Pankaj Berry and Nasir Khan in Calcutta for the launch of Amber Dhara. Picture by Aranya Sen

Sony’s most popular series with the triumph of the underdog. Built along the same lines as Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin is Amber Dhara, the channel’s latest offering. But there is one significant difference — if Jassi was the story of an ugly duckling battling the jibes of people around her, then Amber Dhara deals with conjoined twins, shunned by society and ridiculed by peers.

“Amber Dhara is an emotional saga of faith, hope and survival and is quite unlike anything that the Indian television viewer has ever seen. We are confident that viewers will take to the novel concept of the show,” said Sanjay Upadhyay, programming head of Sony, who along with the Amber Dhara team was in town recently.

Armed with a unique premise and a battery of small-screen stars like Paintal, Mona Ambegaonkar, Pankaj Berry and Nasir Khan, Amber Dhara — Kahaani Judi Behnon Ki is set in small-town Panchgani.

The identity of the two actors who play Amber and Dhara is being kept under wraps for now. “Amber Dhara is loosely based on the conjoined twins Chang and Eng Bunker who lived till the age of 63. But the plot of the story is entirely fictional,” offered producer Vikas Seth.

Of the cast, television veteran Pankaj Berry, who plays a doctor in the serial, and Nasir Khan were present. “I play a conniving talent scout who tries to exploit the physical handicap of Amber and Dhara to further his career,” smiled Nasir, son of the legendary Johnny Walker.

Poised for a September 24 start (Monday to Thursday, 9pm on Sony), Amber Dhara is placed in the fiercely competitive evening prime-time slot. “Amber Dhara is not a run-of-the-mill story. We have a good product and we are sure that it will pave the way for many more such serials in the future,” stressed the people behind it.