Another article by Telly Tadka...Did not see anyone share this here so sharing 😊
Well crafted and written article...Best pat though is the one highlighted in RED...I wish the makers would pay heed !!!
LINK : A Talented ensemble cast and distinct characters make ETRETR Worth watching
A talented ensemble cast with a wide range of distinct characters makes Ek Tha Raja Ek Thi Rani worth watching!!!
In our review of week one of Zee TV's newly launched show Ek Tha Raja Ek Thi RaniI purposely omitted dwelling deeper into the characters because I believe when you have such a talented ensemble cast who has brought forth characters who are as different as chalk and cheese a whole different article toh banta hai!!!
In week one of Ek Tha Raja Ek Thi Rani the viewers met two families -Amerkot's Royal Family and the family of Amerkot's biggest money lender in all its glory.
The Royal Family of Amerkot
Rajmata Priyamvada of Amerkot is essayed by the graceful Anita Raj. For the outside world she has donned the mask of royalty where the name, prestige, status and honor of the palace and the royal family comes before anything and anyone but for those who have been her loyalists for a long time like Diwanji who knows about the financial crisis; even though she maintains her queen demeanor she does not have any qualms in the man seeing her helpless side too when discussing financial matters of the palace. Even in her conversations with Yashoda - Rajmata's chief helper we see the woman express herself more freely and even show the widow and mother side of the role life has designated her with. Not only do we see Priyamvada letting her guard down before Yashoda we also see that whilst she maintains her royal stature she does take words spoken honestly even her employees into consideration if she finds it fitting and appreciates the same.
Rana Indravadhan Deo is essayed by the very handsome and talented Siddhant Karnick. Those who have seen Siddhant's previous works or caught up with his off-screen videos will know that the actor has to get out of his comfort zone to get into the skin of the character and bring Ranaji alive onscreen. And now that a week has passed by one can say without blinking twice that he is doing an amazing job and the casting couldn't have been better. Be it his soldierly like demeanor or that of the king; he makes the transition from one to the other effortlessly. The first word that comes to your mind when you see Ranaji is -PAIN. He is still suffering the loss of his wife Sulakshana who died in a car-accident years ago. He vividly sees before his eyes the many dead bodies of his soldier brothers who give up their life in battle. The pain reflects in his eyes and when he addresses his mother on meeting her for the first time in years after arriving safely from the battle his words "Maut humare saat sirf aankh micholi khelti hai, hum kitna hi usse lubhane ki koshish kyun na kare humein gale laga thi nahi" shows that he is just living but not alive; for he feels there is no reason for him to be alive.
Once a happily married man who smiled, was content and deeply in love; Ranaji lost his wife to a car accident. With the recent bomb attack on him, the possibility of Sulakshana losing her life can't be completely ruled out as accidentbut more on that later. Not a fan of the Britishers, Ranaji definitely works by the principle "Keep your friends close, your enemies closer" while he has agreed to hear the proposal put forth by them regarding the Lagaan' (Tax) nothing is expected to materialize now that he has learned about the hunger problems faced by his people. Ranaji as of now is living for his people but we know that everything is about to change but until then we can safely say that Ranaji is a passionate and just king who wants the welfare of his people but above all is as broken a man can be if you keep aside the King' title.
While Rajmata and Ranaji seem to have adopted the mask of royalty to hide their flaws and pain, Kunwar Chandravadhan seems to have adopted to keep his evil intentions masked. Kunwar Chandraravadhan essayed by Akshay Anand is Ranaji step-uncle and there sure is an air of menace about him. Though he dismisses his son Kunwar Lakshyaraj's concerns about receiving Ranaji on seeing the guard flinch at the latter's question, it is pretty hard to miss the hatred dipped words that came out from his mouth when he lamented about how they will only be princes all their life. Ranaji and Kunwar Chachaji do share an interesting dynamics. On the outside they show respect, loyalty and acute interest in the other but the meet and greet between the uncle and nephew was anything but rolled in sarcasm and as the story unfolds we'll get to know more.
The Family of the wealthiest moneylender in Amerkot
We were introduced to the mighty-spirited, simple, innocent yet sensible, mature and educated Gayatri Seth essayed the gorgeous and immensely talented Drashti Dhami on day one. She is a bookaholic who loves to read and will do anything to get to her fav. place aka the library even if it means convincing that her brother's library card is reality is hers; and will also do anything for her books even if it means to pay a hefty sum of money for the same to retrieve it back from her sisters-in-law. Gayatri loves and chooses to be in the magical world that her books spin because she has resigned herself to believing that is all there is left for her. She knows and sees the so called Love' of her bhabhi's but she says or does nothing, even after her mother clearly expresses her concern and frustration about the same. All she tells is that she is happy to serve her family and you can sense the love tinged with hopelessness in those words because she does believe that this is her life and there is never going to be a prince riding upto her on a white horse. Ever since the death of her fianc, Gayatri who is a maanglik' chooses to dream and live in her dream because that is the only way she gets her happily ever after.
