The Choudhary Family

Paritosh Sahay

Started from nothing and built an import-export empire through smart business moves and international connections. Though he comes across as tough in business, he has a major soft spot for his granddaughter Varidhi. He sees his own business talent in her and has been quietly preparing her to take over his company alongside the family hotel business. When Varidhi's father Shrikant died, leaving 3-year-old Varidhi fatherless, Paritosh stepped up to be the father figure in her life, supporting both Varidhi and his daughter Vishakha emotionally and professionally.

Mala Paritosh Sahay

The heart of the Sahay family who balances out her husband's business-first approach with warmth and love. When Vishakha was suddenly widowed with a toddler, Mala became essential to their survival, often taking care of little Varidhi while Vishakha juggled single motherhood and running a business. Her role grew even more important when teenage Krishav joined their household after losing his entire family. She embraced him like another grandchild, giving him the motherly love he desperately needed after his tragedy. She formed a special bond with Krishav, understanding the depth of his grief and providing comfort when his pain became overwhelming. Though she's proud of the adults both children have become, she sometimes worries about the darkness she occasionally glimpses behind Krishav's cheerful exterior.

Vishakha Shrikant Choudhary

Thrust into both single motherhood and running a business when widowed with a 3-year-old daughter, Vishakha focused on maintaining the hotel business her husband had built in Indore and nearby cities. Rather than expanding too quickly, she concentrated on building a solid foundation while raising Varidhi. Her dedication to both business and motherhood made her incredibly strong and resilient.

When 15-year-old Krishav lost his entire family, Vishakha didn't hesitate to bring him home. Krishav wasn't just any orphaned teenager - he was the son of Vishakha's best friend. The Mehtas and Choudharys had always treated each other like family despite the Mehtas originally being from Udaipur. Though they had settled in Indore to establish their medical practice, the connection between the families remained strong. Over the years, Vishakha became as much a mother to Krishav as to Varidhi, supporting his dream to become a doctor while making him fully part of the family. Her decision to welcome Krishav created a blended family that brought both joy and complexity as the children grew older and their childhood friendship evolved into romance. While she supports their engagement, something about Krishav's too-perfect exterior occasionally triggers her maternal instinct, causing quiet concerns about her daughter's future happiness.

Shrikant Choudhary (Deceased)

Though he died when Varidhi was only 3, his impact on both his wife and daughter has been profound. A visionary in the hospitality business, he had built a respected regional hotel brand before his untimely death. His business principles and ethics became like a family bible, with Vishakha often asking herself "what would Shrikant do?" when facing tough decisions. He left behind not just his business but detailed journals outlining his philosophy and vision, which guided first Vishakha and later Varidhi.

Though Varidhi barely remembers her father, she feels deeply connected to him through family stories, photos, and his writings. The image of him she's built-an innovative, compassionate leader-became the standard against which she measures herself and others. This partly explains why she's drawn to Krishav, whose compassionate medical career and gentle personality align with the values she associates with her father. Her early experience with loss also helped her understand and connect with Krishav when his family tragedy happened seven years after her father's death.

The Mehta Family

Kartik & Vaidehi Mehta (Deceased)

Well-respected doctors in Indore who died tragically in a car accident along with their daughter when their son Krishav was 15. Kartik, a heart specialist, and Vaidehi, a children's doctor, were known for balancing their successful medical careers with being involved parents. While originally from Udaipur, they had made Indore their home, becoming known for their charitable work providing medical care to those who couldn't afford it. They weren't just professional acquaintances of the Choudharys - Vaidehi was Vishakha's best friend, and the families treated each other like extended family. This deep connection made it natural for Vishakha to take in their orphaned son after the accident. The couple had been planning to expand their network of free clinics when the tragedy occurred.

They raised Krishav with high academic expectations but also plenty of emotional warmth, nurturing his interest in medicine while encouraging his natural empathy. Their sudden death during his formative teenage years shattered his world, leaving him with unresolved grief that he learned to hide beneath a mask of positivity and dedication. The foundation established in their memory continues their legacy by supporting medical education for poor students.

Kartiki Mehta ( Deceased )

Krishav's 12-year-old sister who died alongside their parents. Despite her young age, she showed remarkable talent in academics and music, especially singing. She and Krishav were unusually close, with him taking pride in mentoring his gifted sister. Her death wasn't just the loss of family for Krishav but also the loss of a shared future he had imagined.

