Best of Luck Nikki is a Disney Channel India sitcom. The sitcom premiered on April 3, 2011. The series is an Indian adaptation of the American show Good Luck Charlie, with a similar plot to the American version.
The series was created by Phil Baker and Drew Vaupen, who aimed to create a program that would appeal to families as opposed to only kids and teens. It revolves around a family, the Singhs, as they try to adjust to the birth of their fourth child, Nikki.
In each episode, Dolly Singh creates a video diary containing advice for Nikki about their family and life as a teenager. Dolly tries to show Nikki what she might go through in the video diary so she will always know how to figure things out. In the third season of the show, Nikki's younger sibling Bobby is born. The show went on hiatus on November 8, 2015 to give airtime to Vicky & Vetaal season two, which began airing on November 15, 2015.
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Plot
The series revolves around the Singh family in Delhi, who are adjusting to the birth of their fourth child, Nikki. When parents Himani and Avatar Singh return to work, they ask their three older children to help raise their youngest sister. Dolly, Rohan and Sunny do so while dealing with the typical challenges faced by teenagers. The events of each episode become material for a video diary Dolly is making, which she hopes will provide useful advice for Nikki after Dolly has moved out. At the end of each video, she says, "Best of luck, Nikki."
Season one revolves around a studious 16-year-old girl, Dolly; her best friend, Pam; her classmate and crush, Ritesh; notorious 9-year-old Sunny; and 18-year-old Rohan, who is shy and lags behind academically. Rohan's best friend is the equally lazy Popi, who has a crush on Dolly. Himani is on temporary maternity leave and Avatar is busy with his electrical business.
Season two jumps to a 17-year-old Dolly who has broken up with Ritesh and is dating Rahul, her former enemy, while Pam is dating Jatin. Himani is active at work and struggles to manage her lazy and troublesome family while Avatar deals with his business. Sunny has to cope with hiding his school pranks from his parents, and Rohan is shown to attend college with Popi.
In season three, Avatar remains occupied with his business, while Dolly is in Rohan's college with Pam and is dating Ayaan, a jock. Rohan and Popi move out and live in a one-room apartment while Sunny is now 12 years old and repeatedly getting caught by their neighbor, Roli Aunty, and his teachers. At the end of the season, Avatar's mistake demolishes their house and they are seen to be living in a hotel room while searching for a new house.
In the beginning of season four, they are shown to be living in a one-room apartment, struggling while their new house is built. A new child, Bobby, is born. Dolly interns with several companies and has started dating Aavishkar, while Rohan is at culinary school. Sunny is romantically involved with neighbor Roli Aunty's granddaughter, Riya, while Himani is revealed to be pregnant again.
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Opening sequence
The opening sequence is similar to Good Luck Charlie, but with Hindi lyrics and characters. The credits are given in the order as follows: Sheena Bajaj, Gurdeep Punjj, Anannya Kolvankar, Aakash Nair, Gireesh Sahedev, and Murtuza Kutianawala.
A completely new opening sequence is used for season four of Best of Luck Nikki where the entire cast is seen taking selfies together and the background music used is "Aaja Sang, Baby". The main cast is shown in the order as previous seasons, with the addition of Lakshay Dhamija.
Characters and cast
Main characters
Dolly Singh
Dolly Singh is played by Sheena Bajaj. Her character is the equivalent of the Good Luck Charlie character Teddy Duncan, who is played by Bridgit Mendler. She is Nikki's only sister, and the second-oldest child in the Singh family. Sensing that she will not be around as much when Nikki is grown, she produces and directs video diaries for her, giving advice she hopes will help Nikki be successful as a teenager. She produces these video diaries at the end of every episode and ends them by saying, "Best of Luck, Nikki." Her best friend is Pam. Throughout the show, Dolly has had numerous boyfriends. She dated Ritesh (Shaheer Sheikh) in season one, but they broke up after she caught him two-timing both her and a pretty, dim-witted brunette named Maya. She and Maya later become friends. She dates Rahul in season two, with the two of them getting together in the episode Can You Keep A Secret? Dolly is often shown caring for her brothers, such as saving Rohan from falling out of the treehouse window, or offering to help Sunny deal with Guri, who has given him a black eye.
