Ever noticed how money has a way of turning even the closest kin into rivals? Indian television has long mined this tension, weaving tales where property disputes, inheritance battles and secret dowries spark epic stand-offs. From sprawling joint families to uptown nuclear households, wealth becomes both prize and poison, exposing long-buried resentments.
Most prime-time soaps ground their drama in familiar tropes: the benevolent patriarch, the scheming daughter-in-law, the distant brother who covets a bigger share. These serials tap into the unspoken question: who really deserves what?
Sudden windfalls add another layer. Imagine the chaos when a junior accountant in a long-running drama wins the lottery: old debts resurface, cousins turn confidants into adversaries overnight. While not every serial scripts a descent into rupee-riven rivalry, the trope of “wins the lottery” serves as shorthand for how fast fortunes—and relationships—can change.
Have you ever rooted for the “underdog” daughter excluded from a will? Or grimaced when your favorite elder sibling plays favorites? Shows like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki dragged these struggles across thousands of episodes—each twist more melodramatic than the last. There’s something almost cathartic about watching grudges aired on screen when, in real life, they fester in silence.
Bollywood’s Big-Screen Battles
Television isn’t the only medium exploring wealth-fueled family strife. On the big screen, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham tracks a patriarch who disowns his adopted son for marrying beneath the family’s social class, only to confront the fallout years later. It’s ornate, emotional and, yes, full of those over-the-top party sequences where grudges simmer just beneath the surface.
Then there’s Baghban, where elderly parents, expecting to spend their twilight years together, end up pawned off to different children—each convinced the others owe them more. It’s heart-wrenching and strangely relatable: who hasn’t bristled when Raj Malhotra’s children argue over parental duty like it’s a lottery ticket?
From Gritty Soaps to Lighthearted Laughs
Even comedies aren’t immune. Khosla Ka Ghosla is a great example of Indian comedies where family feuds meet fortune. Originally a hit 2006 film, it later inspired countless TV sketches and stage spoofs. When retired Delhiite Kamal Kishore Khosla discovers his life savings has been stolen by a crooked builder, family solidarity cracks, but hidden bonds are revealed. Sons, daughter and neighbours unite in a raucous, ingenious scam to reclaim what’s theirs. It’s a hilarious reminder that, sometimes, a scheme born of desperation can reveal hidden bonds.
Then there’s Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, the cult sitcom about a South Mumbai clan so flush with cash they bicker over caviar and salon bills. Maya Sarabhai’s disdain for her middle-class daughter-in-law—born and bred in Delhi—often centers on class symbols: the right designer handbag, the perfect wedding venue. Nothing says “family feud” quite like two sisters-in-law duking it out over whose taste is more refined.
At its heart, this obsession with money clashes on television mirrors our collective anxieties. What if a secret bank balance emerges? Who gets the ancestral home? These questions fuel ratings and water-cooler chatter alike. Sometimes we laugh, sometimes we cry, but we are always hooked.
Did your favorite show unravel over a surprise inheritance or a land grab? Share your most memorable feud in the comments—let’s compare notes on every dramatic twist.