Years later, Krishav honored her memory by creating a music therapy program at his hospital. He keeps a recording of her singing classical compositions as his most treasured possession, listening to it during difficult times or after losing patients, finding both comfort and renewed pain in her voice.

Dr. Krishav Mehta

Orphaned at 15 when his parents and sister died in a devastating car accident, Krishav's life was forever changed. The tragedy might have destroyed his future if not for Vishakha bringing him into her home, where he found a new family alongside 10-year-old Varidhi. This mix of terrible loss and unexpected belonging shaped his complex personality-outwardly warm and optimistic while inwardly struggling with fears of abandonment and survivor's guilt.

Beneath his "Sunshine Doctor" persona that charms patients and colleagues alike, Krishav harbors a darker, hidden side that few ever glimpse. The trauma of losing his entire family in one moment created deep psychological wounds that he's become expert at concealing. His nightmares, anxiety, and controlled substance use remain carefully hidden from everyone-even Varidhi, whom he loves deeply but fears would reject him if she saw his full truth. His warmth and positivity aren't fake-they're genuine parts of who he is-but they're only part of the picture, concealing the shadows he never allows the world to see.

He chose medicine partly to honor his parents' legacy and partly from a desperate need to control and prevent the kind of loss he experienced. His exceptional career and rapid rise to becoming Director of Indore Memorial Hospital and head of neurology at just 30 shows both genuine talent and driven compensation for his perceived failure to save his own family.

His relationship with Varidhi grew naturally from childhood friendship to teenage confidants to adult romance, representing both real connection and his desperate need for permanent family bonds. Having grown up with her from 15 to 30, he knows her better than anyone-her strengths, weaknesses, and dreams-yet he carefully shields certain parts of himself, afraid that complete honesty about his emotional struggles might drive her away.

The Ranawat Family

Vijay Ranawat (Deceased)

The former king of Rajasthan whose leadership blended royal tradition with ruthless modern governance. During his reign, he established the Ranawat family as one of the most powerful forces in Rajasthan, creating both legitimate business empire and darker networks of influence that extended far beyond the palace walls. He built the Ranawat Group not just as a business venture but as a front for more shadowy operations that cemented the family's control over the region. His relationship with grandson Aniruddha was especially important, grooming him not just in royal duties but in the harsh realities of power that came with ruling Rajasthan. Before dying, he ensured Aniruddha understood that being a Ranawat meant more than ceremony and tradition—it meant commanding fear and respect through whatever means necessary.

Pushpa Vijay Ranawat

The formidable Rajmata (Queen Mother) of Rajasthan, now in her early eighties but still commanding respect and fear through sheer force of personality. When her grandson Aniruddha was abandoned by his mother at 10, Pushpa stepped in to provide emotional stability while also beginning his education in the darker aspects of Ranawat power. She understood that ruling Rajasthan required both traditional royal grace and steel-hard ruthlessness, teaching Aniruddha to navigate between public respectability and private necessity. Her relationship with Aniruddha remains one of mutual respect and understated affection, though she worries that his emotional walls, built after his wife's mysterious death, might make him even more dangerous than previous generations.

While she accepted Anaya as her daughter-in-law and appreciated her genuine kindness, Pushpa privately recognized that such innocence was both precious and perilous in their world. Her biggest concern now is for young Adhikrit, knowing that the family legacy will eventually claim him as it has every Ranawat heir. Despite her traditional exterior, she understands the psychological toll their lifestyle takes, though she believes strength comes from enduring rather than healing.

Digvijay Ranawat

The current King of Rajasthan who embraced his royal responsibilities with an iron fist, ruling through a combination of traditional authority and modern power networks. Unlike his father who maintained some pretense of constitutional monarchy, Digvijay rules Rajasthan like the absolute monarch his ancestors were, commanding loyalty through both respect and fear. His first marriage to his college sweetheart Rishika ended when Aniruddha was 10, a traumatic break that occurred due to her discovery of the true nature of Ranawat power and her inability to accept the darker aspects of their rule.