Himani Singh
Himani Singh is played by Gurdeep Punj. She is Avatar's wife and the mother of Rohan, Dolly, Sunny, Nikki, and Bobby. She works as a hospital nurse and is often portrayed as dutiful, protective, and comedic. She loves her family and does everything to care for and protect them. She appears out of her element when she isn't nurturing them, especially Nikki, but as the series progresses, she begins to feel assured that her youngest children are in good hands and trusts that her husband and three elder children can look after Nikki and Bobby. She is notoriously conceited and enjoys bragging about her accomplishments, be they admirable, real, or otherwise. Himani used to work on the local news team and was also a poet in her high-school days. A running gag on the show is that she was involved in virtually every extracurricular activity at Arya College of Arts and Science, but still earned a nursing degree. She lets special opportunities go to her head, such as being on TV or singing in front of a group. She has a habit of taking any chance at publicity that may shine on her family to focus on her, but this never works out well; usually she ends up being cut from the project or tossed out of certain groups. Himani seldom accepts her children's misbehavior. It is revealed in the third special that she is pregnant again with her fifth child. In the middle of the third season, Himani quit her nursing job to be a stay-at-home mother to Nikki and Bobby. Himani is the equivalent of Amy Duncan in Good Luck Charlie, who is played by Leigh-Allyn Baker.
Nikita "Nikki" Singh
Nikita "Nikki" Singh is played by Anannya Kolvankar, and is the title character and the second-youngest Singh child. She is generally portrayed as being happy. It sometimes takes a few tries to get her to do the right thing. Many of the Singh family's adventures revolve around Nikki. Both her older brothers, Rohan and Sunny, are often seen using Nikki for their own benefit, although Rohan shows that he cares about her deeply. Sunny seems to dislike Nikki the most although, in some episodes, he is seen being quite fond of her. Himani thinks of Nikki as the perfect baby. It was revealed in "Nikki is 1!" that it was Dolly's idea to nickname her Nikki. Nikki speaks more often in later episodes of seasons two and three. Bobby was born on her birthday; she responded to this by "I like this present." In season three, her personality begins to develop, as she is seen as sneaky and mischievous, such as pretending to like a doll Himani bought for her to like Bobby, then throwing it away when she was not looking, and also telling Himani's "friends" what she really thinks of them, causing her to lose them all. Also, she is shown as not liking Bobby as in the episode "The Extravagant Couch", when she asks Avatar if Bobby is going to stay at the hotel and he says no and Nikki asks if they can talk about it. In Good Luck Charlie, Nikki is the equivalent of Charlie Duncan who is played by Mia Talerico.
Sunny Singh
Sunny Singh is played by Aakash Nair. He is the middle Singh child and is both the younger brother of Rohan and Dolly and the older brother of Nikki and Bobby. From the beginning, Sunny doesn't approve of Nikki's arrival and is the last one of the family to get used to her, but finally, he reaches the point of reluctantly assisting in her care and demonstrating some fondness for her. He is a prankster and troublemaker, often sarcastic and lazy, but can also be dutiful and determined at times. He is the frontman when it comes to the Singhs' running rivalry with their neighbor Roli Aunty, who is often the target of Sunny's pranks, which is the only time the family doesn't mind them. Although he doesn't like Roli Aunty, he ends up dating a relative of Roli Aunty, Riya. A running gag in the show is that he insults Avatar's weight, Himani's cooking, Rohan for being a goofball, Dolly for being a "goody-goody," and occasionally Nikki. He also won the right to name his baby brother Bobby; in one episode, he tried to impress a girl by making video diaries for Bobby, ending them with "Good Luck, Bobby!". It has been revealed that Sunny was a calm and docile baby. In Good Luck Charlie, Sunny's equivalent is Gabe Duncan, who is played by Bradley Steven Perry.
Avatar Singh
Avatar Singh is played by Gireesh Sahedev. He is the father of Dolly, Rohan, Sunny, Nikki, and Bobby and the husband of Himani. He owns an electrical company, "Avatar Bijlee Company (ABC)". He sometimes refers to his business as the best one in the city. He loves electricity and attends the Electrical Convention every year. Avatar is the coach of Sunny's basketball team, but he was temporarily replaced by his wife. It is also mentioned in "Winter Vacation (Part 1)" that Avatar and Himani are not religiously married because they were scammed by a person who impersonated a Pandit; they have a religious marriage with all four children present. His childhood dream was to be a professional boxer, which he showed in his company's commercial. Avatar gets made fun of a lot throughout the series because of his weight, usually by Sunny. He is often shown as unintelligent and breeds much resentment among his kids by being very "cheap" and "tight" with his money. He wants his family to know him as a "fix-it" man, though his projects never seem to work out. He is slightly afraid of Himani, but he calls it a "strong respect". He has two positions of authority when it comes to the children: going on outings and barbecuing. He can be lazy but is determined to spend quality time with his wife and children. He has issues with his mother-in-law. It is revealed he has apologized to Himani at least 100 to 200 times, while Himani just soaks it up. In "Baby in Air," it is revealed that he dropped all of his kids. In multiple episodes Avatar brags about having his own band in high school, "Avatar Beats", which made a grand total of one record (an LP, no copies). He can still play bass guitar and occasionally sits in with Rohan and Popi. Late in the third season, Avatar began exercising and becomes more fit. After Himani and the kids staged an intervention to stop his more-revealing wardrobe choices, he admits the catalyst for his getting back in shape was someone in the park mistaking him for Bobby's grandfather. In Good Luck Charlie, Avatar's equivalent is Bob Duncan, who is played by Eric Allan Kramer.
