; Nandini's husband; Yash's adoptive father; Anmol's father (2009–2015)/(2015–2019)
*Sanchit Sharma as Yash Chauhan – Nandini and Mohit's adopted son; Anmol's adoptive brother; Rose's husband (2015–2017)
**Ansh Kaul as Young Yash Chauhan (2012–2015)
*Sippora Zoutewelle as Rose Wilkins Chauhan – Yash's wife, Martha's daughter (2016)
*Karan Pahwa as Anmol Chauhan – Nandini and Mohit's son; Yash's adopted brother; Mansi's husband (2016; 2018–2019)
**Atharva Padhye as Young Anmol Chauhan (2015–2016)
*Shreya Sharma / Vaishnavi Rao as Mansi Goenka Chauhan – Surekha and Akhilesh's daughter; Luv and Kush's sister; Anmol's wife (2017) / (2018–2019)
*Urmila Sharma / Sunitha Rao as Rukmini Chauhan – Mohit and Koyel's mother; Yash's adoptive grandmother; Anmol's grandmother (2009–2012)/(2012–2019; 2021)
*Trishikha Tiwari as Koyal Chauhan – Rukmani's daughter; Mohit's sister (2009–2012)
* Rakesh Deewana as Maharaj – Singhania's chef (2009–2014)
* Divya Bhatnagar as Gulabo – Singhania's househelp (2009–2011)
*Ali Merchant as Rituraj Singhania – Nandini, Naitik and Rashmi's cousin brother (2009; 2011–2012)
*Preeti Sharma as Bindiya Singhania – Rituraj's wife (2009; 2011–2012)
*Kirti Sually as Parvati Singhania aka Baisa – Mahendra and Rajshekhar's sister; Nandini, Naitik and Rashmi's aunt (2010–2019)
*Nea Srivastav as Girija – Singhania's househelp (2011–2016)
*Ashish Kapoor as Nikhil Deora – Rajendra and Rama's son; Rashmi's ex-husband; Gayatri's father (2011–2013)
*Manoj Jaiswal as Rajendra Deora – Rama's husband; Nikhil's father (2011–2013)
*Umang Jain as Nayantara "Tara" Singh Shekhawat – Naksh's former fiancée (2015–2016)
* Lata Sabharwal as Rajshri Goyal Maheshwari – Ramola's daughter; Ratan's sister; Vishambharnath's wife; Shaurya and Akshara's mother; Ananya, Naksh, Naira and Kuhu's grandmother (2009–2019)
*Sanjeev Seth as Vishambharnath "Vishambhar" Maheshwari – Bhairavi's elder son; Omkarnath's brother; Rajshri's husband; Shaurya and Akshara's father; Anaya, Naksh, Naira and Kuhu's grandfather (2009–2018)
*Vineeta Malik as Bhairavi Maheshwari – Vishambharnath and Omkarnath's mother; Shaurya, Akshara and Anshuman's grandmother (2009–2018)
*Neelima Taddepalli as Sunaina Maheshwari – Omkarnath's wife; Anshuman's mother; Nishant's grandmother (2009–2018)
*Manu Malik as Omkarnath "Omi" Maheshwari – Bhairavi's younger son; Vishambharnath's brother; Sunaina's husband; Anshuman's father; Nishant's grandfather (2009–2018)
*Ather Habib / Yash Gera as Shaurya Maheshwari – Rajshri and Vishambharnath's son; Akshara's brother; Varsha's husband; Ananya and Kuhu's father (2009–2013)/(2013–2017)
*Pooja Joshi Arora as Varsha Maheshwari – Sulekha's daughter; Shaurya's wife; Akshara's best friend; Ananya's mother; Kuhu's adoptive mother (2009–2020)
