Imlie, an 18-year-old girl is from Pagdandiya of Uttar Pradesh. Her mother, Meethi had a one night stand with Dev Chaturvedi, who left her impregnated. So, the villagers came up with a rule that if a man spends a night with a girl, they must marry. Satyakam, a farmer turned rebel, who is fighting for Pagdandia's rights is Imlie's father-figure. Aditya "Adi" Kumar Tripathi is a Delhi-based reporter working in Bhaskar Times. His girlfriend is Malini Chaturvedi (Dev's daughter). Before their engagement, Adi leaves for Pagdandia to take Satyakam's interview. Imlie helps Adi in guiding the village, and end up staying together due to heavy rain and thunderstorms. The villagers find out and force Adi to marry Imlie or else they kill him. Imlie agrees to marry Adi to save his life. Imlie and Adi are forcefully married against their wills. They reaches New Delhi and part aways.
In New Delhi, Imlie introduces herself as a maid to the Tripathi family to save Adi. Adi and Malini marries. Imlie sees her husband marrying Malini, her half-sister with a broken heart. Adi has to go to Pagdandia for the government's peace meeting with Satyakam and decides to leave her there permanently. Soon Adi realises Imlie is his true love and Malini was just a friend. He also learns that they are half-sisters during his Pagdandia visit.
Adi reveals the truth to Malini that Imlie is his first wife. Malini comes to Pagdandia with a name Kalpana and discovers that Imlie is her half-sister. Malini then unite Adi and Imlie as she wanted to see them happy and Aditya convinces Satyakam and Meethi to get married. Imlie learns about her father and refuses to accept Dev and tells Satyakam will always be her father. Imlie finally expresses her feelings to Adi. She wants to be a reporter, after seeing Adi's work.
After some time, Malini starts feeling jealous seeing Aditya and Imlie happy. She stops the divorce proceedings and put on a fake suicide drama, Malini tries to break Aditya and Imlie's relationship. Imlie discovers Malini's intentions and warns Aditya, but he didn't believe her. Malini gets intimate with Aditya by intoxicating him. Imlie is devastated and files a case against Malini for the incident. Malini becomes pregnant. Imlie decides to let Malini stay in the house because she thinks the baby should not live a life like her without her father's name. Malini wants Imlie to leave Adi's life. The Tripathi family slowly accepts Imlie as their daughter-in-law. But Adi and Imlie's relationship is at stake due to trust issues and misunderstandings because of Malini. Finally, Adi and Malini are divorced. Malini shoots herself and frames Imlie, but Satyakam takes the blame and goes. When Aditya shows mistrust Imlie leaves the house.
Aryan Singh Rathore CEO of Bhaskar times returns to avenge Adi fir his brother in law's death. Imlie works with Aryan. Initially rude with Imlie Aryan starts to like her. Aditya jealous of their relationship marries Malini. Aryan marries Imlie. Imlie exposes Malini. Aditya seeks forgiveness from Imlie for his mistakes. Aryan also learn he is innocent. Aditya then leaves for Australia. Malini is imprisoned. Arpita marries Sundar a servant. Imlie and Aryan reciprocates their feelings and they consummate their marriage. Imlie gets pregnant.
After many turns of events, Imlie manages to expose Jyoti's misdeeds in front of Aryan with the help of Harinder-Jyoti's ex-husband, Sundar and Arpita. On their way back home, Imlie and Aryan see an abandoned baby and get her home. Malini enters as a successful Dean in a college and reveals to be holding grudges. Malini enters the Rathore mansion and reveals that Gudiya is her and Aditya's daughter who was missing. She accuses Imlie of stealing her baby. Imilie confronts Malini and she reveals that she intentionally abandoned her daughter as she has no love for her child and wants to use her to make Imilie suffer.
Later, Malini manages to harm Imlie in front of Aryan's eyes. Due to that, Imlie suffers from a miscarriage. Aryan and Imlie both blame each other for their loss and part ways. Malini abandoned Gudiya in a temple and Imilie decides to take care of her and she leaves to Pagdandia.