Gayatri may be the youngest daughter of the wealthiest man in the kingdom, but she has all the makings of a queen and since she is soon to become one it would be really interesting to see how it all plays out. Yes, Gayatri is simple, spirited, vivacious, with a child-like innocence but her sensible conversation with her father, the way she speaks the truth without any fear, voices her opinion against something wrong like when the soldiers barged into her home when the men of the house were absent or smartly writes to Ranaji about how he should encourage the women in his kingdom trying to be progressive when he asks about her license are few examples of how she is already a queen in the making. Perhaps a little polish and she will be the finest young queen Amerkot has ever seen but I doubt if that will happen. Attempted maybe - Yes, but Gayatri's charm, her positivity and her spirit are unique and I highly doubt if Ranaji will allow them to be tainted with fakery.
I doubt if there is anybody in the Kingdom of Amerkot who believes in Ranaji as Gayatri does. The Raja may not know all of his praja but this praja aka Gayatri has sketched him out too well. In the scene where she tells the librarian that their Ranaji is different from the other kings and cites the example of how the man himself joined the war while other sent their soldiers into battle. And the pre-climax scene in the last episode that aired this week when Gayatri gets to witness how noble and just their king is goes onto show that she has great depth in perception. She may have asked her niece and nephew momentarily to forget all the praises she said for Ranaji after he suggests that he should ban the driving license of every woman if they are planning to drive the way she does which was hilarious; but her opinion and regard for the man is deep-rooted and the smile on her face when she sees how concerned he was for that soldier who was unhappy even after getting an award for bravery and stumbles across their conversation where without thinking twice Ranaji promises to look into the matter and draw a solution for the welfare of his people speaks volumes of her admiration and her worshiping the man.
The first question that comes to your mind after seeing Seth Govind Das and his wife Damayanti is did such forward thinking people exist back then? Really they belong to the 40's era so in what era are we in now because the thinking of people now is as backwards as it can possibly be. Like every mother Gayatri's mother Damayanti essayed by Moon Banerjee; too worries for her daughter' future as she is still unmarried but unlike these days where such scenarios are blown out of proportion and basically ends with the girl child being cursed to hell and back one can help but express the joy as to how the makers chose to show this phase in Gayatri's life as anything but a curse. Damayanti not only loves her daughter but is also fiercely protective about her. Her agitation when the daughters-in-law of the law mistreat the daughter, her blatantly stating to Gayatri how she knows what's cooking in either of her-sister-in-law's mind etc shows that Damayanti truly goes by the saying daughters are priceless. Same goes for Seth Govind Das essayed by the veteran actor Darshad Jariwala he loves his daughter who he lovingly calls Chutkania' treats her like a princess and wouldn't even hesitate to get her the moon if she asks for it. When Gayatri's sister-in-law tries to make life difficult for Gayatri by recounting the almost accident she had we get to see a father who entertains the idea of getting his daughter a 6 horses carriage rather than fall for their words. The amount of love and affection Seth Govind Das and Damayanti shower on her youngest child, nonetheless a daughter who is manglik' in that period that comes as refreshing. She is not a burden for them, sure her mother is worried because she very knows that as of now Gayatri has taken solace in the world of dreams that her books provide her with and fears what would happen if that world shatters. But Gayatri's father is positive that everything will change, that there will come a day when Gayatri's goodness, her big, selfless heart and beautiful soul will get its due. Well couldn't agree more Seth Ji after all soon the Gayatri's beautiful world of dreams will become her biggest reality.
Overall the first week gave us a glimpse into the varied characters, their background, their outlook etc. The conflict of interests between Rajmata and Seth ji when it comes to royalty as power and money as power; and how the same is about to be turning point in the story of Ranaji and Gayatri. We came across Ranaji and Gayatri's past happenings, Gayatri's world of dreams and Ranaji's world of pain...Now all we have to do is wait for Kismat ki lakeerein' to change and brings out two individuals who are different yet similar to come together. A beautiful but maybe slightly painful tale is about to unfold but inspite of that one can say with absolute certainty that we have a Fairytale in the making
Each and every actor did a great job and was really good with their respective parts. There is good scope for the storyline to amaze and has all the qualities to be a top contender in the TRP race too. The makers who have put so much effort into making Ek Tha Raja Ek Thi Rani as authentic, commercially viable and unique as possible can be just have to be patient to allow their show to take root-flourish and not jump into the concerns of the TRP's race at this early stage and pour water on everything they have worked for. A little faith can go a long way; you have a story to tell, we are all ears!!!
Author : Vijitha Rajan
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