Rohan Singh
Rohan Singh is played by Murtuza Kutianawala. He is the eldest Singh sibling. He and Dolly often fight, although they care about each other, and he usually gets along well with his younger brother, Sunny. He often appears awkward, somewhat careless, and childish, but on numerous occasions has been known to be resourceful, creative, and intelligent. He has also been shown to be a good cook, and Avatar once tricked Himani (who isn't a very good cook) into working later so that Rohan would cook. He and his best friend Popi have their own band. Rohan occasionally uses his younger sister Nikki for his personal gain, like when he uses her to make big tips while working for Kukkad Nukkad by saying that his mother was in the hospital when she actually worked there (customers just assumed she was ill). He dated Dolly's friend Maya, who like him is a scatterbrain, but they broke up in Rohan in the City, when Maya had to move to Mumbai because of her father's new job. He was originally intended to be named Rohan Singh, but Avatar was nervous as he was writing on his birth certificate, resulting in the legal name of "Rohini Singh". Despite Avatar trying to correct this in the season two episode Can You Keep a Secret?, he accidentally changed the intended name to "Rona Ping". In season three, Rohan moves into an apartment shared with Popi, but is still in the Singh house a lot. In Good Luck Charlie, Rohan is the equivalent of PJ Duncan who is played by Jason Dolley.
Bobby Singh
Bobby Singh is played by Lakshay Dhamija in season four but is uncredited in season three. He is the fifth Singh sibling. He was born in the back of an ice-cream truck in "Special Delivery," when Avatar and Himani were riding in on the way to the hospital and Dolly helped deliver him. He and Nikki share the same birthday, but she is three years older. Sunny came up with his name, and Sunny started to make a video diary for him to impress a girl. At the end he says "Good Luck, Bobby". Lakshay Dhamija was selected for the role in season four. In Good Luck Charlie, Bobby's equivalent is Toby Duncan, who is played by Logan Moreau.
Recurring characters
Parminder "Pam" Kaur Dhillon
Parminder "Pam" Kaur Dhillon is played by Tanya Abrol. She is Dolly's best friend and is one of the major recurring characters in the series. She is seen spending most of her time with Dolly at the Singh's residence and often joins her on her errands. Pam is energetic and witty and has proven to be quite intuitive, although she does not receive the best grades in school. She is passionate, if not obsessed, about clothes, money, popularity, boys, and texting, but on numerous occasions has proven to be a loyal and comforting friend. She briefly dated Popi when they were younger, and now never misses a chance to insult him, but she went to the school dance with him so she and Dolly could have a ride in "Dance Off." She loves country music and animal-print clothes. At one point, it is implied that Pam has (or had) an addiction to chocolate. In Good Luck Charlie, Pam's equivalent is Ivy Wentz, who is played by Raven Goodwin.
Popi
Popi is played by Yash Mittal. He is Rohan's best friend. He is slender and comedic, and he has a desperate, misguided crush on Dolly, though Dolly constantly rejects him. Popi accompanies Rohan on the drums in his band and sometimes assists Rohan on his problematic excursions. He has a nephew named Himen, who he claimed was better than Nikki, until Nikki beat Himen in a "baby basketball game". He is also an incredible dancer, with skills matched only by Ritesh. He once went out with Pam when they were younger. In his mind, he sees himself as being suave, sophisticated, and very attractive to girls. In season three, Popi and Rohan get an apartment together. In Good Luck Charlie, Popi's equivalent is Emmett, who is played by Micah Stephen Williams.
Roli Aunty
Roli Aunty is played by Sulakshana Rohini Khatri. She is the Singhs's strict and easily annoyed neighbor. In "The Curious Case of Mr. Surinder," she was mistakenly accused of killing her husband. She wanted the Singhs's tree, which housed Rohan and Dolly's tree house, cut down, but the family fought back. Roli Aunty is often suspicious of Sunny, because his pranks are often directed towards her. She is often antagonistic towards the Singhs but is fairly tolerant of Nikki. She was also a big fan of a fictional television show when she was younger. She loves her son and her cat more than her husband, and some wonder why she married Mr. Surinder if she hated him so much. It is also revealed that she has a granddaughter named Riya who ends up dating Sunny. In "It's an Avatar Singh's Birthday," it is revealed that she and Mr. Surinder had recently divorced. In the same episode, she flirted with the Singh kids' grandfather, but she broke up with him not much later. It is revealed that in "Make Room for Baby" she does not know about the internet. In Good Luck Charlie, Roli Aunty's equivalent is Mrs. Dabney, who is played by Patricia Belcher.