Cast
Main
Sumbul Touqeer as Imlie Chaturvedi Singh Rathore: Executive reporter at Bhaskar Times; Independent reporter; Meethi and Dev's daughter; Satyakam's step-daughter; Malini's half-sister and rival; Aditya's ex-wife; Aryan's wife; Imlie Rana's mother; Karishma and Imlie Reddy's grandmother; Ashu's great-grandmother (2020–2022) (Dead)
Gashmeer Mahajani / Manasvi Vashist as Aditya "Adi" Kumar Tripathi: Senior reporter at Bhaskar Times; Aparna and Pankaj's son; Rupali, Dhruv and Nishant's cousin; Imlie Rathore and Malini's ex-husband; Cheeni's father (2020–2022) / (2022)
Mayuri Deshmukh as Malini Chaturvedi: Former professor and dean of City College; fake former CEO of Bhaskar Times; Anuja and Dev's daughter; Imlie Rathore's half-sister and rival; Aditya's ex-wife; Cheeni's mother (2020–2022) (Dead)
Fahmaan Khan as Aryan "Aru" Singh Rathore: Owner and CEO of Rathore Group of Companies and Bhaskar Times; Narmada's son; Arpita's brother; Imlie Rathore's second husband; Imlie Rana's father; Karishma and Imlie Reddy's grandfather; Ashu's great-grandfather (2021–2022) (Dead)
Megha Chakraborty as Imlie Rathore Rana: Imlie Rathore and Aryan's daughter; Cheeni and Jaggu's cousin; Atharva's wife; Dhairya's ex-fiancée; Karishma and Imlie Reddy's mother; Ashu's grandmother (2022–2023) (Dead)
Karan Vohra as Atharva "Arto" Rana: DJ and musician; Rudra and Devika's younger son; Akash's brother; Dhairya's half-brother; Ginni and Ripu's cousin; Imlie Rana's husband; Karishma and Imlie Reddy's father; Ashu's grandfather (2022–2023) (Dead)
Seerat Kapoor as Cheeni Tripathi: Malini and Aditya's daughter; Imlie Rana, Prashant and Twinkle's cousin; Atharva's former lover; Abhishek's ex-fiancée; Dhairya's murderer (2022–2023)
Keva Shefali as Child Cheeni Tripathi (2022)
Adrija Roy as Imlie "Chutki" Rana Reddy: A bar singer and aspiring chef; Imlie Rana and Atharva's younger daughter; Meera's adopted daughter; Karishma's sister; Pallo and Titu's adopted niece; Bulbul's adopted cousin; Agasthya's widow; Surya's wife (2023–2024)
Neetu Pandey as Narmada Rathore: Aryan and Arpita's mother; Jaggu and Imlie Rana's grandmother; Karishma and Imlie Reddy great-grandmother; Ashu's great-great-grandmother (2021–2022)
Nilima Singh as Neela "Aunty Blue" Rathore: Aryan and Arpita's aunt (2022)
Resham Prashant as Preeta “Gudiya/Baby Doll” Rathore: Neela's niece; Aryan's childhood friend who wanted Aryan for his wealth (2022)
Bobby Parvez as Rudra Rana: Manish and Shivani Rana's brother; Devika's husband; Akash, Atharva and Dhairya's father; Karishma and Imlie Reddy grandfather; Ashu's great-grandfather (2022–2023)
Chaitrali Gupte as Devika Rana: Rudra's wife; Akash and Atharva's mother; Dhairya's step-mother; Karishma and Imlie Reddy grandmother; Ashu's great-grandmother (2022–2023)
Anuradha Singh as Divya Rana: Manish's wife; Ginni and Ripu's mother; Atharva, Dhairya and Akash's aunt (2022–2023)
Hemant Thatte as Manish Rana: Rudra and Shivani Rana's brother; Divya's husband; Ginni and Ripu's father; Atharva, Dhairya and Akash's uncle (2022—2023)
Hetal Yadav as Shivani Rana: Rudra and Manish's sister; Akash, Atharva, Dhairya, Ginni and Ripu's aunt (2022–2023)
Jitendra Bohara as Akash Rana: Rudra and Devika's elder son; Atharva's brother; Dhairya's half-brother; Ginni and Ripu's cousin; Keya's husband; Karishma and Imlie Reddy's uncle (2022–2023)
Saumya Saraswat as Keya Rana: Akash's wife; Karishma and Imlie Reddy's aunt (2022–2023)
