Review: Tamanna- A winning stroke portraying simplicity!

Monday to Saturday at 10pm only on Star Plus

Produced By: Ramesh Deo Production

Cast: Anuja Sathe, Ketki Dave, Kiran Karmarkar, Vishal Gandhi, Rajlaxmi Solanki, Harsh Chhaya and Harshita Ojha

Story so far: As the title suggests, Tamanna' is all about a girl's journey to fulfill her dreams. The girl in question is adorable Dhara Solanki (Harshita Ojha) who is the centre of Solanki household, which includes stern yet loving Baa', grandmother (Ketki Dave), father Deepak Solanki (Kiran Karmarkar) and mother Saroj (Rajlaxmi Solanki).

As a regular middle class family based in small city in Gujrat, Solankis live a peaceful life under the watchful eyes of matriarch Baa. There is only a small glitch in this perfect family picture. Dhara shares her father's passion for cricket and aspires to become a cricketer in life. Baa doesn't support this idea and is one who strongly believes in old tradition and culture. According to Baa, Dhara's ultimate goal in life should be to get a suitable husband, that's the end of it!!

Deepak and Saroj are torn in the battle between Baa and Dhara, but are helpless. From making Dhara indulge in fasting for a couple of days to teaching her daily chores, Baa is keen to make a perfect daughter-in-law out of her grand-daughter. But just like her Dadi, Dhara too doesn't believe in compromising her dreams. Deepak tries his level best to find out a solution which can satisfy both the parties. To test Dhara's resilience, she has been asked to excel on three fronts- studies, household work and cricket.

What works: Simplicity is what makes Tamanna' different from other fiction shows. Ketki Dave as Baa dominates the Solanki household but manages to showcase her unconditional love for them as well. Harshita Ojha as the fire cracker Dhara takes the major portion of this cake and eats it too! Her bubbly, innocent attics where she demands written confirmation from Baa that after following the fast she will get a husband as per her choice was simply mind blowing. Kiran Karmarkar as a doting father is very convincing.

What doesn't work: The show's telecast timing (10 pm) might hamper the viewership during the weekday. Since it's a complete family show, the timing should have been more suitable. Since its launch, Tamanna' has still been on the stage of establishing the characters, which is too stretched. Viewers are wishing to see grown up Dhara (Anuja Sathe) to take the mantle from chirpy Harshita Ojha.

Our take: The producers Abhinav & Ajinkya Deo, known for their simple yet impactful TV commercials has debuted into fiction shows with Tamanna'. It talks about one's eagerness, determination to achieve their dreams. In our everyday life, we always witnessed one or the other woman trying to conquer her dream even in adverse situation. Tamanna' gives hope and courage to all those who are struggling to keep their dreams afloat. Every relationship in this show, whether its father (Deepak)- daughter (Dhara), Mother-in-law (Baa)-daughter-in-Law (Saroj), Baa and her granddaughter are beautifully expressed without any facade. This is a story of plain people with unusual determination. Be it Baa's determination to get a worthy groom for her granddaughter, Dhara's dream to become a cricketer or Deepak's complete faith in his daughter. Viewers can connect with them effortlessly and that's the biggest USP of Tamanna'.

Gayatri Kolwankar