*Aman Sharma / Dheeraj Gumbar as Anshuman "Anshu" Maheshwari – Sunaina and Omkar's son; Jasmeet's husband; Nishant's father (2009–2015) / (2015–2016)
*Shirin Sewani as Jasmeet "Jassi" Kaur Maheshwari – Sukhwinder and Pammi's daughter; Anshuman's wife; Nishant's mother (2013-2018)
*Akshaya Naik as Ananya Maheshwari Sharma – Varsha and Shaurya's daughter; Kuhu's half-sister; Ranveer's wife (2015–2018)
**Nairtiya Chandola as Young Ananya Maheshwari (2012–2015)
*Arjun Kohli as Ranveer Sharma – Ananya's husband (2016–2018)
*Anmol Jyotir as Nishant "Nannu" Maheshwari – Anshuman and Jasmeet's son (2016-2017)
**Khushmeet Gill as Young Nannu Maheshwari (2015–2016)
*Kaveri Priyam as Kuhu Maheshwari Rajvansh – Shaurya and Sneha's daughter; Varsha's adoptive daughter; Ananya's half-sister (2019)
**Yamini Makwana as Teenage Kuhu Maheshwari (2016–2017)
**Harbandna Kaur as Young Kuhu Maheshwari (2016)
*Zarina Roshan Khan as Gopi – Bhairavi's friend and househelp (2009–2014)
*Anand Mani as Bhajinder Singh – Maheshwari's househelp; Dhaniya's husband (2009–2012)
*Amardeep Jha as Shankari Tai – Maheshwari's match maker (2009–2016,2018)
*Bhuvan Chopra as Ratan Goyal – Ramola's son; Rajshri's brother; Shaurya and Akshara's uncle (2009)
*Ruma Sengupta as Ramola Goyal – Rajshri and Ratan's mother; Shaurya and Akshara's grandmother (2009–2011)
* Charu Asopa as Sneha – Naitik's employee; Kuhu's mother (2010)
*Tiya Gandwani as Priyanka – Soumya's sister; Keerti and Kartik's aunt (2017–2019)
*Rituraj Singh as Purushottam Ajmera – Suhasini's brother; Ila's father (2019)
*Aleya Ghosh as Ila Ajmera – Purushottam's daughter (2019)
* Pankhuri Awasthy Rode as Vedika – Kartik's friend and former fiancée. (2019–2020)
*Tejaswanee Bhadane as Krishna "Chhori" Goenka – Kartik and Naira's adoptive daughter; Kairav, Akshara and Aarohi's adoptive sister (2020–2021)
*Shrey Pareek as Kabir - Naira's stalker (2018)
*Priyamvada Kant as Rhea – Surekha's niece (2021)
*Ashita Dhawan as Sheela Shekhawat Rathore – Kaushalya's daughter; Mukesh's wife; Sirat and Sonu's mother; Aarohi's grandmother (2021)
*Hrishikesh Pandey as Mukesh Rathore – Sheila's second husband; Sonu's father (2021)
*Krishang Bhanushali as Sonu Rathore – Sheila and Mukesh's son; Sirat's half-brother (2021)
* Amita Khopkar as Kaushalya Shekhawat aka Maudi – Sheila's mother; Sirat and Sonu's grandmother; Aarohi's great-grandmother. (2021)
*Karan Kundra as Ranveer Chauhan – Narendranath and Saroj's son; Nidhi's brother; Sirat's first husband (2021)
**Mayank Padia as Teenage Ranveer Chauhan (2021)
* Shahbaz Khan as Narendranath Chauhan – Saroj's husband; Ranveer and Nidhi's father (2021)
* Anjali Gupta as Saroj Chauhan – Narendranath's wife; Ranveer and Nidhi's mother (2021)
* Ashwini Shukla as Nidhi Chauhan – Narendranath and Saroj's daughter; Ranveer's sister (2021)
*Vrushika Mehta as Dr. Riddhima – Kairav's psychiatrist (2020)

