Best of Luck Nikki

Best of Luck Nikki is a Disney Channel India sitcom, which premiered 3 April 2011.[1] 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.[2] 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 (Murtuza Kutianawala), Dolly (Sheena Bajaj), and Sunny (Aakash 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 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 except Nikki is before and Sunny is after.

Main characters

 * Dolly Singh (age 17) (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.. She and Maya also compete in a Battle of the Bands contest, but when Maya and Rohan get together, they combine the two bands together, winning the contest. Throughout the show Dolly has had numerous boyfriends including Kunal, a very relaxed guy with a motorbike who could be quite ditzy sometimes; and Gaurav, a boy that Dolly once liked until she realized that he was into a game Aliens vs Animal - Dolly dumps him because of this in a L.A.R.P. (live-action role play) in the park. Dolly shows a lot of care towards her brothers, as demonstrated when she saves Rohan from falling out of a tree house window on the condition of him needing to drive her where ever she wanted for a month, or when Sunny gets a black eye from Guri and Dolly offers to help him with his problem. Dolly is known as a "good girl" (G.G.) from her best friend Pam. It is revealed in "Bye Bye Video Diary", that the reason she wants Nikki to have video diaries with advice in them, because she wants Nikki to grow up to be a good girl. Her catchphrase 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.
 * Hemani Singh (née Batra) (age 39) (Gurdeep) is the mother of Rohan, Dolly, Sunny, Bobby 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 . A running joke on the show is that she mentions her tenure at Southwest Denver Community College, and apparently having been involved virtually every extracurricular activity that the school provided, and yet still earned a nursing degree. She lets special opportunities, such as being on TV or singing in front of a group, go to her head. She has a habit of taking any chance of any publicity that may shine on her family to focus onto her. This never works out well, usually she ends up being cut from the project or tossed out of certain groups (Mommy & Me, etc.). Hemani seldom accepts her children's misbehavior. It is revealed that whenever Hemani gets involved in things that may tick her off, she turns into "Maha Mummy" and loses control. It is revealed that she is pregnant again with her fifth child. In "Dolly on Ice", she reveals that Nikki is the perfect combination of her three older children – "The intelligence of Dolly, the sweetness of Rohan, and none of Sunny!" According to Avatar, Hemani is usually fussy during her third trimester in pregnancy. In the middle of the third season, Hemani quit her nursing job to be a full-time mother to Nikki and her fifth child. Hemani is the equivalent of Amy Duncan who is played by Leigh-Allyn Baker.
 * Nikki (Nikita) Singh (age 3) 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. Hemani thinks of Nikki as the perfect baby, being cute and all that. Sheena Bajaj played an older version of Nikki in "Bye-Bye Video Diary", in a dream sequence that shows what Dolly fears if Nikki does not receive the video diaries, Nikki might act badly, quit school, run away with her juvenile boyfriend, and resent Dolly. It was revealed in "Nikki is 1", that it was Dolly's idea to nickname her Nikki. Nikki was seen having short hair, usually tied up like a bun in the first season, but as she grew older, had longer hair in a ponytail or pigtails. Nikki speaks more often in later episodes of season 2 and in season 3. She shares a birthday with Singh's family's fifth member and said, "I like this present" when he was born. In season 3, her personality begins to develop, as she is seen as sneaky and mischievous, such as pretending to like a doll Hemani bought for her to like him, but then throwing it away when she wasn't looking, and also telling Hemani's "friends" what she really thinks of them, causing her to lose them all. Her personality is most like Sunny. Nikki is the equivalent of Charlie Duncan who is played by Mia Talerico.
 * Sunny Singh (age 12) 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.He is front-man when it comes to the Singhs' running rivalry with Roli Auntie, their neighbor, who is often the target of Sunny's pranks and cracks. One time he was in a commercial with a fake mom . A running gag in the show is that he insults Avatar because of his weight and baldness, Hemani's cooking, Rohan being a Fool, Dolly being a "good-girl," and occasionally Nikki. He also likes to harass and tease Roli Auntie, as he finds her annoying, for example, when she came to their doorstep, he says he's not feeling well and he says he's got a bad case of "Diarolia" (which Hemani finds amusing). Whenever there is a special occasion, he wants to skip the ceremony and get to the cake, like Nikki's first birthday. In "Special Delivery", he said he wanted a younger brother (who is later born in that episode) because he wants to be able to tease him, rather than teasing Rohan. Sunny is the equivalent of Gabe Duncan who is played by Bradley Steven Perry.
 * Avatar Singh (age 42) (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 gets made fun of a lot throughout the series because of his weight and baldness, usually by his younger son, Sunny. He is very "cheap" and "tight" with his money. He wants his family to know him as a "fix-it" man, though his projects never seem to work out. He is slightly afraid of Hemani, but he calls it a "strong respect". He has two positions of authority when it comes to the children: driving lessons and barbecuing. He can be lazy but is determined to spend quality time with his wife and children. Especially his two sons; Rohan and Sunny, they often go on a fishing trip which is a nightmare for Rohan and Sunny especially when Avatar makes his egg salad sandwiches. He has issues with his mother-in-law,. It is revealed he has apologized to Hemani at least 100 times. In "Baby Steps," it is revealed that he dropped all of his kids including His fifth child. In multiple episodes Avatar brags about having his own band in high school, which made a grand total of ONE record(an LP, no copies). He can still play bass guitar and occasionally sits in with Rohan & The Vibe. Late in the third season, Avatar began exercising and dropped a massive amount of fat, replacing most of it with muscle. After Hemani & the kids staged an intervention to stop his more revealing wardrobe choices, he admits the catalyst for his getting back in shape was someone in the park mistaking him for his fifth child's grandfather!. Avatar is the equivalent of Bob Duncan who is played by Eric Allan Kramer.
 * Rohan Singh (Murtuza Kutianwala) (age 19) 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 like when he uses her to make big tips while working for Kukkad Nukkad by saying that his mother, Hemani, was ill in the hospital when she actually she works there. He dated Dolly's friend, Maya, who has the same type of scatterbrain he has, but they broke up in "Rohan in the City", when Maya had to move to Mumbai City because of her father's new job which required him to relocate. When he dated Maya, he became concerned when her former boyfriend kept texting her to get back together, he says to leave Maya alone. Avatar was nervous as he was writing on his birth certificate, resulting in the legal name of "Rohan Singh" instead of the intended "Rohini Singh". Despite Avatar trying to correct this in the season 2 episode "Can You Keep a Secret?", he accidentally changed the intended name to "Rona Pink " instead.[ but he cares about Nikki nearly as much as Dolly does. Rohan is the equivalent of PJ Duncan who is played by Jason Dolley.
 * Bobby Singh Youngest brother of Nikki

