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I Asked My Colleague, Who Has Never Seen An Episode Of “Anupamaa”, Questions About The Show

Hi, I’m Sasha! I obsessively watch Anupamaa because I grew up in a dysfunctional household and I like to watch a family kalesh every morning that’s actually on the side of the women in the household. I live vicariously through Anupamaa and the women around her.

Sasha Desai

Hi, I am Sumedha and I have never actually seen an episode of Anupamaa. All I know about the show is the fact that Rupali Ganguly, aka our beloved Monisha Sarabhai, plays the protagonist. So when I got to know of Sasha’s love for the show, we decided to create content wherein I, with my absolute lack of knowledge, answer Sasha’s trivia questions about Anupamaa.

Sumedha Bharpilania

Are you ready? Because we totally are!

Sasha: What industry / field does the main antagonist, Vanraj Shah, work in?

Sumedha: He is a hotshot industrialist but basically a nepo baby. Vanraj Shah, Shah Group of Industries ka ek lauta vaaris.

Sasha: He’s a mamooli marketing man with an MBA, but you’re absolutely right about his arrogant AF vibe.

Sasha: What’s Kavya’s second career?

Sumedha: I would’ve said that she is an Only Fans model but that’d be too risqué for a show such as this one. So I think she moonlights as a fashion and beauty influencer with 58.3k followers on Instagram.

Sasha: This is so close! Kavya’s second career is modelling and there’s even a whole scene where she’s filming herself (with a ring light) like she’s a budding influencer! 

Sasha: What is Anupamaa’s first job ever?

Sumedha: Anupamaa started her career as a kindergarten teacher and her former students, who are now in high school, still call her “Anu Teacher”.

Sasha: SO CLOSE! Her first job is that of a teacher and she teaches cooking to young children, but not kindergarteners.

Sasha: Anupamaa’s oldest son is called Toshu. What’s his real name?

Sumedha: I guess it’s Tushar? But it’s spelt “Touussharr”.

Sasha: His name is actually Paritosh but now I really WISH it was “Touussharr”.

Sasha: Anupamaa’s daughter is called Sweety. What’s her real name?

Sumedha: If she is Touussharr’s sister than I suppose she’d be Tviishaa. Anupamaa and her family are big on numerology.

Sasha: Right vibe but then you started with the wrong answer. Paritosh’s sister is Pakhi aka Sweety aka Sweetudi. 

Sasha: Baa’s catch phrase is, “Main aapke kaan ke neeche ____”

Sumedha: “…aisa laafa maarungi na, akkha world ki history aur geography yaad aa jaayegi”. Baa is a badass.

Sasha: This sounds exactly like something Baa would say but her favourite way to threaten violence is, “Main aapke kaan ke neeche sitar bajaungi”.

Sasha: How many kids does Anupamaa have with Vanraj Shah?

Sumedha: Three. Touussharr and Tviishaa have three step-siblings — Aarrav, Viivaan, and Inaayya.

Sasha: She does have three kids — Toshu, Sweety, Samar! And they even have one step-sibling. How did you guess so close here??! 

Sasha: What does Toshu do that gets him kicked out of the house?

Sumedha: He decided to start a podcast on the rapid commercialisation of mental health instead of joining Vanraj in their family-owned business. This irked Vanraj and he asked Toshu to GTFO. 

Sasha: Unfortunately, this is dead wrong. I wish this was the reason. He actually cheats on his wife and that’s what (deservedly) gets him kicked out. 

Sasha: What does Anupamaa do to get kicked out of the house by Mr. Shah?

Sumedha: Firstly, why is Vanraj so obsessed with throwing everyone out of his house? Anupamaa was kicked out because she unconditionally and irrevocably supported Touussharr’s career choices and became the first ever listener of the podcast. Let’s admit it, Vanraj is a cesspool of toxicity and Anupamaa would therefore sign up for anything even remotely associated with mental health.

Sasha: AHAHAHA GIRL, he kicks out most of the cast throughout the show — it’s basically the main kalesh resolution. Vanraj is absolutely a cesspool of toxicity and he kicks Anupamaa out just because she came home a teeny bit late after going out with her girlfriends for sometime.

Sasha: What kind of cake does Mr. Shah get Anupamaa on her birthday?

Sumedha: Didn’t he just throw her out??? Anyway, he got her a Rasmalai Cake — the worst of the lot.

Sasha: Yes he did just throw her out and yes this decision is reversed almost immediately. This was, however, a trick question as Vanraj doesn’t get her a cake! He’s a cesspool of toxicity, after all!

Sasha: Who is Anupamaa’s best friend and what does she do?