Guest appearances

Production

Development

The shooting of the show began on 11 September 2008. It was launched at Rambagh Palace in Jaipur, Rajasthan. In January 2009, the series was mainly promoted through a campaign at six main cities by StarPlus along with Jagran Solutions. A contest was held in the country among over 1000 married couples out of which fifty of them were selected through events like quizzes and on air test on radios. They were made to remarry with the rituals along with the games and events held in Rambagh Palace.

In January 2010, a sequence was shot without any dialogue, with only background music used during dramatic scenes when the Singhania family learn that the character Akshara motivates the love between her sister in law Nandhini and Naitik's friend Mohit, against them.

In January 2013, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai was sent notice by channel for its ending due to decreasing ratings. However it received extension until June 2013 while the ratings rose and the decision of ending was dropped. Besides, twice again it received notice for ending but soon when the ratings increased after it, the plan was dropped and the series continued.

During November 2014, lead Hina Khan could not attend shooting for a few days due to her other work schedules and the track was altered for her absence. In December 2014, a scene where characters Naman and Karishma kiss was cut from the broadcast to avoid offending the show's audience.

The show took its first leap of 4 years on 30 November 2012 after the car accident of Naitik as he slips into a coma. It then took a leap of 10 years on 30 March 2015 after Kaveri banished Akshara from the house owing to Mahendra Pratap's death. Then a leap of some years was taken on 16 May 2016 after teenage Naira running away from her home fearing imprisonment. Another leap of 2 years was taken on 21 May 2018 after Shubam's death as Suvarna ousts her. It took a leap of 5 years on 7 June 2019 after Naira leaves the Goenka house on Kartik's misconception about her. On 18 October 2021, The show took a leap of 8 years where Sirat was shown a single mother to Aarohi and Akshara while Kartik was abroad to drop teenaged Kairav and Vansh to hostels. On 27 October 2021, a leap of 12 years was taken after Kartik and Sirat's deaths and the story started focussing on Abhimanyu and grown up Akshara and Aarohi. On 25 August 2022, The show took a leap of 1 year where Akshara was helping Dr. Kunal's sister, Maya, and was living away from her family and Abhimanyu.

The 10 year leap in March 2015 was slightly delayed as the casting of adult Naksh was not finalised. Producers auditioned over 200 people before choosing Rohan Mehra. In April 2016, both Hina Khan and Karan Mehra refused to play the role as in-laws after the on-going wedding track of their onscreen son Naksh and Tara. Thus, the track was altered such that the wedding was called off.

During January 2017, at the filming of pre-wedding sequences of the lead characters Naira and Kartik, fire broke out on the sets due to a short circuit. Common people were auditioned at Delhi during 4 and 5 February 2017 and cast for Baraati in Naira and Kartik's wedding.

In August 2017, the wedding dress of the character Keerti, for her and Naksh's marriage sequence, was designed by Bollywood fashion designer Neeta Lulla.

Pankhuri Awasthy was cast in June 2019 as Vedika, whose role was supposed to be for three months. However, with the increased ratings, becoming most watched Hindi GEC for few weeks in urban, her role was extended with her exit in January 2020 while in between she took a break in October and re-entered in November 2019.

Speaking about ''Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai's'' success producer Rajan Shahi said, "Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai doing well is something we have to strive for each and every day. When a show completes this number of episodes, it becomes a challenge as to how to sustain the show. There are so many topics to choose from and there are so many relationships, so that becomes a major challenge, to keep the freshness alive. Drama, intrigue, etc is just a part of storytelling but to still keep the essence alive that is the challenge, it is always a day to day battle". He also quoted that the elaborate festival celebrations shown is the strength of the series.

Speaking about the introduction of transition in the story from Akshara and Naitik to Naira and Kartik, Shahi said, "We were losing out on the young audience when things were going sweet between (original protagonists) Akshara and Naitik. With the introduction of Kartik and Naira -- a couple that is imperfect, makes mistake and learns from the mistakes -- the audience again found a connection with the on-screen characters. That is how our show has stood strong against the test of time". In May 2017 Shahi stated: For his above statement both Khan and Mehra expressed their displeasure where Khan stated: Mehra stated:

In May 2022, actress Pranali Rathod worn a bridal lehenga worth ₹2.5 Lacs approximately for Akshara and Abhimanyu's wedding sequence, the costliest lehenga ever worn by any YRKKH actress. It was also reported that the whole wedding sequence which was shot in Samode Palace of Jaipur costed a budget around ₹2 Crores including whole cast's stay and special Rajasthani traditional costumes, the highest ever budget spent on marriage sequence of any Indian television series.

Casting

Hina Khan was cast to play Akshara Singhania, making her acting debut. Khan stated that she knew nothing about acting while signing the series quoting, "I didn't learn acting from anywhere. I think it's because of luck that I landed up in TV. Even after that I had to do a lot of hard work. It was more difficult for me when I began acting and straight away I had to perform. I never got to learn". Karan Tacker was initially roped for the role of Naitik, but was replaced by Karan Mehra a day before the promo shoot as Tacker became skeptical. Speaking about it producer Rajan Shahi said, "Karan refused to be a part of the show a day and a half prior to shooting the promo. I needed to hunt for a new face on immediate basis. I accidentally met Karan Mehra, a real life replica of my fictitious character Naitik".