Ayaan
Ayaan is played by Abhishek Sharma. He is Dolly's ex-boyfriend. They started dating when they met in college. It is revealed in "Singh's Dream House" that he and Dolly broke up when Ayaan moved to go to college in Mumbai. He is the equivalent of Spencer Walsh, who is played by Shane Harper.
Aavishkaar
Aavishkaar is the newest employee at Avatar's company, Avatar Bijlee Company. He moved from Ahmedabad and was first seen in "Rat-A-Dolly." In "Nikki 5, Bobby 2" Dolly helped him break up with his girlfriend in Ahmedabad. In Good Luck Charlie, Aavishkaar's equivalent is Beau Landry, who is played by Luke Benward.
Riya Gill
Riya Gill is played by Ahsaas Channa. Riya Gill is Roli Aunty's granddaughter and later Sunny's girlfriend. They went on a date, but it did not go so well. Roli Aunty did not like them being together, but she later approved. In Good Luck Charlie Riya's equivalent is Lauren Dabney, who is played by Jaylen Barron.
Guri Malhotra
Guri Malhotra is played by Saniya Anklesaria. She is Sunny's tomboyish bully-turned-friend. She was introduced in "Boys Meets Girls," bullying Sunny before revealing she has a crush on him. Since that episode, she appears friendly with Sunny, assisting him with certain situations while still occasionally insulting him. In Good Luck Charlie, Guri's equivalent is Jo Keener, who is played by G. Hannelius.
Ritesh
Ritesh is played by Shaheer Sheikh. He is Dolly's ex-boyfriend. They started dating after they began studying together. He cheated on her in the episode "Girl Bites Dog," and Dolly broke up with him. He is the equivalent of Spencer Walsh, played by Shane Harper.
Rahul Chopra
Rahul Chopra is played by Kishan Savjani. He was Dolly's ex-boyfriend. At first, she did not like him and used to call him "Rakshas Rahul" but they eventually start dating in "Can You Keep A Secret?" In the season three premiere "Make Room for Baby" they are not seen together, and then are indirectly shown broke up. He is also the equivalent of Spencer Walsh, who is played by Shane Harper.
Seasons
For the first two seasons, episodes of Best of Luck Nikki were similar to the episodes of Good Luck Charlie. The episodes aired are 20 to 25 minutes in duration. Longer versions of the episodes were made available on YouTube, each being 30 to 35 minutes long. Best of Luck Nikki used plot lines from different episodes of Good Luck Charlie, and as a result it has more episodes. For example, episode 86 of Best of Luck Nikki has parts from three different episodes of Good Luck Charlie, namely, "Study Buddy" (when PJ reads a book to Charlie), "Doppel Date" (when Teddy decides to date a new guy post-Spencer), and "Teddy's Choice" (where Bob accidentally buys Gabe a girl's shirt).
Series overview
Episodes
Season 1 (2011)
Season one of Best of Luck Nikki started airing on Disney Channel India on April 3, 2011, with the episode "Study Date". The season ended with the airing of "Happy Holi!" (Special) on March 8, 2012.
Season 2 (2012)
Season two of Best of Luck Nikki started airing on Disney Channel India on June 3, 2012, with the episode "Let's Potty". The season ended with the airing of "Happy New Year!" (Special) on January 1, 2013.
Season 3 (2013)
Season three of Best of Luck Nikki started airing on Disney Channel India on July 7, 2013 with the episode "Make Room for Baby". The season ended with the airing of "All Fall Down" (a double episode) on December 8, 2013.
Season 4 (2015 Part 1) + (2016 Part 2)
A first look at Best of Luck Nikki season four was revealed in the Goldie Ahuja Matric Pass episode "Happy Father's Day!" (aired on June 21, 2015), which was a crossover episode between Goldie Ahuja Matric Pass and Best of Luck Nikki; however, it is not counted as a Best of Luck Nikki episode. Season four of Best of Luck Nikki started airing on Disney Channel India on August 2, 2015 at 10 a.m. and was slightly different from Good Luck Charlie as Himani was shown pregnant with a sixth child; in Good Luck Charlie, there was no sixth child in the Duncan family. Gurdip Kohli was actually pregnant while shooting season four and the cast and crew revealed that they took special care of her while shooting. Season four aired on August 2, 2015 with "Singh's Dream House" and ended on April 20, 2016 with "Final Project".
Cut off scenes
Best of Luck Nikki had many cut-off scenes as in Good Luck Charlie. Most were in season four which went on hiatus and did not show the episode "Sixth Singh Sibling". Many episodes like "Meeting Tia and Jassie" and special episode "Bye-Bye Nikki" did not air on television.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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