There is something undeniably addictive about the forced marriage to love trope in Hindi TV serials.
Two people who may dislike each other, barely know each other, or are in love with someone else suddenly find themselves married. What follows is often a long journey filled with arguments, misunderstandings, awkward moments, jealousy, unexpected care, and eventually — love.
Some Hindi serials take the trope literally, with the characters being coerced or blackmailed into marriage. In others, the couple marries because of family pressure, revenge, duty, a child, or circumstances that leave them with very little choice.
If you enjoy enemies-to-lovers, marriage of convenience, forced proximity, slow-burn romance, and couples who fall in love after marriage, here are 20 Hindi TV serials worth checking out.
Note: This list discusses major relationship and marriage plot points, so there are spoilers ahead.
1. Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon?
Main Couple: Arnav Singh Raizada and Khushi Kumari Gupta
Actors: Barun Sobti and Sanaya Irani
Original Channel: StarPlus
Why it fits: Forced marriage, enemies to lovers, misunderstandings, slow-burn romance
It is almost impossible to talk about hate-to-love marriages in Hindi television without starting with Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon?
Arnav and Khushi could hardly be more different. Arnav is wealthy, emotionally guarded and used to controlling everything around him, while Khushi is expressive, optimistic and completely unwilling to be intimidated by him.
Their constant clashes gradually hide a growing attraction, but a major misunderstanding changes everything.
Believing Khushi is involved with his brother-in-law Shyam, Arnav pressures her into a marriage for a limited period in order to protect his sister Anjali’s marriage.
Khushi has little understanding of why Arnav suddenly treats her so harshly.
Their marriage begins with anger and mistrust rather than romance, which makes the gradual change in their relationship particularly satisfying. As Arnav discovers the truth and begins understanding Khushi, his behaviour and feelings start changing.
For fans of the trope, Arnav and Khushi remain one of Hindi television’s most memorable enemies-to-lovers couples.
Watch this if you like: Intense chemistry, arrogant hero × cheerful heroine, jealousy, misunderstandings and slow-burn romance.
2. Ishqbaaaz
Main Couple: Shivaay Singh Oberoi and Anika
Actors: Nakuul Mehta and Surbhi Chandna
Original Channel: StarPlus
Why it fits: Forced marriage, enemies to lovers, rich hero × independent heroine
Shivaay and Anika begin their relationship by constantly challenging each other.
Shivaay is obsessed with family name, lineage and social status, while Anika refuses to let his money or position intimidate her. Their confrontations gradually turn into one of the show’s biggest attractions.
Things become much darker around Shivaay’s planned marriage to Tia.
When Tia disappears from the wedding, Shivaay forces Anika to marry him instead. At this point, despite their growing connection, Shivaay still struggles to acknowledge what Anika means to him.
Living together changes the dynamic.
Arguments continue, but they are slowly accompanied by protectiveness, jealousy and emotional dependence. Shivaay eventually has to confront not only his feelings for Anika but also many of the beliefs about class and status that once defined him.
Watch this if you like: Banter, possessive moments, wealthy family drama, enemies-to-lovers and a strong female lead.
3. Mehndi Hai Rachne Waali
Main Couple: Raghav Rao and Pallavi Deshmukh
Actors: Sai Ketan Rao and Shivangi Khedkar
Original Channel: StarPlus
Why it fits: Blackmailed marriage, enemies to lovers, redemption arc
Raghav Rao and Pallavi Deshmukh begin firmly on opposite sides.
Pallavi is a widowed daughter-in-law devoted to the family she considers her own. Raghav is a wealthy and arrogant businessman whose misunderstandings about Pallavi cause him to interfere repeatedly in her life.
Their conflict eventually has serious consequences for Pallavi.
Later, Raghav’s mother makes reconciliation with him conditional on his marrying Pallavi. Pallavi initially refuses the proposal, but Raghav uses her brother-in-law Nikhil’s legal trouble to pressure her into agreeing.
It is hardly a romantic beginning.