In June 2016, Mehra quit the show, because of health issues. Two sequences were shot before his exit: one was his death track and other was his kidnap track and decision was made to take the story with the kidnapping track. Then, he was replaced by Vishal Singh in August 2016, making his entry with the kidnapping sequence in Switzerland. In November 2016, Hina Khan quit as her character became monotonous for her and she was shown killed in a car accident. Shivangi Joshi playing Naira and Mohsin Khan playing Kartik, who entered in May 2016, became the leads as the story focused on their journey.

In 2012, Sanjay Gandhi playing Mahendra quit due to the issues between him and his co-actors Sonali Verma and Sandeep Mehta who was then replaced by Abhijit Lahiri. The latter also quit after the death of his character in March 2015. In 2012, Urmila Sharma was replaced by Sunitha Rao as Rukmini. In December 2013, Sonali Verma quit her role as Gayathri Singhania, because Verma planned to get married and move to the United States. Her character was killed after a fall from a cliff.

In December 2014, Ather Habib playing Shaurya quit as he felt nothing more was there to explore in his character and was replaced by Yash Gera. Gera also quit in 2017 due to the same reason as that of Habib. He was replaced by Sameer Sharma in the spin-off series during March 2019.

In 2015, Aman Sharma playing Anshuman quit as he wanted to search for better opportunities and was replaced by Dheeraj Gumbar who also quit in mid 2016.

In 2015, Ayush Agarwal quit due to personal reasons and was replaced by Shamik Abbas. In May 2016, Umang Jain playing Tara and her on-screen family members quit as the story started to focus on other tracks after the cancellation of her and Naksh's wedding in the show after Hina Khan playing Akshara refused to play the role of a mother-in-law.

In September 2016, Rohan Mehra playing Naksh quit to participate in ''Bigg Boss'' and was replaced by Rishi Dev. Dev also quit in December 2018 as he wished to focus on his YouTube channel and was replaced by Shehzad Shaikh. In September 2017, Kanchi Singh playing Gayatri Deora quit as her character was sidelined and was replaced by Deblina Chatterjee in November 2018.

Anshul Pandey playing Naman quit in October 2016 who was replaced by Jay Pathak in the spin-off series during March 2019. In January 2018, Priyanka Udhwani playing Karishma quit as nothing was left for her character. In July 2018, Vaishnavi Rao was cast as Manasi which was earlier played by Shreya Sharma as the makers considered the former better for the role. Shirin Sewani who was last seen in November 2018 playing Jasmeet in this series was replaced by Soniya Kaur in the spin-off series in March 2019.

Parul Chauhan quit in April 2019 as she did not want to play a grandmother and was replaced by Niyati Joshi as Suvarna. As the story was about to take a leap, in May 2019, Mohena Kumari Singh playing Keerti quit after getting married, and was replaced by Harsha Khandeparkar in August 2020. Deblina Chatterjee playing Gayatri quit as she was not interested in playing a mother, and was replaced by Simran Khanna. Sreshth Saxena and Shubh Saxena were quit due to the leap. Shaurya Shah, who entered in June 2019 as Kairav, quit the following month due to health issues, and was immediately replaced by Tanmay Rishi.

In January 2020, Anmol Jyotir who played teenage Nishanth Maheshwari until 2017 was cast along with Apoorva Jyotir to play teenage Kush and Luv. As a result of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, actors younger than ten years of age were prohibited from performing on set, so when shooting resumed in June 2020, Tanmay Rishi Shah and Maaz Champ shot their sequences from home. However, due to the requirement of characters Kairav and Vansh on the sets, they were replaced by Aarambh Trehan Sehgal and Siddharth Dubey in October 2020.

