Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon

''Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon?'' ( ''What Shall We Name This Love?'') is an Indian Hindi-language romantic drama television series that aired on StarPlus from 6 June 2011 to 30 November 2012. Produced by Gul Khan under 4 Lions Films, it starred Barun Sobti and Sanaya Irani.

On 24 November 2015, Hotstar launched an eight episode web series, ''Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon? – Ek Jashan'', to extend the ''Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon?'' storyline. Barun Sobti and Sanaya Irani reprised their respective roles as Arnav and Khushi.

Plot

Arnav Singh Raizada (ASR), a suave, arrogant, and immensely successful business tycoon from Delhi, crosses paths with Khushi Kumari Gupta, a spirited girl from a humble background in Lucknow. Their worlds collide when Khushi accidentally disrupts one of his fashion events, leading to chaos that causes her sister Payal’s wedding to be called off. To make matters worse, Khushi is harassed on the streets and saved by Shyam Manohar Jha, a seemingly kind man who hides a dark truth—he’s married.

Reeling from disgrace and humiliation, Khushi and Payal are sent to Delhi to live with their paternal aunt. In Delhi, fate ensures another run-in with Arnav when Khushi damages his car. Determined to repay him, she starts selling traditional Chikankari sarees and ends up at the Raizada mansion (Shantivan) by mistake. There, she charms Arnav’s kind-hearted sister Anjali and their grandmother Devyani Devi (Nani), who take an instant liking to her.

Khushi’s plans are thwarted by Arnav’s aunt Manorama, who falsely accuses her of selling torn sarees, costing her the payment she needed for the car damages. Meanwhile, Shyam reappears in Khushi’s life under the pretense of being single and expresses his desire to marry her. Hoping for help, Khushi asks him to find her a job—and he gets her a role at ASR’s office.

Arnav, annoyed by her presence, tries to push her out by making her job nearly impossible. But Khushi, determined and resilient, completes every challenge he throws her way. Amid their clashes, a dangerous situation leads Arnav to save her life—something that momentarily reveals a more vulnerable side of him.

Eventually, Khushi considers leaving Delhi, but a sign from her beloved Devi Maiyya convinces her to stay and start a sweet shop. Coincidentally, their first big order takes her straight back to the Raizada house for Anjali’s anniversary celebrations.

Khushi is later hired by Anjali to groom Arnav’s girlfriend Lavanya into the ideal daughter-in-law. Constant interactions spark a slow transformation in Arnav. Though he mocks Khushi’s status to protect his pride, he finds himself falling for her. Their growing closeness culminates during Diwali, but instead of confessing his feelings, Arnav proposes to Lavanya—fearing vulnerability.

Heartbroken, Khushi agrees to marry Shyam, unaware of his marriage to Anjali. When Arnav learns of Khushi’s engagement, jealousy and anger resurface. Meanwhile, Arnav’s cousin Akash falls in love with Payal, and wedding preparations begin.

Khushi’s adoptive father Shashi discovers Shyam’s secret, but before he can expose him, Shyam causes him to suffer a paralyzing stroke. Shyam also manipulates Buaji, tightening his grip on the family.

Eventually, Khushi learns the truth about Shyam and ends the engagement. Fearing that the revelation might ruin Payal and Akash’s wedding and break Anjali’s heart, she stays silent. Arnav, having realized his love for Khushi, breaks things off with Lavanya. But when he sees Shyam pleading with Khushi to marry him, he misinterprets the situation. To protect Anjali’s marriage, Arnav forces Khushi into a six-month contract marriage, blackmailing her emotionally.

Their pretend marriage is fraught with tension, teasing, and underlying affection. Arnav remains suspicious of her intentions, while Khushi struggles to understand his motives. When she contemplates ending her life in desperation, Arnav saves her again but still refuses to believe her version of events.

Shyam, fueled by greed, orchestrates Arnav’s abduction to claim the Raizada fortune. Khushi, with the help of Nandkishore (NK) and Manorama, rescues him. Upon returning, Arnav exposes Shyam, who is thrown out of the house, sending Anjali into depression.

Arnav and Anjali’s paternal grandmother, Subhadra Devi (Dadi), arrives, disapproving of Khushi and determined to restore Shyam’s position in the family. During Janmashtami, Khushi realizes her marriage to Arnav lacked rituals and insists on a proper wedding. Dadi tries to sabotage the wedding by revealing a painful past—Khushi’s adoptive mother, Garima, once unknowingly had an affair with Arnav’s father, which led to the suicide of Arnav’s parents.

Arnav, devastated, ultimately chooses love over hate. He marries Khushi in a grand ceremony, telling Dadi that blaming Garima alone is unjust when his father was equally at fault.

On their wedding night, Arnav and Khushi discover hidden cameras in their room, planted by Shyam. They uncover more of his misdeeds, including his role in Anjali’s miscarriage, and expose him completely. Anjali, finally seeing the truth, throws Shyam out for good.

Just as peace returns, Arnav’s college friend Sheetal arrives with a boy named Aarav, pretending he’s Arnav’s son to scam the family. Arnav and Khushi expose her plot and later adopt Aarav, giving him a loving home.

To establish her identity beyond being Arnav's wife, Khushi enters a beauty pageant, which she wins with support from Arnav and the family. The couple, after enduring so many storms, finally find their happily-ever-after—together, stronger than ever.