Sumedha: Anupamaa’s BFF is called Ragini and she works for a non-profit that advocates for clean air. They met when Anupamaa was teaching kindergarten and Ragini was invited to conduct a workshop with the kids. Ragini is a free-spirited soul who “lives in the moment” while her family lives in Rajouri Garden.

Sasha: Her BFF is actually called Devika and she is very much a free-spirited soul who “lives in the moment”, but she’s also a successful event planner — much cooler than you’d think. 

Sasha: What is Anupamaa’s adopted daughter’s name?

Sumedha: I am honestly starting to lose count of Anupamaa’s kids. This one is called Nandiinii because Anupamaa spotted her outside a Mother Dairy booth.

Sasha: I think the writers were also starting to lose count of her kids because her adopted daugher’s name is also Anupamaa aka Choti Anu aka Bebli. 

Sasha: Who is the worst kid?

Sumedha: Has to be Viivaan. He only believes in hustling and gives everyone the creeps.

Sasha: You’ve described Paritosh Shah’s vibes and he is in fact, the worst kid. 

Sasha: How many kids run away and get married?

Sumedha: All of them, except Viivaan. He does not want to displease his dad because then he’ll get kicked out.

Sasha: It’s almost all of them but actually only two out of three kids. Literally nobody cares about displeasing their dad though.

Sasha: Why does Sweety run away and get married?

Sumedha: I mean, can you blame her? It’s pretty clear that this family is all sorts of dysfunctional and she really needed to escape. She met a man named Pablo while using Tinder Passport and Pablo, as it turns out, was NOT a catfish. With some help from Kavya, who makes a lot of money because of her side-hustle as an influencer, Sweety flew to Spain and got married to Pablo.

Sasha: Are you a secret writer on this show?? She does escape because her family is dysfunctional except she meets a man named Adhik, who is Anupamaa’s new husband’s male cousin’s brother-in-law. Adhik is cool but not a Pablo level of cool.

Sasha: Why do Baa and Vanraj object to Samar marrying Nandini?

Sumedha: Okay so I guess there is an actual character named Nandini (spelt: “Nandiinii”). Yay! Baa secretly has the hots for Samar and Vanraj suspects the same.

Sasha: Yes, there is a Nandini who can’t have kids and THAT’S the reason they object to the marriage. You are right about Baa being overly-involved in Samar’s marital status, though who can say why? 

Sasha: How is Kinjal related to Anupamaa?

Sumedha: Kinjal is Anupamaa’s overachieving NRI cousin from her dad’s side. Ergo, her nemesis.

Sasha: Kinjal is actually Anupamaa’s first bahu (married to Toshu) and Kinjal’s mom, Rakhi Dave, is very much Anupamaa’s nemesis for quite some time. 

Sasha: How does Anupamaa find out about the affair?

Sumedha: Whose affair? Must be Vanraj’s? With Kinjal maybe!!?? While Vanraj and Kinjal were holidaying in his farmhouse in Igatpuri, he noticed that he had 31 missed calls from Anupamaa. He decided to call her back but accidentally FaceTimed her — all while Kinjal was sitting cosily beside him! 

Sasha: There are a confusing amount of affairs but this one was Vanraj’s affair with Kavya. The real answer is so much sadder — Anupamaa finds out on her wedding anniversary as she walks in on Vanraj and Kavya romancing in her very own bedroom!

Sasha: Why does Anupamaa kick her biological daughter out of her house?

Sumedha: Which one? Also, Vanraj really is a bad influence because he’s now gotten Anupamaa hooked on kicking people out of the house. I guess Inaayya is the only remaining biological daughter of hers? Anupamaa kicked her out because Inaayya auditioned for the newest season of Splitsvilla (and got in). 

Since Anupamaa is a StarPlus offering and Splitsvilla is with MTV, they’ve created a fictional version of it for the Anupamaa universe. It’s called Pyaar Hota Kayi Baar Hai.

Sasha: You should really write for this show — it’s better than the original! Pakhi gets booted because she takes advantage of her newly rich mom and spends a cool 60 lakhs on jewellery. 

Sasha: What is the name of Anupamaa’s jethani?

Sumedha: Susheela aka Sus Didi, which she is.

Sasha: Absolutely a “Sus Didi” and her name is…Barkha. 

Sasha: How much money does Pakhi’s husband make at his first job?

Sumedha: 4.5 LPA with benefits.

Sasha: PLEASE! That’s too close to reality. He makes 1 lakh a month! And Pakhi gets upset at this “low” number. 

Sasha: What does Baa call Kavya?

Sumedha: “Calves”. It’s spelt like that.

Sasha: If Baa understood English, she would kill you for this joke. She insultingly calls her “Maidey ki Katori”.

Sasha: What does Baa call Barkha?

Sumedha: “Bak-Bak”.

Sasha: SO CLOSE! The initials “BB” are correct but they stand for “Backless Barkha”.