What makes the story interesting is what happens afterward. Raghav eventually discovers that Pallavi was not responsible for the things he blamed her for. Guilt forces him to reconsider his actions, and his attempts to become a better husband gradually bring them closer.
Their relationship develops from hostility to companionship and then love.
Watch this if you like: Redemption arcs, strong chemistry, emotionally damaged heroes and marriages that completely change the leads’ relationship.
4. Imlie
Main Couple: Aditya Kumar Tripathi and Imlie
Actors: Gashmeer Mahajani and Sumbul Touqeer Khan
Original Channel: StarPlus
Why it fits: Literal forced marriage, strangers to lovers, complicated love triangle
Few shows on this list interpret “forced marriage” as literally as Imlie.
Journalist Aditya visits the village of Pagdandiya, where circumstances leave him and Imlie stranded together overnight. Villagers misunderstand the situation and force the two to marry.
The problem?
Aditya is already committed to Malini and has absolutely no intention of accepting his marriage to Imlie.
Imlie accompanies him to Delhi, where their secret marriage creates an increasingly complicated situation. Aditya initially treats their relationship as something forced upon him, but his feelings begin changing as he spends more time with Imlie.
Eventually, he is forced to confront the difference between the life he planned and the person he has actually fallen in love with.
The storyline becomes complicated and frequently controversial, but as a marriage-first, feelings-later story, the early Aditya-Imlie track is one of the clearest examples on Hindi television.
Watch this if you like: Emotional drama, reluctant marriage, complicated relationships and very slow changes in feelings.
5. Madhubala – Ek Ishq Ek Junoon
Main Couple: RK and Madhubala
Actors: Vivian Dsena and Drashti Dhami
Original Channel: Colors TV
Why it fits: Revenge marriage, enemies to lovers, intense romance
RK and Madhubala’s relationship is dramatic even by Hindi television standards.
After Madhubala’s actions create problems for superstar RK, he decides to take revenge in an extremely personal way.
Madhubala needs money for her father Malik’s treatment, and RK uses the situation to bind her to him through an unconventional four-phera marriage.
Their relationship initially becomes a battle of ego and resistance.
The show repeatedly blurs the line between hatred, obsession and love, with RK and Madhubala becoming increasingly emotionally attached despite the toxic circumstances that brought them together.
Their story contains numerous reversals, betrayals and reconciliations, making it one of the more intense entries on this list.
Watch this if you like: Dark romance, superstar hero, revenge plots, explosive chemistry and dramatic love-hate relationships.
6. Thapki Pyar Ki
Main Couple: Bihaan Pandey and Thapki
Actors: Manish Goplani and Jigyasa Singh
Original Channel: Colors TV
Why it fits: Unexpected marriage, reluctant husband, friendship to love
Thapki is originally supposed to marry Dhruv, not Bihaan.
But Dhruv’s mother Vasundhara opposes the match and instructs Bihaan to stop the wedding. Bihaan reluctantly takes Dhruv’s place and marries Thapki without her knowing beforehand that the groom has been switched.
Understandably, Thapki is devastated when she learns the truth.
Neither Thapki nor Bihaan enters the marriage because they are in love. Yet being forced to navigate life together slowly changes their relationship.
Their hostility eventually turns into friendship, trust and genuine affection.
The transition is what makes Thapki and Bihaan’s story appealing to fans who enjoy couples who never expected to fall in love with each other.
Watch this if you like: Unexpected marriages, friendship before love, family drama and gradual romance.
7. Tu Sooraj Main Saanjh Piyaji
Main Couple: Uma Shankar and Kanak Rathi
Actors: Avinesh Rekhi and Rhea Sharma
Original Channel: StarPlus
Why it fits: Forced marriage, opposites attract, ideological conflict
Kanak and Uma are not simply different personalities — they initially have completely different worldviews.
Uma is deeply traditional, while Kanak is independent and questions many of the restrictions around her.
Their circumstances result in Kanak being forced into marriage with Uma.