The secrets around his first marriage and divorce—which involve Rishika's horrified rejection of family methods and her threats to expose them—continue to poison his relationship with Aniruddha. Rather than explaining the complex realities of their position, he chose silence, creating a cycle of misunderstanding that has lasted over twenty years. His pride in Aniruddha's natural aptitude for both business and the darker arts of power conflicts with regret over their personal estrangement, making him torn between satisfaction at his heir's capabilities and grief for their lost relationship.

His second marriage to Jahnvi brought stability and two beloved daughters, but he knows his happiness with this second family deepened Aniruddha's sense of betrayal during his formative years. After Anaya's mysterious death, he awkwardly attempted reconciliation several times, but the foundation of secrets makes real healing impossible, even as they work together to maintain Ranawat supremacy in Rajasthan.

Jahnvi Digvijay Ranawat

The current Queen of Rajasthan who entered the Ranawat family as Digvijay's second wife shortly after his divorce from Rishika. As Digvijay's college friend, she knew him before his royal duties but remained largely unaware of the full extent of Ranawat power until after their marriage. Her attempt to build a relationship with 10-year-old Aniruddha came at the worst possible time—when he was processing both his mother's abandonment and his growing awareness of what his family truly represented.

Unlike Rishika, Jahnvi gradually accepted the realities of Ranawat rule, understanding that their position required methods that outsiders couldn't comprehend. Over the years, she developed complicated admiration for her stepson, recognizing his intelligence and natural leadership in both legitimate business and the family's shadow operations. The birth of her twin daughters Roohi and Reet when Aniruddha was 12 further complicated family dynamics, as the young boy saw their arrival as confirmation he was being replaced in his father's affections.

Her greatest success as a stepmother has been with Adhikrit, providing grandmotherly warmth while carefully shielding him from knowledge of the family's darker activities for as long as possible. While she's accepted that she and Aniruddha will never have a close relationship, she continues making small, consistent efforts to show care without crossing the careful boundaries they've established.

Ranvijay Ranawat

The younger son of Vijay and Pushpa who found his role as the family's diplomatic face and strategic coordinator. When his nephew Aniruddha faced the trauma of his mother leaving and his father remarrying at age 10, Ranvijay stepped in as a steady male presence, offering uncomplicated affection while beginning to prepare the boy for the realities of their position. This established a pattern of Ranvijay serving as an emotional buffer in family dynamics, especially between Aniruddha and Digvijay as tensions continued over the years.

His marriage to Shikha is one of the healthier relationships in the family, though she remains largely unaware of the full scope of Ranawat operations. He serves as the family's clean public face, handling legitimate business and social obligations while his brother manages the darker necessities of maintaining power. After Anaya's mysterious death, Ranvijay was one of the few family members who could reach Aniruddha during his dangerous grief, drawing on their long-standing trust to prevent his nephew from making reckless decisions that could expose the family.

Shikha Ranvijay Ranawat

A classical dance teacher whose artistic passion has flourished with support from her royal in-laws, though she remains largely sheltered from the family's true nature. When Aniruddha lost his mother at age 10, Shikha offered him artistic expression as a way to process emotions he couldn't articulate, providing a rare safe space in his increasingly complex world. This created a unique bond between them that continued into his adulthood, with Shikha showing him glimpses of beauty and innocence that his position rarely allowed.

After Anaya's mysterious death, she recognized signs of dangerous instability in Aniruddha that others missed, drawing on her experience of how emotions manifest physically. While respecting his privacy and remaining unaware of the family's shadow operations, she arranged subtle interventions through her husband and sons, making sure Aniruddha wasn't completely isolated during his darkest times. Her dance institutes now include therapeutic programs for grief recovery, inspired partly by seeing her nephew struggle to process losses that he could never fully discuss with anyone.

Roohi & Reet Ranawat

The 23-year-old twin daughters of Digvijay and Jahnvi who were born when Aniruddha was 12, arriving during his already difficult adjustment to his mother's absence and father's remarriage. Despite the complicated circumstances, Aniruddha developed protective feelings toward his half-sisters from their infancy, finding in their simple affection a connection to family that his relationship with his father and stepmother couldn't provide. The significant age gap positioned him more as a protective figure than a sibling, a role he embraced especially after becoming a father himself.