Recurring characters

 * Parminder (Pam) (age 17) (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. Pam briefly dated Popi when they were younger, and now never misses a chance to insult him, but went to the school dance with him so she and Dolly can have a ride in "Dance Off". It is revealed that she loves country music and animal print clothes. She is dating a classmate named, Jatin, or her own nickname, Jaan-Jaan. In Good Luck Charlie, Parminder's name is Ivy . First Appearance - Episode 4
 * Popi (age 18) (Yash Mittal) 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 walk. Popi is also an incredible dancer. He once went out with Pam when they were younger. In Good Luck Charlie, Popi's name is Emmett.
 * Roli Aunty (age 54) 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 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 five 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 but is fairly tolerant of Nikki. She was also a big fan of the fictional "Angoor ke Ansoo" television show when she was younger. She loves her son and her cat more than her husband, and some wonder why she married Mr. Surinder if she hated him so much. In "It's A Nikita Singh's Thanksgiving", it is revealed that she and Mr. Surinder had recently divorced. In the same episode, she flirted with the Singh kids' grandfather, but broke up with him not much later. It is revealed that in "Make Room for Baby" that she does not know the Internet.. In Good Luck Charlie, Roli's name is Mrs. Dabney.
 * Ritesh (age 18) (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 12) 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. It is also revealed that Sunny also has a small crush on her but doesn't show it. In "Singh's Got Talent", Guri played a trick on Sunny that almost ruined his chance of being class president. In season 2, Sunny and Guri settle their differences in "Singh vs Singh". According to Guri, she and Sunny have a complicated relationship. In Good Luck Charlie, this role is played by (G. Hannelius) as Jo Keener.
 * Kunal (age 18) He is Dolly's boyfriend who was with her after Ritesh beat her up. He was afraid to introduce him to the family because of his spikes, bike and 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 vigorously. In Good Luck Charlie, this role is played by Reid Ewing as Derek.
 * Rahul (age 17) He is Dolly's enemy. Dolly often refers him as 'Rakshas Rahul' (Rahul, the monster).In the episode"it's nikita singh's thanksgiving"rahul said dolly cute which was heard by pam but he acted as if he said mute. Rahul has a crush on dolly but pretends to hate her

Episodes
Main article: List of Best of Luck Nikki episodes

Ananya Kolvankar (Nikki)
Ananya Kolvankar was casted when she was just 10 months old. Ananya Kolvankar spoke very little in season 1. However, in season 2 and 3 she speaks more than season 1. In season 3 it is shown that Nikki's nature is much like Sunny. She becomes mischievous sometimes.