Kanak initially has another reason for remaining around Uma: she wants to recover her family’s beloved sweet shop, Kanak Misthan Bhandar.
She has no intention of falling in love with him.
Over time, however, both characters begin influencing each other. Uma starts questioning some of his rigid beliefs while Kanak begins seeing dimensions to him that she initially ignored.
Their relationship gradually grows into something neither expected.
Watch this if you like: Opposites attract, ideological clashes, reluctant marriage and long character-development arcs.
8. Beintehaa
Main Couple: Zain Abdullah and Aaliya Haider
Actors: Harshad Arora and Preetika Rao
Original Channel: Colors TV
Why it fits: Family-forced marriage, bickering couple, enemies to lovers
Zain and Aaliya are cousins who share a playful but combative relationship.
Neither wants to marry the other.
After Aaliya’s previous wedding falls apart and misunderstandings surrounding Zain and Aaliya create additional problems, family circumstances push the two into marriage.
They enter the relationship reluctantly and frequently irritate each other.
That is exactly what makes their transformation so entertaining.
Living under the same roof gradually reveals the affection underneath their constant arguments. Their hostility softens, jealousy appears and eventually both realise their feelings have become real.
Beintehaa is particularly enjoyable if you prefer a forced-marriage story that balances family drama with lighter romantic moments.
Watch this if you like: Nok-jhok, family pressure, jealousy, Muslim family drama and couples who bicker their way into love.
9. Choti Sarrdaarni
Main Couple: Sarabjit Singh Gill and Meher Kaur Dhillon
Actors: Avinesh Rekhi and Nimrit Kaur Ahluwalia
Original Channel: Colors TV
Why it fits: Family-forced marriage, mature romance, blended family
Meher is in love with Manav and pregnant with his child when her life changes dramatically.
Her mother Kulwant refuses to accept the relationship and pressures Meher into marrying wealthy widower Sarabjit Singh Gill.
Meher agrees largely to protect her unborn child.
Sarabjit already has a young son, Param, and the marriage begins as an arrangement rather than a romance.
What makes this pairing different from several others on the list is the way affection grows through family and emotional support rather than constant hostility.
Meher develops a strong bond with Param, while Sarab eventually learns the truth about her pregnancy and becomes an important source of support.
Their relationship gradually transforms into genuine love.
Watch this if you like: Mature romance, family bonds, supportive partners and marriage-before-love stories.
10. Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin
Main Couple: Virat Chavan and Sai Joshi
Actors: Neil Bhatt and Ayesha Singh
Original Channel: StarPlus
Why it fits: Compromise marriage, reluctant couple, slow-burn feelings
Sai and Virat’s marriage happens because of duty rather than romance.
Following the death of Sai’s father Kamal, Virat feels responsible for Sai and proposes what is essentially a compromise marriage.
Sai reluctantly agrees.
The situation is made even more complicated because Virat already has unresolved feelings for Pakhi.
Initially, both Sai and Virat treat the marriage as an arrangement. Their vastly different personalities lead to regular clashes after Sai enters the Chavan household.
But proximity gradually creates attachment.
Virat becomes increasingly protective of Sai, and despite numerous misunderstandings, their relationship eventually develops into love.
Watch this if you like: Slow burns, arranged circumstances, large-family drama and complicated love triangles.
11. Teri Meri Doriyaann
Main Couple: Angad Singh Brar and Sahiba Kaur Monga
Actors: Vijayendra Kumeria and Himanshi Parashar
Original Channel: StarPlus
Why it fits: Family-pressure marriage, enemies to lovers, rich family drama
Angad expects to marry Sahiba’s elder sister Seerat.
But Seerat runs away from the wedding after becoming involved with Garry.
The deception surrounding the Monga family is exposed, and the situation eventually results in Angad and Sahiba marrying under intense family pressure despite strongly disliking each other.
Their early marriage is filled with resentment.
Sahiba refuses to abandon her independence simply because she has entered the wealthy Brar family, while Angad struggles to trust her.