The twins grew up idolizing their older brother, carefully shielded from knowledge of the family's darker operations but aware of the respect and sometimes fear his name commands. Their relationship with Adhikrit blends aunt/nephew dynamics with quasi-sibling interactions, creating a unique bridge between generations in the family. As they've grown into young adults, they've started noticing undercurrents of power and tension that they don't fully understand, occasionally serving as unwitting messengers between their parents and brother when direct communication proves too difficult.

Aadhrit Ranawat

The elder twin son of Ranvijay and Shikha who broke family tradition by pursuing culinary arts, though his restaurants have become valuable assets for family operations. Close in age to Aniruddha, their relationship evolved from childhood playmates to teenage confidants to adult allies connected by family ties and complementary skills. During Aniruddha's difficult adjustment after his mother left, Aadhrit provided crucial peer support, offering simple friendship when adult guidance felt intrusive or complicated.

His restaurants serve multiple purposes beyond their culinary success—they provide neutral meeting grounds for family business, employ individuals whose loyalty the family needs to secure, and create legitimate revenue streams that support other operations. His unconventional career choice inadvertently provided perfect cover for family activities while preserving cultural traditions. After Anaya's mysterious death, Aadhrit visiting regularly under the excuse of cooking for Aniruddha and Adhikrit while actually monitoring his cousin's mental state and preventing dangerous isolation.

Aashrit Ranawat

The younger twin of Ranvijay and Shikha who embraced the corporate side of the family legacy, serving as COO of Ranawat Groups and handling much of the administrative coordination between legitimate business and shadow operations. As another cousin close to Aniruddha's age, he provided additional peer support during childhood and adolescence, though their relationship became more professionally focused as they grew up and he became aware of family realities.

After Aniruddha took leadership of the family business, Aashrit became his most trusted lieutenant, anticipating needs and implementing strategies with minimal direction needed. This professional partnership partly compensates for the strained relationship between Aniruddha and his father, with Aashrit sometimes serving as an informal communication channel when direct interaction proves too difficult. Following Anaya's death, Aashrit quietly took on additional responsibilities to reduce pressure on his grieving cousin while monitoring for signs of instability that could threaten family operations.

Anaya Ranawat (Deceased)

Aniruddha's late wife whose gentle presence brought a calming influence to the often turbulent Ranawat household. The daughter of Devraj Maheshwari, a powerful security contractor who managed Ranawat family protection, she entered their world already understanding some of its complexities. Her relationship with Aniruddha began as friendship, naturally growing into deeper affection that led to marriage when she was one of the few people who could see both his public persona and private struggles without being frightened away.

Their marriage lasted only four years, cut tragically short when she died under mysterious circumstances when their son Adhikrit was just six months old. The official cause was listed as a brain aneurysm, but the timing and circumstances raised questions that were never publicly addressed. During her brief time as queen, she fulfilled royal duties with quiet grace while serving as a humanizing influence on Aniruddha, helping him maintain connections to empathy and normalcy that his position often threatened.

Her death devastated Aniruddha and created a rift between the Ranawat and Maheshwari families, as her father Devraj harbored private suspicions about the circumstances of her death. In the years since her passing, she's been idealized in family memory, remembered for her kind heart and the brief but profound stability she brought to Aniruddha's life. The foundation established in her name continues her charitable work, though it also serves as a front for some family operations.

Rishika Joshi

Aniruddha's biological mother who divorced Digvijay when their son was 10, fleeing royal life after discovering the true nature of Ranawat power and being unable to accept or adapt to their methods. Her departure from royal life came after she witnessed or learned about family operations that shattered her idealized view of her husband and their position. Rather than staying to fight or try to change things, she chose self-preservation, abandoning both her marriage and her son to build a new life in Mumbai as an interior designer.

Her sporadic communication with Aniruddha over the years reflects her complicated feelings about the family she left behind. She sees too much of Digvijay and the Ranawat legacy in Aniruddha's features and developing personality, triggering guilt and fear about the path she knows he's destined to follow. When Anaya died mysteriously, she briefly returned to support her son but quickly retreated when family tensions resurfaced and she was reminded of why she originally fled.

Her refusal to give Aniruddha honest explanations about why she left mirrors Digvijay's silence about family operations, leaving their son caught between two parents united only in their unwillingness to address dangerous truths. Her abandonment taught Aniruddha early that even those who claim to love him will leave when faced with who he really is, contributing to the emotional walls that define his adult relationships.

