Best of Luck Nikki

Best of Luck Nikki is an original Disney Channel India sitcom, which premiered April 3, 2011. The series is an Indian adaptation of the American show Good Luck Charlie. The show's storyline, promos and even title sequence are similar to Good Luck Charlie. The pilot, however, is different from the American one for the lead character of Nikki (similar to baby 'Charlie' in 'Good Luck Charlie')was born in the second episode.

The series was created by Phil Baker and Drew Vaupen, who wanted to create a program that would appeal to entire families, as opposed to children only. It revolves around a Sikh family, the Singhs, as they try to adjust to the birth of their fourth child, Nikki Singh. In each episode, Dolly Singh (Sheena Bajaj) 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 can always know how to figure things out when she gets older, when she wouldn't be around.

Plot
The series centers on the Singh family, who are still adjusting to the birth of their fourth child, Nikki Singh (Ananya Kolvankar). When parents Hemani (Gurdeep Kohli), a nurse, and Avatar (Gireesh Sahedev), an electrician, return to work, they ask their three older children;Rohan (Murtaza Kutianawala), Dolly (Sheena Bajaj), and Sunny (Akash Nair) for help raising their little sister. At the same time, Dolly, Rohan, and Sunny try to deal with school and typical social challenges in their life.

The events of each episode become material for a video diary Dolly is making for her younger sister. Dolly hopes the videos will provide useful advice for Nikki after they have both grown up and Dolly has moved out. Also at the end of each video, she states, "Best Of Luck Nikki".

Opening sequence
The opening sequence is similar to the opening sequence of Good Luck Charlie, with the only changes being that of the Hindi lyrics and characters. They are shown in same order as their American counterparts.It is sung by the main lead of the show Sheena Bajaj (Dolly).

Main characters

 * Avatar Singh (age 41) (Gireesh Sahedev) is a somewhat careless, but kind father of Rohan, Dolly, Sunny and Nikki and husband of Hemani Singh. As identified in the very first episode of the series, Avatar owns his own electrician company called "Avatar Bijli Company ( ABC )" and usually hangs out with his small and tiny bulb on his coat. In a later episode, Rohan writes the theme song for a commercial Avatar made. He cares for his children and, though they tend to butt heads, deeply loves and respects his wife. Similar to Hemani, he seldom finds time to be separated from his four children. Avatar is the equivalent of Bob Duncan who is played by Eric Allan Kramer.


 * Hemani Singh (née Batra) (age 38) (Gurdeep Kohli) is the mother of Rohan, Dolly, Sunny and Nikki and wife of Avatar Singh. She works as a hospital nurse and is often portrayed as dutiful, protective and comedic. She is very fond and loving of her family, and does everything she can to care for and protect them. She appears to feel somewhat uncomfortable when she is not taking care of her family, specifically Nikki, but as the series progresses, she begins to feel assured that her youngest daughter and family are in good hands and now trusts that her husband and three eldest children can take care of Nikki. She sometimes gets very overwhelmed about her job and children and doesn't think she can do it anymore, but then she realizes what a wonderful family and life she has and continues what she does. She used to be Dinku the Donkey and was also a poet in her school days. Hemani is the equivalent of Amy Duncan who is played by Leigh-Allyn Baker.


 * Rohan Singh (age 18) (Murtuza Kutianawala) is the oldest of the Singh siblings, before Dolly. He and Dolly often fight, although they care about each other, and he usually gets along well with his younger brother, Sunny. To most, he appears clueless and absentminded, but has shown on numerous occasions to be resourceful, creative and intelligent. He is the founder of his own band, along with his best friend Popi, and is shown to have various attractions to different girls throughout the series. Rohan, along with Sunny, was a witness to Nikki's first steps when he challenged Popi and his baby nephew Himen to a "Baby Basketball Game". Rohan occasionally uses Nikki for his personal gain but he cares about Nikki nearly as much as Dolly does. Rohan is the equivalent of PJ Duncan who is played by Jason Dolley.


 * Dolly Singh (age 16) (Sheena Bajaj) is the protagonist of the series and Nikki's older and only sister. She is a caring, intrusive and intelligent teenage girl and the second eldest child, after Rohan and before Sunny.She usually fools hemani that she is so cool and good looking to go for any disco or party. that Although she might get annoyed or frustrated with her siblings, she is very loving and gives each one of her siblings advice whenever they need it. She even gives her mother (Hemani) and father (Avatar) advice sometimes. Feeling that she won't be around as much when her baby sister Nikki is grown, she produces and directs video diaries for her, hoping that it will give her advice that will help her be successful as a teenager. Her best friend's name is Pam, with whom she spends most of her time when she's not with Nikki. She has always fought with Rohan, though it is apparent she loves him. As for her younger brother Sunny, she sometimes finds herself unintentionally ignoring him, although she often reassures him of her love and apologizes. Her catch phrase said at the end of most episodes is "Best Of Luck Nikki", referring to her baby sister. Dolly is the equivalent of Teddy Duncan who is played by Bridgit Mendler.


