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FanStory: Mahadev The latest Mills&Boons Heartthrob on the block
Disclaimer: The views in this article are based exclusively on the depiction of the deity in the TV series Devon ke Dev Mahadev (LifeOk). We do not intend to hurt any religious sentiments)
Mahadev, as depicted in Hindu Mythology, has got everything it takes to impress a woman. Besides being extremely attractive, powerful and easy to please, he is also a passionate lover (After all the origin of the Kama Sutra has been attributed to him). Women have been fasting on Shivratri since time immemorial to find a husband as suitable as Mahadev. But there's only one thing that has kept them from openly "desiring" Him: He is God. He is supposed to be revered, not desired.
But post the creation of Devon Ke Dev Mahadev, things have changed. Teenage girls are heaving sighs of longing and young women are waiting breathlessly for 8 o clock while quickly finishing up kitchen work. Why? Because, Mahadev, the ideal fantasy, has incarnated in physical form on LifeOk.
The formless Shiva has come alive through this fantastically innovative series. And he is no more the feared distant God that we cannot "desire". He is every woman's fantasy and he brazenly dares us to admit it openly. (Thanks to the stunning amount of sex appeal he inadvertently oozes out in the 'oh-so-limited 20 minutes slot.)
The Shiva of DKDM, can be easily mistaken for a romance novel hero (read Mills&Boons), and why not? Isn't every fantasy hero modeled after the Ideal? He is ruggedly handsome and has a physique to die for. His powerful personality is such that even if he stands and does nothing in a particular scene, he sends quivers down hundreds of women's spines. He makes matted hair, the tiger skin and the Rudraksha look cool. Yes, we are saying it aloud: Mahadev is hot. Mahadev is the new sex symbol.
He is the first romance hero of the Universe and thankfully the makers of Devon ke Dev Mahadev, have been able to look beyond the divinity in him. As a result, they have been able bring out his love story as a humane story, complete with as much passion and heartbreak as any tale of human romance. Read on to see how.
DKDM's Sati is a modern Harlequin heroine. She is beautiful, innocent and charming. Her life is perfect and she comes out as headstrong and independent until she falls in love. Predictably, after she falls in love with our irresistible but stone hearted hero, her life turns into an ocean of tears. She does everything in her power to resist him. She forces herself to believe she doesn't love him, but like, all other M&B heroines, her heart loses the battle against the magnetic charms of our hero, in this case, Mahadev himself.
His first inadvertent touch, besides giving her a permanent territorial mark, melts her with desire for him. She secretly revels in running her hand over Mahadev's toned biceps and doesn't hide her attraction to him. Yes, Yes , We are still talking about the Shiv-sati story and guess what, we are not shying away from physical chemistry.
Mahadev, who is always in control of himself and prides himself on his cool detachment to everything emotional, is slightly troubled with our vulnerable heroine appearing in his thoughts from time to time but doesn't admit the fact that he is attracted to her. He is baffled as to why Sati would want to leave her worldly luxuries to live with him. He doesn't want to get "entangled" emotionally and rejects Sati's advances again and again until she gives up on him. And when she does, like the typical modern hero, he doesn't like that either.
He claims not to be affected by her, yet feels extremely protective about her. Sati, the eternal damsel in distress, is always rescued picturesquely by this masculine powerful hero who is sure to win all the battle with the villains. He threatens to attack even Daksh, Sati's father, in case he tries to hurt her. Yes, Mahadev is confused. He doesn't want to get involved yet he is ready to even kill for her.
Another striking similarity between Shiv-Sati and a Harlequin couple is the eternal ego- clash. Whenever in each other's presence, one of them gets infuriated. Sati angers Shiv with her persistence and difficult questions when he clearly wants her to back off and Shiv angers Sati by constantly rejecting her yet meddling in her affairs uninvited when she wants to forget him.
Shiv , like all heroes, also discovers his jealous side when Sati agrees to marry someone else. Like the romance novel hero who cannot figure out what's going on until the moment when he see the heart broken heroine in somebody else's arms, Shiv 's wrath moves the mountains and melts glaciers, when a furious and frustrated Sati declares that she actually wants to marry Satbish and he should help her by making him attractive. Angry at her openly challenging words, Shiv immediately gets to work to prove his indifference, more to himself than her.
The mighty Mahadev is so human when it comes to love that our heart goes out to him. And while religious pundits and fanatics may get upset about the treatment of the story, we applaud the whole DKDM team for making us fall in love with Mahadev.
The speciality of Mohit Raina as Mahadev is that everyone can find in him whatever they are looking for. Teenagers can find a heartthrob, women can find their fantasy hero, men can find their ideal, and the Spiritual can find God. Isn't that what Mahadev is all about? The Universal God who manifests himself in whatever form you desire? In the form of Mohit Raina on screen, Mahadev is fulfilling these promises by bringing you happiness, regardless of your age, sex or religion.
Devon ke Dev Mahadev has bridged generation gaps in our living rooms and has transgressed religious borders all over the world. The Mohit
Raina fan club on twitter ( @Mohit_FC), can boast of muslim, parsi and Christian fans who just cannot get enough of Mahadev. People have come together from all parts of the world and created a virtual family just to discuss the hypnotising effect that Mahadev has on them. We wish that this series enjoys a really long run and comes back with a second season with the same actors. Because the truth of the matter is that our pursuit of Mahadev has just begun and life without Devon ke Dev is now utterly unimaginable.
Tulika Dubey (@tulikaD ;@Mohit_FC)
Anupamaa
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