Cast

Main

* Barun Sobti as Arnav Singh Raizada aka ASR – Ratna and Arvind's son; Anjali's younger brother; Akash and Nandkishore's cousin; Khushi's husband; Aarav's adoptive father (2011–2012)
*Sanaya Irani as Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada – Tej's daughter; Shashi and Garima's niece and adoptive daughter; Payal's cousin and adoptive sister; Arnav's wife; Aarav's adoptive mother (2011-2012)

Recurring

* Dalljiet Kaur as Anjali Shyam Manohar Jha/Singh Raizada – Ratna and Arvind's daughter; Arnav’s older sister; Akash and Nandkishore's cousin; Shyam's ex-wife
* Abhaas Mehta as Shyam Jha – Anjali's former husband; Khushi's former fiancé (2011–2012)
* Deepali Pansare as Payal Singh Raizada - Shashi and Sandhya's daughter; Garima's step-daughter; Khushi's elder adoptive sister; Akash's wife (2011–2012)
* Akshay Dogra as Akash Singh Raizada – Manorama and Mahendra's son; Anjali, Arnav and Nandkishore's cousin; Payal's husband (2011–2012)
*Utkarsha Naik as Manorama Singh Raizada – Mahendra's wife; Ratna's sister-in law;Akash's mother; Anjali, Arnav, NK and Bubbly's aunt (2011–2012)
* Sanjay Batra as Shashi Gupta – Madhumati's brother; Sandhya and Garima's husband; Payal's father; Khushi's adoptive father/uncle (2011–2012)
*Tuhina Vohra/ Pyumori Mehta Ghosh as Garima Gupta – Sandhya and Tej's sister; Shashi's second wife; Payal's step-mother; Khushi's aunt and adoptive mother (2011–2012)
*Abha Parmar as Madhumati Gupta – Shashi's sister; Payal and Khushi's aunt (2011–2012)
* Jayshree T. as Devyani Raizada – Ratna and Mahendra's mother; Subhadra's childhood friend; Anjali, Arnav and Akash's grandmother (2011–2012)
*Rajesh Jais as Mahendra Singh Raizada – Devyani's son; Ratna's brother; Manorama's husband; Akash's father; Anjali, Arnav and NK's uncle (2011–2012)
* Karan Godhwani as Nandkishore "NK" Mittal – Manorama's nephew; Arnav's cousin (2011–2012)
* Vishesh Bansal as Aarav Singh Raizada – Arnav & Khushi’s adopted son (2012)
* Swati Chitnis as Subhadra Malik: Devyani's childhood friend; Anjali and Arnav's grandmother (2012)
*Dinesh Nag as Hari Prakash "HP" Yadav (2011)
* Sana Makbul as Lavanya Kashyap: Arnav's former girlfriend and ex-fiancée (2011)
* Roshni Rastogi as Preetika aka Preeto (2011)
* Zuber K. Khan as Rahim Mirza (2011)
*Amit Dua as Vikrant Goel: Co-organizer of the Ms. India contest (2012)
* Ahmad Harhash as Ahill Raza Ibrahim (2011-2012)
*Gaurav Muskesh as reporter
*Yogesh Tripathi as Kamlesh Khabari (2011)
*Dhriti Bhatia as Bubbly (2012)
* Madhura Naik as Sheetal Kapoor (2012)
*Unknown as Sandhya Gupta: Shashi's first wife,Payal's mother.

Guest appearances

* Hanif Hilal as Guest (Dance performance to ''Character Dheela'' for Anjali-Shyam's anniversary) (2011)
* Nicole Alvares as Guest (Dance performance to ''Character Dheela'' for Anjali-Shyam's anniversary) (2011)
* Anas Rashid as Sooraj Rathi from Diya Aur Baati Hum (2012)
* Deepika Singh Goyal as Sandhya Rathi from Diya Aur Baati Hum (2012)
* Karan Tacker as Viren from Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai (2012)
* Kushal Tandon as Virat from Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai (2012)
*Krystle D'Souza as Jeevika from Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai (2012)
* Nia Sharma as Manvi from Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai (2012)
*Karan Mehra as Naitik from Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai (2012)
* Hina Khan as Akshara from Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai (2012)
* Arhaan Behll as Krishna from Mann Kee Awaaz Pratigya (2012)
* Pooja Gor as Pratigya from Mann Kee Awaaz Pratigya (2012)

Production

Casting

The show was produced and directed by Gul Khan under the banner of 4 Lions Films. Barun Sobti was cast as Arnav Singh Raizada after the original choice, Karan Singh Grover, opted out of the role to focus on his film career and Sanaya Irani replaced Shraddha Arya who had originally been cast as the female lead. Dalljiet Kaur, Deepali Pansare & Akshay Dogra were finalized to play supporting roles to the main leads. Other supporting cast include Jayshree T., Tuhina Vohra, Abha Parmar, Utkarsha Naik, Sanjay Batra and many other actors. Abhaas Mehta and Sana Makbul entered the show as antagonists of the show. Sana later quit the show in December 2011.

Cancellation

When Barun Sobti announced his break from the show due to health problems, fans of the series requested the production team to shut down the show on a happy note rather than any replacement.

Reception

In week 15 to 21 of 2011, it entered top ten Hindi GEC list garnering 2.6 TVR occupying ninth position.

Awards and nominations

Spinoff

In 2015, Hotstar launched a web series of eight episodes titled '' Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon? - Ek Jashn'' with the original cast and the characters. The story revolves around Arnav and Khushi's married life after three years.

References

External links

Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon?
at Disney+ Hotstar
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{{Armenia TV programming

StarPlus original programming
2011 Indian television series debuts
2012 Indian television series endings
Television shows set in Delhi
Hindi-language Disney+ Hotstar original programming
2015 web series debuts
2015 web series endings
Television series by 4 Lions Films
Hindi-language television shows
Indian romance television series