Gradually, shared experiences produce mutual respect. Angad begins supporting Sahiba’s ambitions, and their hostile relationship develops into romantic feelings.
Their journey later becomes turbulent again, but the transition from reluctant marriage to love is central to the show’s early storyline.
Watch this if you like: Rich family settings, independent heroines, reluctant husbands and enemies-to-lovers.
12. Yeh Hai Mohabbatein
Main Couple: Raman Bhalla and Ishita Iyer
Actors: Karan Patel and Divyanka Tripathi
Original Channel: StarPlus
Why it fits: Marriage of convenience, enemies to lovers, family romance
Raman and Ishita don’t marry because somebody physically forces them.
Instead, their marriage is a practical arrangement centred around Raman’s daughter Ruhi.
Ishita has formed a deep bond with Ruhi, while Raman is fighting for custody. Despite initially disliking each other, Raman and Ishita agree to marry to strengthen Raman’s custody case and provide Ruhi with a stable family.
Their marriage is supposed to exist only on paper.
Naturally, things don’t stay that simple.
Constant bickering gradually turns into concern and companionship. Ishita becomes an essential part of Raman’s family, while Raman begins opening himself emotionally after the pain caused by his previous marriage.
The slow transformation from reluctant co-parents into a genuine couple helped make Raman and Ishita one of Hindi television’s most recognisable pairings.
Watch this if you like: Mature enemies-to-lovers, parenting storylines, family comedy and marriage-of-convenience romance.
13. Yeh Hai Chahatein
Main Couple: Rudraksh Khurana and Preesha Srinivasan
Actors: Abrar Qazi and Sargun Kaur Luthra
Original Channel: StarPlus
Why it fits: Revenge marriage, marriage for custody, fake romance to real love
Rudraksh and Preesha’s marriage begins with anger rather than affection.
Rudraksh initially believes Preesha is responsible for his brother Rajeev’s death. After learning that Saransh is Rajeev’s son, Rudraksh becomes determined to gain custody of him.
This leads Rudraksh to marry Preesha.
Their relationship therefore begins as a combination of revenge, custody complications and necessity rather than romance.
To the outside world, however, they have to behave like a family for Saransh.
As they spend time together raising him, Rudraksh and Preesha slowly begin understanding each other. Their fake relationship starts producing very real feelings.
Watch this if you like: Fake relationship to real love, custody drama, revenge marriages and protective heroes.
14. Qubool Hai
Main Couple: Aahil Raza Ibrahim and Sanam Ahmed Khan
Actors: Karanvir Bohra and Surbhi Jyoti
Original Channel: Zee TV
Why it fits: Contract marriage, rich hero × ordinary heroine, slow-burn romance
While the original Asad-Zoya romance remains one of the best-known parts of Qubool Hai, the later Aahil-Sanam storyline gives fans another popular marriage-before-love setup.
Aahil and Sanam don’t marry because they are already a happy couple.
Their nikah is connected to circumstances surrounding Aahil’s inheritance and is treated as a temporary contractual arrangement.
Neither believes the other has entered the marriage for love.
Living together slowly exposes the emotions underneath their arguments. Aahil’s jealousy and protectiveness become increasingly obvious, while Sanam starts understanding the troubled man behind his arrogant exterior.
The contractual marriage eventually becomes far more emotionally significant than either expected.
Watch this if you like: Contract marriage, brooding heroes, jealousy, family secrets and passionate romance.
15. Guddan – Tumse Na Ho Payega
Main Couple: Akshat Jindal and Guddan Gupta
Actors: Nishant Singh Malkani and Kanika Mann
Original Channel: Zee TV
Why it fits: Circumstantial marriage, age-gap romance, opposites attract
Guddan is a cheerful young woman known for getting into chaotic situations.
Akshat Jindal, or AJ, is a mature widower, successful restaurateur and father of three adult sons.
They seem like an unlikely match from the beginning.