Sweetu Panjwani as Ginni Rana: Manish and Divya's daughter; Ripu's sister; Akash, Atharva and Dhairya's cousin (2022—2023)
James Ghadge as Ripu Rana: Manish and Divya's son; Ginni's brother; Akash, Atharva and Dhairya's cousin (2022-2023)
Riyansh Dabhi as Jagdeep "Jaggu" Prasad: Sundar and Arpita's son; Imlie Rana and Cheeni's cousin; Imlie Rathore and Aryan's nephew; Cheeni's best friend (2022)
Zohaib. A. Siddiqui as Dhairya "D/Dheeru" Rana: Rudra and Kala's son; Devika's stepson; Atharva and Akash's half-brother; Ripu and Ginni's cousin; Imlie Rana's ex-fiancée; Rudra's supervisor in Rudra's company (2023)
Chirag Mehra as Abhishek Agnihotri: Cheeni's ex-fiancé (2022-2023)
Deependra Janghel as Aalok Singh: Cheeni's friend (2023)
Gantavya Sharma as Ashu Singh Chaudhary: Karishma and Dhanraj's son; Imlie Reddy, Agasthya, Surya, Sonali, Karan and Shivani Chaudhary's nephew (2023–2024)
Vrihi Kodvara as Child Karishma "Kairi" Rana (2023)
Ghazi Imaan as Dhanraj Singh Chaudhary: Founder and Owner of Chaudhary Sweets; Kunal and Alka's son; Sonali's brother; Agasthya and Surya's half-brother; Karan and Shivani Chaudhary's cousin; Karishma's husband; Ashu's father (2023)
Harsh Vashisht as Kunal Singh Chaudhary: Annapurna's elder son; Govind and Manno's brother; Alka and Meera's husband; Dhanraj, Sonali, Agasthya and Surya's father; Ashu's grandfather (2023–2024)
Shweta Gautam as Meera Singh Chaudhary: Kunal's second widow; Agasthya and Surya's mother; Dhanraj and Sonali's step-mother; Karishma and Imlie Chaudhary's adoptive mother; Ashu's step-grandmother (2023–2024)
Ekktaa Bp Singh as Annapurna Singh Chaudhary: Matriach of Chaudhary household; Kunal, Govind and Manno's mother; Dhanraj, Sonali, Agasthya, Surya, Karan and Shivani Chaudhary's grandmother; Ashu's great-grandmother (2023–2024)
Renu Chahal Sharma as Alka Singh Chaudhary: Kunal's first widow; Dhanraj and Sonali's mother; Agasthya and Surya's step-mother; Ashu's grandmother (2023–2024)
Asma Badar as Sonali Singh Chaudhary: Kunal and Alka's daughter; Dhanraj's sister; Agasthya and Surya's half-sister; Karan and Shivani Chaudhary's cousin; Amrit's wife; Amar's love-interest (2023–2024)
Sanket Choukse as Amrit Shukla: Sonali's ex-husband; Agastya and Surya's brother-in-law and enemy; Imlie's kidnapper and enemy (2023–2024)
Mohit Sharma as Govind Singh Chaudhary: Annapurna's younger son; Kunal and Manno's brother; Rajni's husband; Shivani Chaudhary and Karan's father (2023–2024)
Glory Mohanta as Rajni Singh Chaudhary: Govind's wife; Shivani Chaudhary and Karan's mother (2023–2024)
Pooja Dixit as Manno Singh Chaudhary: Annapurna's daughter; Kunal and Govind's sister (2023–2024)
Sanjana Solanki as Shivani Chaudhary Singh: Govind and Rajni's daughter; Karan's sister; Dhanraj, Sonali, Agasthya and Surya's cousin; Avinash's wife (2023–2024)
Shubham Goswami as Avinash Singh: Navya and Tej's younger son; Vishwa's brother; Shivani Chaudhary's husband (2023–2024)
Gautam Handa as Karan Singh Chaudhary: Govind and Rajni's son; Shivani Chaudhary's brother; Dhanraj, Sonali, Agasthya and Surya's cousin; Bulbul's ex-boyfriend (2023–2024)
Gouri Agarwal as Binni aka Rashmi: A thief and con artist; Agasthya's second contractual wife; Surya's ex-fiancée (2024)
Abhinav Gautam as Tej Pratap Singh: Navya's husband; Vishwa and Avinash's father; Owner of Singh Sweets (2024)
Raquib Arshad as Bunty: Imlie Chaudhary's friend and business partner (2023)
