In 2007, the Nikkhil Advani-directed Salaam-e-Ishq showcased a foreign tourist falling in love with Govinda’s taxi driver character. Even as many of us called it unrealistic, we were still rooting for the love story, because who doesn’t want the underdog to win? But that’s on screen. In real life, we wouldn’t be comfortable taking the same stand if faced with a similar situation. Despite shouting from rooftops that love knows no boundaries, we tend to create these fences. Then, are we really progressive?

Family Aaj Kal puts forth this question as it shows how even the most progressive families can be classist and have societal biases ingrained in them. Starring Apoorva Arora, late Nitesh Pandey and Sonali Sachdev, the SonyLIV series revolves around a ‘progressive’ family that is up in arms when the daughter announces that she is dating a taxi driver. The creative minds behind the series—director Parikshit Joshi, writer Manoj Kalwani, and Namrata Sharma, director, Impact and Partnerships, Civic Studios—dissect the messaging behind the series and why it’s important to show how class divide is entrenched in our society.