 * Sunny Singh (age 11) (Akash Nair) is the younger brother of Dolly and Rohan and older brother of Nikki. Early in the series, Sunny doesn't approve of Nikki's arrival and is so far taking the longest to get used to her, but he often, though usually reluctantly, assists with taking care of his younger sister and is gradually beginning to become more fond of her. He is known for being a troublemaker, sarcastic and apparently lazy, but can also be dutiful and determined at times. He also has a running rivalry with Sandhu, the grocery store manager. Sunny is also known to sometimes take advantage of Nikki. He is referred by his mother as "petu" or "motu" because he is fat but shows of that he is handsome. Sunny is the equivalent of Gabe Duncan who is played by Bradley Steven Perry.


 * Nikki (Nikita) Singh (age 2) (Ananya Kolvankar) is the title character and youngest of the Singh siblings, after Sunny. She is mostly portrayed as being happy and seldom cries, although she does, though rarely, get upset for various reasons. Nikki can also be mischievous at times. Nikki is apparently closest to her older sister, Dolly, who is currently creating a video diary to assist Nikki as she progresses through life. Many of the Singh family's adventures revolve around Nikki, and cause her three older siblings to be constantly taking care of her. Her older brothers, Rohan and Sunny, are often seen using Nikki for their own benefit, although Rohan shows that he cares about her deeply. However, Sunny seems to dislike Nikki the most although, in some episodes, he is seen being quite fond of her. Nikki is the equivalent of Charlie Duncan who is played by Mia Talerico.

Recurring characters

 * Parminder (Pam) (age 16) (Tanya Abrol) is Dolly's best friend. She is seen spending most of her time with Dolly at the Singh's residence and often accompanies her on her dutiful excursions. Pam is energetic, witty and humorous and has proven to be quite intuitive, although she doesn't 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. In Good Luck Charlie, Ivy is Teddy's best friend. First Appearance - Episode 4


 * Popi (age 17) (Yash Mittal) is Rohan's best friend. He is slender, comedic, and has a desperate attraction to Dolly, but Dolly constantly rejects him. Popi accompanies Rohan on the drums in his band, and sometimes assists Rohan on his problematic excursions. Popi has a nephew named Himen who, he claimed, was better than Nikki, until Nikki beat Himen in a "baby basketball game" by learning to play. Popi is also an incredible dancer. He once went out with Pam when they were younger. In Good Luck Charlie, Emmett takes over this role.


 * Roli Aunty (age 53) (Sulekshna) is the Singhs' strict and overprotective neighbor. In the episode "The Curious Case of Mr. Surinder", she was mistakenly accused of killing her husband, though she actually did not. In the episode "Billi Butterfly" it is mentioned that Roli Aunty and her sisters were born in in 1958. She wanted the Singhs' tree cut down which          housed Rohan and Dolly's tree house, but the family fought back. It is revealed that Roli Aunty is one of quintuplets (having four other sisters, all played by Sulekshna via split screen). Roli Aunty is often suspicious of Sunny, because she knows that he enjoys trouble. She is often antagonistic towards the Singhs; Avatar, Rohan, and Sunny especially. In Good Luck Charlie, Mrs. Dabney takes over this role.


 * Ritesh (age 17) (Shaheer Sheikh) is Dolly's ex-boyfriend. At first, they started dating after they begin studying together. He and Popi share similar dancing abilities that rival each other, but they eventually become friends. Eventually, Ritesh finally watches a movie with Dolly showing that he truly cares about her. Later in the series Dolly knows that Ritesh cheated on her after Nikki bit Ritesh and she spotted him with his arm around Maya at his work. In Good Luck Charlie, this role is played by Shane Harper as Spencer Walsh.


 * Guri Malhotra (age 11) is Sunny's bully turned friend. She was introduced in the episode "Boys Meet Girls" bullying Sunny before revealing that she had a crush on him. Since that episode, she appears friendly with Sunny, assisting him with certain situations with an occasional wise crack at his expense. It is demonstrated that she is good with babies after taking care of Nikki. In Good Luck Charlie, this role is played by (G. Hannelius) as Jo Keener.


 * Kunal (age 17) He is Dolly's boyfriend who was with her after Riteash dumped her. At first Dolly was afraid to introduce him to the family because of his spikes, bike an many more things. But Dolly's father found out that he had a bike and befriended him . Now Dolly was quite bored of him and told him for a break up. Kunal reacted very coolly and Dolly swore that she would break up with him until he reacted vigoursly. In Good Luck Charlie, this role is played by Reid Ewing as Derek.


 * Rahul (age 16/17)He is Dolly's current boyfriend. He and Dolly were enemies since they were 5 but had a secret crush on Dolly. Dolly often refers him as 'Rakshas Rahul'.