Naresh Kumar as Titu: Karishma and Imlie Chaudhary's adoptive uncle; Bulbul's father; Pallo's husband (2023–2024)
Monica Gupta as Pallo: Karishma and Imlie Chaudhary's adoptive aunt; Bulbul's mother; Titu's wife (2023–2024)
Mahima Mishra as Bulbul: Pallo and Titu's daughter; Karishma and Imlie Chaudhary's adoptive cousin; Karan's ex-girlfriend (2023–2024)
Khushi Misra as Noyonika Johri: Agasthya's ex-fiancée (2023)
Prakash Ramchandani as Noyonika's father (2023)
Meenakshi Chugh as Geeta Johri: Noyonika's mother (2023)
Kalyani Jha as Dolly: Jugnu's former sisterly co-house help in Chaudhary Mansion; Chaudhary's former house helper; Ram's wife (2023–2024)
Zafar Warsi as Jugnu “Jugs”: Agasthya's right hand man and buddy; Chandu's brother; Dolly's former brotherly co-house help in Chaudhary Mansion; Chaudhary's house helper (2023–2024;2024)
Unknown as “CJ” Pratap Reddy: Surya's adoptive grandfather; Arjun, Malti and Raman's grandfather (2024)
Manu Dabas / Abhishek Sharma as ACP Vishwa Jyoti Singh: Chaudhary's former enemy; Navya and Tej's elder son; Avinash's brother; Imlie Chaudhary's ex-fiancée (2023)/ (2023–2024)
Krishaan Sagar Thakkar as Child Vishwa Jyoti Singh (2023)
Spreha Chatterjee as Malti Pratap Reddy: Nirmala's daughter; Surya's adoptive sister; Raghu's wife; Anjali's college friend (2024)
Geeta Bisht as Nirmala Pratap Reddy: Malti's mother; Surya's adoptive mother; Arjun and Raman's aunt (2024)
Ishika Vishwas as Anjali: Surya's ex-girlfriend; Malti's college friend; Amrit's evil team up friend; Imlie's hater and enemy (2024)
Jaya Bhattacharya as Indira “Lavanya” Pratap Reddy: Matriarch of Reddy household; Malti and Arjun's aunt; Surya's adoptive aunt; Raman's mother (2024)
Neha Narang as Hemlata Pratap Reddy: Surya's adoptive aunt; Malti and Raman's aunt; Mahesh's wife; Arjun's mother (2024)
Inderjeet Ishwar Modi as Arjun Pratap Reddy: Surya's adoptive cousin; Malti and Raman's cousin; Hemlata and Mahesh's son (2024)
Ajay Kumar Nain as Mahesh Pratap Reddy: Surya's adoptive uncle; Malti and Raman's uncle; Hemlata's husband; Arjun's father (2024)
Unknown as Raman Pratap Reddy: Indira's son; Surya's adoptive cousin; Malti and Arjun's cousin; Urvashi's husband (2024) (Dead)
Unknown as Urvashi Pratap Reddy: Raman's wife (2024)
Manisha Vora Parekh as Navya Singh: Tej's wife; Vishwa and Avinash's mother; Kunal, Dhanraj, Kairi, and Agasthya's killer (2023–2024)
Unknown as Chandu: Jugnu's brother; masked killer's second victim; extra side helper for Chaudhary Mansion (2023)
Unknown as Ram: Dolly's husband (2024)
Rimjhim as Sneha (2024)
Unknown as Bhola: The mask man/killer; son of an employee who died in Vishwa's dad's factory blast (2023—2024)
Komal Kushwaha as Imlie's friend (2020)
Amit Anand Raut as Sanju: Imlie's kidnapper (2020)
Amarnath Kumar as Balmesh: Aditya's informer (2020)
Karan Thakur as Arvind Shekhawat: Arpita's first husband (2021) (Dead)
Vishwa Gulati as Kunal Chauhan: A lawyer who liked Malini (2021)
Naren Kumar as Prakash: Satyakam's adopted son; Imlie's best friend (2021)
Sailesh Gulabani as Pranav: Rupali's ex-husband; Tanushree's father (2021)
Suraj Sonik as Shashank "Shanky": Malini's cousin brother (2020)
Vishal Sharma as Tripathi's family doctor (2020)
Suryansh Mishra as Madhav Tiwari who hails from Imlie's village Pagdandiya; Imlie's cameraman and friend (2022)
