Over the years, the Indian TV industry has become about as popular as Bollywood, all thanks to Balaji Telefilms and its head Ekta Kapoor, who changed the face of Indian TV serials.
Ekta has not just created popular TV shows but also introduced new faces on them, and these people have then gone on to become TV stars.
Here are a few popular TV shows and actors of Balaji Telefilms.
"Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi": One of the longest-running daily soaps on Indian television, the show is considered a milestone in the history of Indian TV shows. Lead actress Smriti Irani is still popularly known as Tulsi Virani, the character she portrayed.
"Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii": Like "Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi", this Balaji Telefilms show was also immensely popular among the Indian crowd. Lead actress Sakshi Tanwar, who played Parvati, tasted success with this show.
"Kasautii Zindagii Kay": The show turned Shweta Tiwari, better known as Prerna, into a TV star. It also became the third-longest-running TV show, after "Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi" and "Kahani Ghar Ghar Kii".
"Pavitra Rishta": Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput rose to fame as Manav in Ekta Kapoor's "Pavitra Rishta". Ankita Lokhande, who played the role of Archana, also gained popularity with the show.
"Bade Achhe Lagte Hain": This hugely popular show revolved around the love story of Priya Sharma (Sakshi Tanwar) and Ram Kapoor (Ram Kapoor), who discovered love after their marriage. While Sakshi was already a huge star, Ram gained more fans after his stint in "Kasamh Se". He also set a trend of overweight lead actors.
"Yeh Hai Mohabbatein": Another Ekta's show, "YHM" made Divyanka Tripathi (Ishita) and Karan Patel aka Raman the most loved on-screen couple. It is currently one of the leading shows on Indian television.
"Kumkum Bhagya": Another leading show of this generation, "Kumkum Bhagya" revolves around Pragya (Sriti Jha) and Abhi's (Shabbir Ahluwalia) love story. With the show's popularity, Sriti and Shabbir turned out to be one of the most-loved TV actor pairs.
"Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi": The lead pair of the show Radhika Madan aka Ishaani and Shakti Arora aka Ranveer are loved by million viewers worldwide.
Balaji Telefilms has also had a lot of other popular shows, like "Kasamh Se", "Kkavyanjali", Kkusum", "Kutumb" and "Kahiin to Hoga".