In October 2021, Mohsin Khan playing Kartik left the show as well as child actors Aarambh Trehan Sehgal and Siddharth Dubey. Shivangi Joshi playing Sirat and actresses Shilpa Raizada and Simran Khanna playing Surekha and Gayatri respectively left the show after the 8 year leap sequence post the next generation leap, Pranali Rathod was cast to play Akshara Goenka and Harshad Chopda was cast to play Dr. Abhimanyu Birla. About her role, Rathod said "I relate to the character so much that I instantly fell in love with the way it has been written. Also, in real life, I'm free-spirited just like Akshara". Karishma Sawant was cast as Aarohi Goenka, making her acting debut. Mayank Arora and Sharan Adnani played Kairav Goenka and Vansh Goenka post the generation leap. Ami Trivedi was cast as Manjari Birla and Paras Priyadarshan as Neil Birla. Vinay Jain, Pragati Mehra and Ashish Nayyar were cast as Dr. Harshvardhan Birla, Dr. Mahima Birla and Dr. Anand Birla. Neeraj Goswami, Niharika Chouksey and Sehrish Ali were cast to play Parth Birla, Nishtha Birla and Shefali Birla.

In February 2022, Kashish Rai joined the cast as Anand and Mahima's elder daughter Anisha Birla, and she quit the following month. But she returned and permanently left the series in August 2022 through her character's death.

In June 2022, Niharika Chouksey portraying Nishtha Birla also quit the series quoting, "''I waited for six months but there was nothing for me to do in the show''". In August 2022, Mrunal Jain was cast to play Dr. Kunal Khera. Actress Navika Kotia, who previously played Prerna Singhania from 2013 to 2014 joined the cast again in August 2022 to play a new character Maya Khera.

In December 2022, Sharan Anandani playing Vansh Goenka also quitted the series quotting , ''"My character never had any growth since long and was unhappy with tracks as I can't remain silent actor standing in background at this stage of my career."''

Filming

The series is mainly filmed in the Film City at Goregaon in Mumbai. As the story is based in Udaipur of Rajasthan, some scenes were filmed there. In December 2013, a sequence was shot at Wai. Sequences were also filmed in Rishikesh during 2016 and March 2018. In March 2017, the wedding track of Kartik and Naira was filmed in Bikaner, Rajasthan.

The show as also filmed in various foreign locations including Bangkok in 2014, Cape Town in 2015, Hong Kong in 2015, Switzerland in 2016 and Greece in 2017.

On 13 April 2021, Maharashtra's Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced a sudden curfew due to increased Covid cases in Maharashtra, while the production halted from 14 April 2021 and the production and filming location was soon shifted temporarily from Mumbai to Silvassa along with other shows ''Anupamaa'', ''Aai Kuthe Kay Karte'' and ''Mann Kee Awaaz Pratigya 2'' of the same production house. After two months of shooting in Silvassa, the team shifted back to Film City, Mumbai on 10 June 2021.

In October 2021, the team flew to Udaipur to shoot initial episodes after the generation leap including introduction sequences.

In April 2022 to May 2022, the team flew to Jaipur to shoot Abhimanyu and Akshara's wedding sequence.

Broadcast

The series which was in a continuous production since its premiere was halted indefinitely in March 2020. Owing COVID-19 outbreak in India, the filming of the television series and films were halted on 19 March 2020, expected to resume the works from 1 April 2020 and the series airing was halted on 25 March 2020 after the bank episodes got over. However, later on imposing the nationwide lockdown, which was extending with the increasing cases, filming could not be resumed since March end. After three months, the shooting of the series resumed on 26 June 2020 and airing resumed from 13 July 2020.

The production once again halted on 24 August 2020 when the cast Sachin Tyagi, Swati Chitnis and Samir Onkar along with four crew members were tested positive for the COVID-19 virus and resumed with others on 28 August 2020. Since 2 October 2022, it is broadcast daily along with other Star Plus's shows.

Spin-off

In 2019, On ''Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai's'' completion of 10 years, a spin-off series, '' Yeh Rishtey Hain Pyaar Ke'', premiered on 18 March 2019 starring Rhea Sharma and Shaheer Sheikh. The series portrayed the life of Naman and Karishma's daughter and Naira's younger step cousin Mishti, portrayed by Sharma alongside Abir portrayed by Sheikh.

Crossovers

''Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai'' has had several crossover episodes with various shows. They are as follows:

* On 28 December 2009, the show had a crossover with '' Sapna Babul Ka...Bidaai''.

* On 24 August 2012, the show had a crossover episode with ''Diya Aur Baati Hum''.

* On 3 March 2016, actress Deepika Singh as Sandhya from ''Diya Aur Baati Hum'' made an entry during Naira's kidnap sequence.