Star Jalsha's Bengali series Ishti Kutum was remade in Hindi language on StarPlus as Mohi by White Horse Productions which aired from 2015 to 2016 which did not garner good viewership.[6][7] However, by 4 Lions Films, producer Gul Khan remade the series again as Imlie for StarPlus stating, "I know you have heard and seen this before, many times, but we'll play it more real".[8] The first promo of the series was released on 27 October 2020 and featured the leads.
Casting
Gashmeer Mahajani, playing the lead role of Aditya Kumar Tripathi decided to quit the show in January 2022. He said "My exit was planned two months back. The reasons for the same are best known to me and Gul Khan and I think to maintain our professional integrity, it should remain between only the two of us. It was a two-month long process in which I had to give it the time to stabilize with a new fresh track and gradually reduce my screen space so that once I exit the show, it can still run on its own merit and not get hampered. For the show to run and the new track to sustain after my exit, Aditya has to be completely wrong for Imlie if Aryan has to be completely right. These are basic scripting rules. If I was writing this script, I would have done it the same way. So in the last one and a half month when the decision of my exit was finally made, that is when they made changes in my character and I was okay with it completely. One shouldn't forget that the show-runner is Imlie and she is Sumbul Touqeer. The show runs on her shoulders. "
Manasvi Vashist replaced Mahajani as Aditya but he also quit the show after few months only as he didn't want to be playing a grey role. Sumbul Touqeer who played Imlie, Fahmaan Khan who played Aryan and Mayuri Deshmukh who played Malini, quit the show post generation leap in September 2022.[9][10]
Seerat Kapoor aka Cheeni on sets
Megha Chakraborty was cast as Imlie, the female lead post generation leap and Seerat Kapoor was cast as the negative lead, Cheeni. Karan Vohra was cast as the male lead, Atharva.[11][2] On her entrance Chakraborty said, "Imlie has become a huge part of my life already, and I hope the audience will enjoy this new beginning."[12]
In September 2023, Adrija Roy was cast as female lead Imlie, for the third generation and Sai Ketan Rao was cast as playing dual roles, Agasthya after his death track and Surya, the new male lead.[13]
Filming
The filming of the series began in October 2020.[14] Although the series is set in New Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, it was filmed at sets in Mumbai.[15]
On 14 April 2021, due to the sudden strict COVID regulations set in by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, shooting of all serials were asked to halt. Imlie Team moved Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad and conducted their shoot there till the next notice.[16]
The cast of Imlie participated in Ravivaar With Star Parivaar, a musical competition wherein eight StarPlus shows competed against each other to win the title of "Best Parivaar".[17][18]Imlie emerged as the first runner-up of the show[19] and Sumbul Touqeer aka Imlie won the player of the series award as she was declared as the best performer, most stylish and screened sadasya of the show. She won a brand new car as a prize.[20]
Adaptations
Imlie is an official adaptation of Ishti Kutum. The story of Imlie was originally based on Ishti Kutum till 250 episodes.[21] The second generation story was adapted from the series Milon Tithi.[4] The third generation story was initially inspired from Star Jalsha's show Love Biye Aaj Kal.[22]
