REVIEW By Telly Tadka... They have rated the show 4.5/5 For Week 1... đ
"A saga of unparalleled opulence and timeless love" - Ek Tha Raja Ek Thi Rani First Week Review-Ratings
Hello, aadab, Namaste and Satsriyakal readers. It's been quite a while since any new show has been reviewed by Telly Tadka but when you have quite an ambitious project at hand it is certainly impossible to keep away.
Yes, the show in question is Zee TV's Ek Tha Raja, Ek Thi Rani produced by Sphere Origins and starring Drashti Dhami and Siddhant Karnick as leads. Usually Telly Tadka has been a more First Day First Show reviewer but with the way things happened in Ek Tha Raja Ek Thi Rani, it wasn't possible to give a verdict or a review right after the first episode. It rarely happens with Hindi Soaps these days and when it does I believe it is a good thing because it simply means a lot of thought has been put into how every aspect of the show has to fall into the right place and make a connect with the audience
What struck me when I was seeing the first episode of (ETR)2 was that the creative team, the writers etc took their sweet little time for the event's to bloom. Not everything was shown in the first episode, and certainly there was no rush in getting the hero and heroine to meet and greet as soon as possible. Over the span of one week the characters including the lead hero-heroine were introduced and a little insight was given into each of them, Good build up of characters and profiles be it their background, their past stories, their ideologies, the various relationships shared etc. . Not all the cards were shown at once, it was revealed and is still being revealed layer by layer and that is a good thing because it simply means there is scope for the show to become bigger and better with each passing episode.
The story of Ek Tha Raja, Ek Thi Rani is no secret. It's the typical love-story we have seen a zillion times on TV. So what makes (ETR)2 different? Simply put the Treatment' - The treatment of the story and how it will evolve as time progresses is what makes (ETR)2 different. In essence Ek Tha Raja Ek Thi Rani is a love story which is set in the pre-independence era. How the various events during that period of time plays an important role in taking the love-story to cruise forward. The love-story and its presentation have been made commercially viable though set 60 years back which not only makes the project a challenge for the makers but an interesting series for the viewers as well.
In week one, we meet the various characters and as the story unfolds. Ranaji of Amerkot returns to his kingdom after fighting the Second World War. His mother Rajmata Priyamvada (Anita Raj) eagerly awaits the arrival of her son Rana Indravadhan Deo (Siddhant Karnick) while also keeping the royal Business and royal image of the palace and family up and running before the world. On his way back Ranaji's car blows up but Ranaji escapes unscathed as he switched rides in between. We can see a profusely sweating Diwan ji who was given the task of Ranaji's journey and his security from the air-field to the ground where his procession would begin and a slightly ruffled Chachaji (Akshay Anand) instantly making us wonder who the hell tampered with Ranaji's car. While the reason behind the same is not unknown after all people have killed and kill for less; and here it's a matter of ascension to the throne what stood out about the scene was that Ranaji did not beat around the bush regarding the whole situation. While he never accused anyone which is exactly a kind would refrain from doing until he had solid proof, he made it very clear that he had an idea of what was going on and why.
While Ranaji gets ready to meet with his subjects we meet the character who brings lightness to the heavy royal drama in the form of Gayatri (Drashti Dhami). A bookaholic Gayatri comes across as a highly spirited girl who finds her share of happiness in the world of books. She is educated, loves to read, is a forward thinking - remember the driving and her note to Ranaji, that sort of thinking comes from a progressive mind, has no qualms about expressing herself be it her excitement when she hears about Ranaji's shahi sawari' or the love for her books before her bhabhi. She is a dreamer because only dreams give her the hope and strength to believe that life is beautiful and worth living. There is nothing fake about her and though she has a childish innocence is a very sensible and mature young woman.
Many aspects of Ek Tha Raja Ek Thi Rani remind us of Disney Princess FairytalE. If you take her penchant for reading books then you can say it's loosely based on Beauty and the Beast. The evil sister-in-law making Gayatri do all the housework and expect her to stay at home for life so that life would be easier for them and a father who loves his daughter to the moon and back is all about Cinderella but the bottom line is we know what these beautiful tales have in store of the female character - The prince or in this case the king himself and a fate that would change overnight when she gets married to a man every woman wishes and desires to be her husband.
The hero-heroine meets in the most unexpected way, in a very expected manner but the best part of it all was she tried to meet him time and again, get a glimpse of the king who she hero-worshiped but never got the chance to and when she finally we get a Gayatri who is definitely spellbound but there was nothing cheesy or dreamy as to how the scene was handled and most importantly it took a span of 5 days for the hero and heroine to meet which I think was an amazing move.
Coming to the other aspects the Production Value of the show is too impressive. Now we know what it meant when Ek Tha Raja Ek Thi Rani's tale was described in a phrase A saga of unparalleled opulence and timeless love'. The royal palace in the show which is inspired from the famous Baroda Palace is constructed on the outskirts of Mumbai and screams royalty. One of the most expensive sets in the history of Indian television the grandeur of the sets and the way the expanse of the Palace was captured in its very first shot had me mouth-gaping at the screen.
They have really pinned down the looks dept down to the T!!!! The hair styling, the accessories, the sari's chiffon-Velvet/Cotton-Kanjeevaram, the blouses, make up for the ladies be it the Rajmata Priyamvada, Chachi ji or Gayatri, Damayanti etc and the Jodhpur's, 3 pieces checkered suits for Ranaji which was a rage in early days and Dhoti-Suit look for the Seth Govind Das, his sons, the Diwan etc a lot of thought and dedication has been put into getting it all right!!! Almost everything is depicted perfectly and would make that era proud.
The dialogues and their modulation which as seen vastly differs between various characters of the show yet it is kept simple and relatable. The pace is perfect because rushing things never actually helps you get to the desired outcome. The pasts both painful that the viewers were given a glimpse into by the mothers of either characters shows that both Ranaji and Gayatri expects nothing from the future other than what their past has decided they would have but KISMAT' is something which when changes takes you in for one helluva ride.
And here it's going to change...
With a really differently and well-handled week one, I can only hope that this pace, this progression and this quality and attention to details is maintained in the episodes to come setting the show truly class apart.
Telly Tadka rates the show a 4.5/5 and recommends it to all those who wish to see something different.
Author : Vijitha Rajan
Bigg Boss 19
Hindi TV Shows
Bade Achche Lagte Hain Naya Season
Cricket
Kundali Bhagya