Veer Singhania

Aniruddha's best friend and confidant since their school days, Veer is the rare person who sees beyond the royal facade to understand both the man underneath and the realities of his position. In his early thirties like Aniruddha, he comes from a wealthy industrial family with their own shadow operations, giving him both the freedom that Aniruddha sometimes envies and the understanding of power that most people lack. Charismatic, outspoken, and occasionally reckless, he's the perfect balance to Aniruddha's calculated public image.

As Aniruddha's self-proclaimed "partner in crime," Veer knows every dark secret, hidden vulnerability, and private struggle his friend has faced—from the pain of his mother's departure to the devastating grief and suspicions surrounding Anaya's mysterious death. He was best man at Aniruddha's wedding and became godfather to Adhikrit, taking these roles with unusual seriousness despite his playboy reputation. His business smarts and his own family's networks make him valuable both as a personal friend and strategic ally, often handling operations that require someone outside the direct Ranawat chain of command.

His loyalty to Aniruddha and Adhikrit is absolute, extending to willingness to handle problems that others couldn't or wouldn't touch. In crisis moments, he's the first person Aniruddha calls, and the only one who can speak hard truths without fear of consequences. Despite his privileged background, Veer has connections across all social levels and in various shadowy networks that have proven invaluable in protecting family interests and investigating threats.

The Maheshwari Family

Devraj Maheshwari

The owner of Maheshwari Security Solutions, one of India's most powerful and discreet security companies that has managed protection for the Ranawat family for over two decades. A former military officer who built his company from the ground up, Devraj understood the unique challenges of protecting families whose power extends beyond conventional politics and business. His relationship with Digvijay began as professional collaboration but evolved into deep friendship based on mutual respect and shared understanding of the burdens that come with wielding real power.

The marriage of his daughter Anaya to Aniruddha was meant to strengthen the alliance between their families, combining Maheshwari security expertise with Ranawat influence and resources. However, Anaya's mysterious death when Adhikrit was only six months old shattered this alliance and turned Devraj from ally to potential enemy. Though he publicly accepted the official explanation of brain aneurysm, privately he harbors deep suspicions about the circumstances of his daughter's death, creating a dangerous rift with his former best friend Digvijay.

Now in his fifties, Devraj continues managing Ranawat security out of contractual obligation and strategic necessity, but the warmth of earlier years has been replaced by professional coldness and barely concealed investigation. His company's intimate knowledge of Ranawat operations makes him both invaluable and potentially dangerous, as he possesses information that could destroy the family if he ever decided to use it. His grief for Anaya and protectiveness toward his grandson Adhikrit war with his suspicions about the family that his daughter married into.

Ayushree Maheshwari

Devraj's younger daughter, a brilliant doctor in her late twenties who carries secrets that could complicate already strained family relationships. During her medical studies, she was Krishav Mehta's junior at university, where she developed intense but hidden feelings for the charismatic senior who never noticed her romantic interest. Their relationship was complicated by academic rivalry, with Ayushree secretly competing with Krishav while simultaneously admiring his natural talent and compassionate approach to medicine.

Unknown to Krishav, Ayushree's apparent hostility toward him stemmed from family history and unrequited love rather than genuine dislike. The Maheshwari and Mehta families had previous connections through medical networks that created expectations and pressures Krishav never understood. When he completed his studies and returned to India, they lost contact, leaving unresolved the complex emotions and misunderstandings that defined their university relationship.

Her current life is shaped by her father's grief and suspicions following Anaya's death, creating additional layers of family tension that affect her perspective on relationships and trust. As a doctor, she understands the medical realities behind her sister's supposed cause of death, contributing to her own private questions about what really happened. Her feelings for Krishav remain complicated by family loyalty, personal pride, and the dangerous knowledge she possesses about the interconnected worlds of the Ranawats and Maheshwaris.

Despite her professional success and apparent independence, Ayushree remains deeply connected to her father's security business and aware of the family's true capabilities. Her medical expertise combined with her family's security networks makes her a formidable individual in her own right, though one whose past romantic feelings and current family obligations create potential conflicts that could explode if she ever encounters Krishav again in their shared professional or social circles.