* ''Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai'' and '' Yeh Rishtey Hain Pyaar Ke'' had an integration from 12 March 2019 to 16 March 2019. Rhea Sharma as Mishti and Kaveri Priyam as Kuhu were introduced during the integration.

* From 26 March 2022 to 28 March 2022, Anupamaa from ''Anupamaa'', attended Akshara and Abhimanyu's engagement.

Dubbed versions

From 2011 to 2015, the show was dubbed as ''Uravugal Thorarkadhai'' in Tamil on Star Vijay and as ''Pellante Noorella Panta'' in Telugu on Star Maa, both being discontinued after airing more than 1000 episodes. In 2017, the show was dubbed in Malayalam under the title ''Akkareyanente Maanasam 2'' on Asianet Plus and also in Tamil as ''Uravugal Thodarkadhai 2'' on Star Vijay Super from episode 2075, but were discontinued within few months.

Television specials

''Rishton Ka Utsav'' (2018)

A special segment named ''Rishton Ka Utsav'' aired from 26 November 2018 to 5 December 2018 where Kartik and Naira organize a unique festival which brings all generations with most of the family members of the show through all these years come together and celebrate their reunion. This segment also marked the entry of Deblina Chatterjee as Gayatri Deora replacing Kanchi Singh who quit the show in 2017.

''Ravivaar With Star Parivaar'' (2022)

The cast of ''Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai'' participated as a team in the musical game show ''Ravivaar With Star Parivaar''. It competed with the teams of other Star Plus's shows. ''Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai'' emerged as the winner of the show winning the trophy and a prize money of 10 lac rupees.

Reception

Impact

''Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai'' was touted as the biggest weekday prime time fiction launch in past three years during 2009.

This longest running Hindi soap is the fourth longest-running Indian television soap opera and is still one of the top rated shows. It was the first Hindi show to cross 2,500 episodes. It completed 3,000 episodes on 11 September 2019 creating a history in the Indian television. On 1 September 2021, It completed 3500 episodes.

Hina participated in the 'Power of 49' campaign, in which soap opera actors used their influence to urge women to vote.

Khan was paid with ₹1to 1.25 Lacks per episode as of in 2015 and 2016 making her one of the highest paid Indian television actress.

In 2020, it became the third most tweeted Indian television show on Twitter.

Critics

Shoma Munshi in their book ''Prime Time Soap Operas on Indian Television'' said the show has "simplicity and highly emotional content" and was noted for placing female characters in the historical tradition of a large joint family.

''The Indian Express'' stated, "Simple story, simple treatment, easy pace, small tiffs, grouse, grief, happiness, sadness, celebrations, rituals, customs but no melodrama and no scheming and plotting....that's every day life beautifully captured and which pleases eyes, ears and other senses. Not that it has not resorted to TRP gimmicks like misunderstanding, pregnancy and miscarriage to come out of its lows, but the show has chronicled post-marriage journey of an arranged married couple quite well". They also quoted, "There is a sense of positivity and reality in the show, that no other serial offers on the small screen".

Praising the two shows ''Bidaii'' and ''Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai'' of Rajan Shahi's Director's Kut Production as game changers of Starplus which do not have excessive camera moves and mother in law - daughter in law melodramas unlike previously aired dramas, ''The Times of India'' stated, "The shows adequately highlighted the quintessential emotions with loads of romanticism and simplicity in story-telling".

Speaking on the success of the series, ''The New Indian Express'' said, "Like most successful television series in our country, "Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai" has always banked heavily on the great Indian family. However, the show, along with its cast, has changed over the decade, to accommodate changing times. Perhaps that is where the winning formula lies—in retaining its old core values in an ever-changing set-up".

Soundtrack

''Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai''s soundtrack has been composed by Navin Tripathi and Manish Tripathi. The lyrics are penned by Manish Tripathi. The title track "Haan Koi Chori Chori" has been sung by Navin Tripathi and Alka Yagnik.

Awards

''Note'': Only notable awards are listed below.

Indian Television Academy Awards

Indian Telly Awards

Star Guild Awards

BIG Star Entertainment Awards

Gold Awards

See also

* List of programs broadcast by Star Plus

References

External links

Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai
on Disney+ Hotstar
*

{{SP Shows

Hindi-language television shows
Indian drama television series
Indian television soap operas
2009 Indian television series debuts
Television shows set in Rajasthan
StarPlus original programming