Their path to marriage is driven by manipulation, blackmail and family circumstances rather than a conventional romance.
After Guddan becomes AJ’s wife — and therefore mother-in-law to women around her own age — the unusual family setup becomes one of the show’s central hooks.
Guddan and AJ clash constantly at first, but mutual respect slowly develops between them.
Their unusual marriage eventually turns into a genuine emotional partnership.
Watch this if you like: Opposites attract, unusual family dynamics, age-gap romance and comedy mixed with drama.
16. Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon? Ek Baar Phir
Main Couple: Shlok Agnihotri and Aastha Kirloskar
Actors: Avinash Sachdev and Shrenu Parikh
Original Channel: StarPlus
Why it fits: Revenge marriage, hate to love, redemption
Aastha and Shlok begin with completely opposing personalities and values.
Aastha is independent and outspoken, while Shlok carries deep anger and increasingly misogynistic beliefs influenced by his past and family environment.
Their eventual marriage is especially troubling because Shlok initially pretends to love Aastha as part of a revenge plan.
Aastha enters the relationship believing his feelings are real.
After discovering the truth, their marriage becomes a conflict between Aastha’s determination to retain her identity and Shlok’s need for control.
Over time, Shlok’s feelings stop being an act. Aastha also uncovers disturbing truths about the Agnihotri family that explain some of the behaviour around her.
Watch this if you like: Revenge marriage, dramatic family secrets, redemption arcs and intense hate-to-love relationships.
17. Chandra Nandini
Main Couple: Chandragupta Maurya and Nandini
Actors: Rajat Tokas and Shweta Basu Prasad
Original Channel: StarPlus
Why it fits: Political marriage, enemies to lovers, historical romance
If you want the forced-marriage trope in a royal setting, Chandra Nandini is an interesting option.
Chandragupta and Nandini begin as enemies connected to opposing sides of a political conflict.
Their marriage is not born from romance but from circumstances following Chandragupta’s victory.
Nandini carries resentment toward Chandragupta, while he initially sees the marriage largely through a political lens.
Living together slowly complicates those feelings.
The hostility between the two gradually develops into respect, attraction and eventually love, creating a classic enemies-to-lovers arc against a historical-fiction backdrop.
Watch this if you like: Royal settings, political marriages, historical fiction and enemies who slowly soften toward each other.
18. Udaariyaan
Main Couple: Fateh Singh Virk and Tejo Sandhu
Actors: Ankit Gupta and Priyanka Chahar Choudhary
Original Channel: Colors TV
Why it fits: Marriage of circumstance, friendship to love, complicated love triangle
Fateh is originally in love with Tejo’s sister Jasmine.
Everything changes when Jasmine refuses to go ahead with her marriage to Fateh because of his changed prospects of moving to Canada.
To protect the families from humiliation, Fateh and Tejo marry.
Neither enters the marriage expecting a love story.
Fateh is still emotionally attached to Jasmine, while Tejo finds herself married to a man who never intended to choose her.
Their relationship gradually develops through companionship and emotional support, although Jasmine’s continuing presence creates serious problems.
The result is one of the more complicated marriage-of-circumstance stories on the list.
Watch this if you like: Love triangles, friendship becoming love, family drama and emotionally messy relationships.
19. Agnisakshi – Ek Samjhauta
Main Couple: Satvik Bhosle and Jeevika Rane
Actors: Aashay Mishra and Shivika Pathak
Original Channel: Colors TV
Why it fits: Conditional marriage, reluctant groom, love after marriage
The title itself describes the premise: Ek Samjhauta — a compromise.
Jeevika dreams of marriage and a family, while Satvik is already in love with another woman, Supriya.
Circumstances and pressure from their families lead Satvik to marry Jeevika despite his feelings for someone else.
The painful reality of their relationship becomes clear when Satvik gives Jeevika divorce papers shortly after their wedding.
But living together changes things.
Jeevika’s sincerity gradually affects Satvik, and what began as a marriage he never wanted starts becoming emotionally real.
