There is a new Vishkanya circling town and she is all set for her mission which is to kill the most powerful man in Magadh. Yes, we are talking about none other than Samrat Chandragupta Maurya whose life is expected to be in grave danger thanks to a living breathing venomous girl aka Vishkanya.
The promo for the same is already out and Pooja Banerjee of Swim Team and Naagarjuna fame will be seen essaying the infamous role.
Ek Vish'esh udheshya se aayi hoon main
Chandra ko nikat laa kar, mukt kar doongi unhe
Saari chintaaon se
Vish'waas karo mera
Yeh kaun aa raha hai Vish' gholne Chandra Nandini ke jeevan mein?
The promo which uses Vish' a lot and in a rather tacky way to emphasize on the arrival of the Vish'kanya shows her walking the palace grounds, kissing a poisonous snake and even promising to relieve Chandra from all his woes and worries by getting close to him.
While the promo does not give out much except the arrival of another being or in this case supernatural being' wanting Chandra's death; I can't help but wonder if Ekta is borrowing a chapter from her own successful show Jodha Akbar to boost the not so impressive TRP's of Chandra Nandini? Chandra Nandini is nowhere in the Top 10 or near the Top 15 list, and considering the fact that this is Ekta's most ambitious and costliest project till date the producer sure does have a lot riding on the success of the show. Therefore it wouldn't be too shocking if the Czarina of Indian Telly did indeed borrow a chapter from her most successful historical project till date.
Jodha Akbar fans know very well the chapter I am referring to, and for the uninitiated here goes. Ekta's last historical show the very popular and loved Jodha Akbar starring Rajat Tokas and Paridhi Sharma too had a Vishkanya Track' which turned out to be a roaring success. The Vishkanya in the show - Benazir, was portrayed by the sultry Meghna Naidu; was a gift to Jalal from his foster mother Maham Anga. Jalal was annoyed with Jodha because he believed that she insulted him (Thanks to Maham Anga) and in an attempt to make her jealous and put her down before all, he made use of Benazir. Benazir's presence in Jalal's life and the attention he showered upon her made Jodha highly uncomfortable, even though the she was yet to fall in love and the royal couples' love-story hadn't kick started. However because Jalal was an emperor and could do whatever he wanted, Jodha didn't have the right or power to go against her husband. But, when Jodha finds out that Benazir is a Vishkanya who was sent by Jalal's enemy Abu Mali to kill the Shehenshah the entire track changed course. It became one of the most intriguing and exciting tracks to unfold on the show as everyone wanted to know how Jodha would save Jalal from Benazir's attempts to poison him, especially when Jalal wasn't ready to pay attention to anything that Jodha said with regard to Benazir. Jodha tries to expose Benazir's truth several times but fails. Finally the track reaches a point where Benazir's marriage is fixed with Jalal in order to save her respect and life (All thanks to various unwilling players who didn't know they were pawns in a much bigger game).
During the Nikah ceremony Benazir once again makes an attempt on Jalal's life; where she poisons the sweet dish that is to be consumed by the to be husband and wife, by drinking it first and then passing it on to Jalal. On understanding Benazir's plan, Jodha jumps right in a takes the bowl from Jalal and consumes the poisoned sweet herself fulfilling her responsibility as a wife who has promised to protect her husband from every evil. The poison takes effect and Jodha collapses while Jalal and the rest of the family looks in disbelief as every accusation Jodha made against Benazir turns out to be true.
The track comes to a successful end, with what I believe to be one of the most beautiful Jodha-Jalal moments ever on the show. As a guilty Jalal looks at Jodha reminiscing her every word the royal physician announces that Jodha's life is slipping away, not because of the lack of medicines and prayers, but because she has given up fighting for life. Viewers are then transported to what looks like a transition state between life and death where Jodha who is minutes away from embracing death is stopped by Jalal and his love confession. The emperor bares his heart before the only woman who managed to make his stone heart beat with life and love and Jodha is left with no option but to come back to life, back to Jalal.
The track which started in mid December 2013 lasted for more than a month and half saw the shows' ratings soar high on the TRP chart all thanks to the brilliant writing of the writing team, exceptional acting of the actors especially Rajat and Paridhi, and the flawless execution of the director and creative crew. If my memory serves me right, I believe Jodha Akbar even topped the charts and became numero uno show with a stellar rating of 6.6 during the Benazir-Jalal Nikah' week which was high on drama, leaving the otherwise topper Diya aur Baati Hum behind.
With the upcoming new track in Chandra Nandini where we will witness a Vishkanya trying to kill Chandra, one can't help but wonder if the track will be a direct rip off of the original Balaji show aka Jodha Akbar or will it be a remodeled version of the same? So will this Vishkanya be sent my Chandra's arch enemy aka Padmanand? Will Nandini learn the truth about the reality of the Vishkanya and try to warn Chandra while the latter taunts and rubbishes her concerns? Will Nandini eventually sacrifice her life for Chandra to prove the truth? And will this be how Chandra realizes Nandini's innocence even in the Dhurdhara matter? Will it take Nandini away from Chandra only to bring her back?
Or will Ekta and her team deliver a better and more creatively superior Vishkanya Track'??
Regardless of whether Ekta and her team adopts the same tricks they used in Jodha Akbar (After all it's their own writing), the trick lies in the masterful execution of the same. We've had many shows that nick Bollywood scenes, dialogues, actions and repeat them; even Chandra Nandini nicked off scenes especially an ionic one from India's biggest film till date- Baahubali. Suffice to say one can repeat scenes, whole tracks but if conceptualized and executed in the right way then even the rip off versions can click with the audience.
While it is yet to be seen how the Vishkanya track will unfold in Chandra Nadnini, one thing is certain this track will bring Nandini and Chandra closer than before. Just wait and watch for the magic to unfold *wink*
Author: Vijitha Rajan
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