Mumbai: COLORS? flagship show Balika Vadhu celebrates its 1000th episode today and takes pride in celebrating this success in a grand way, adding more excitement to the storyline ahead! With Balika Vadhu touching the 1000 episode mark, India?s favourite show and the country?s most loved daughter ?Anandi?s? life takes a positive turn towards a much awaited beginning. The grand episode will see the introduction of Siddharth Shukla essaying the role of a collector and as Anandi?s new beendh. COLORS marks this milestone and celebratory moment by recognising a real life Anandi ? Lakshmi Sangara of Jodhpur who had the courage to annul her child marriage.

This is an effort from the channel to extend the platform to real stories of real people winning over the dark evils of society and encourage viewers to participate in the move.

Since its launch in 2008, Anandi has become a household name and looked up at as a catalyst of change. At an early age of 8, Anandi?s innocent smile and simple questions took the whole nation by a storm and soon her life was followed by many. The show became a national discussion when it highlighted the repercussions of ?child marriage? besides touching upon several thought provoking and sensitive issues such as adult literacy and women empowerment. In the journey so far, we saw our beloved Anandi cross over some difficult times ? Jagya?s betrayal and breakdown of her marriage. Now, 4 years later, Balika Vadhu has reached its zenith and it?s time for Anandi to make a new beginning leaving behind the bitter past and find her solace in her new beendh, Shiv. He comes from an army background and is a man of authority. He is an energetic yet impatient, good-looking and a self made man of today.

Speaking about crossing the 1000 episode milestone, Raj Nayak, CEO, COLORS said, ?It?s a historic day today as we cross the 1000 episode milestone of our flagship show ? Balika Vadhu. This path breaking property has been instrumental in making COLORS the successful brand that it is today. Balika Vadhu is not just a show, but a brand, that resonates with audiences for its unique storyline and characterization. And Anandi?s journey has made her an iconic character empowering women across the country. We are hoping to have transformed a few lives through this effort and are raring to take this to the next level.?

Talking about the new phase in Anandi?s life, Pratyusha Banerjee said, ?The show has been created with a single motive of ensuring that the audiences take back some learning every time. Celebrating the 1000 episode is huge proof that the audiences love Balika Vadhu and will stay with us in our journey ahead. I am very excited to turn a new leaf in Anandi?s life and I hope I am able to inspire many more women to be strong and stand for themselves.?

Talking about his character, Siddharth Shukla said, ?I am very delighted to be a part of Balika Vadhu. The show from the start has been able to uphold an interesting storyline and introduce strong characters that anyone would jump to be part of. I feel lucky to be offered to play Anandi?s new beendh ? Shiv, at a stage when the show has created a history by completing 1000 episodes. And I hope I am able to do justice to the role and play Shiv with the same sincerity as I know Anandi?s beendh is being closely watched by the entire nation.?

Speaking on the occasion, Sunjoy Wadhwa, Producer Sphere Origins said, ?With Balika Vadhu we wanted to reach out to the thousands of young girls who were silently suffering due to social practices. The 1000th episode of Balika Vadhu is a testimony to the fact that our message has reached out successfully to our audiences. The show is our best effort and today we are happy to see many Anandi?s being able to change lives and fight back old systems. ?