His developing feelings create the central romantic transformation of the story.
Watch this if you like: Contract-style marriages, one-sided love becoming mutual and reluctant heroes who slowly fall harder.
20. Jhanak
Main Couple: Aniruddha Bose and Jhanak Raina
Actors: Krushal Ahuja and Hiba Nawab
Original Channel: StarPlus
Why it fits: Forced marriage, secret marriage, complicated love triangle
Jhanak and Aniruddha’s story begins in Kashmir.
Aniruddha is already committed to Arshi when circumstances force him and Jhanak into marriage.
Neither begins the relationship expecting it to become a conventional husband-wife bond, and the marriage becomes a secret that complicates all three lives.
After Jhanak enters Aniruddha’s world, his concern for her increasingly conflicts with his existing relationship with Arshi.
The result is a slow and often frustrating emotional triangle in which duty, attraction and denial repeatedly collide.
For viewers who enjoy extremely slow-burn relationships where the characters themselves struggle to understand what they feel, Jhanak fits the trope well.
Watch this if you like: Secret marriages, slow burns, emotional denial, love triangles and family drama.
Which Forced-Marriage Hindi Serial Should You Watch First?
With so many different versions of the trope, the best choice depends on the kind of romance you enjoy.
If you want classic enemies-to-lovers chemistry, start with Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon? or Ishqbaaaz.
If you prefer a redemption arc, try Mehndi Hai Rachne Waali.
For a more mature marriage-of-convenience story, Yeh Hai Mohabbatein is an excellent option.
If you want an especially dramatic and intense love-hate relationship, Madhubala – Ek Ishq Ek Junoon delivers plenty of it.
And if you enjoy couples who are pushed together by circumstances before slowly becoming genuine partners, Beintehaa, Thapki Pyar Ki, Teri Meri Doriyaann and Choti Sarrdaarni are all worth exploring.
Forced-marriage stories remain popular because the wedding isn’t the ending of the romance — it is the beginning.
Instead of asking whether the couple will get married, these serials ask a more interesting question:
What happens when two people who never planned to be together have to figure out how to live together — and unexpectedly begin falling in love?
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Hindi serial has the best forced-marriage love story?
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon?, Ishqbaaaz, Mehndi Hai Rachne Waali, Beintehaa and Madhubala – Ek Ishq Ek Junoon are among the most popular choices for viewers who enjoy forced or reluctant marriage followed by romance.
Which Hindi TV serial has a contract marriage that turns into love?
Qubool Hai, particularly the Aahil and Sanam storyline, features a contractual marriage that gradually develops into genuine feelings. Yeh Hai Mohabbatein also uses a marriage-of-convenience setup with Raman and Ishita marrying primarily for Ruhi.
Which Hindi serial has enemies getting married and then falling in love?
Ishqbaaaz, Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon?, Mehndi Hai Rachne Waali, Teri Meri Doriyaann and Madhubala – Ek Ishq Ek Junoon all feature strong enemies-to-lovers elements surrounding the leads’ marriages.
Which Hindi serial has a fake marriage that becomes real love?
Yeh Hai Chahatein is a good example. Rudraksh and Preesha’s relationship begins because of Saransh and custody circumstances, while their performance as a family eventually develops into real feelings.
Which forced-marriage Hindi serial has the strongest chemistry?
Chemistry is subjective, but Arnav-Khushi from Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon?, Shivaay-Anika from Ishqbaaaz, Raghav-Pallavi from Mehndi Hai Rachne Waali, RK-Madhubala from Madhubala – Ek Ishq Ek Junoon, and Zain-Aaliya from Beintehaa are frequently remembered for their love-hate dynamics.
Looking for More Hindi TV Serials?
If forced-marriage romances are your favourite, you may also enjoy our list of Hindi TV serials where hate turns into love.
SaasBahuList helps you discover Hindi television shows by story, cast, relationships and the tropes you enjoy — so you can spend less time searching and more time deciding what to watch next.
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