Prithviraj Chauhan-About the Show

The Show
Prithviraj Chauhan - Historic Epic Drama

Producer - Sagar Films

From the makers of the epic Ramayana and the more recent Hatim, after ten years of painstaking research, comes another period drama - Prithviraj Chauhan. Based primarily on Chand Bardai's Prithviraj Rasos, the Sagars present the story of this fascinating character for STAR Plus.

Prithviraj Chauhan is one of the most interesting and powerful characters of Indian history. His name is even today associated with the virtues of Rajput valour, chivalry and patriotism. His bravery on the battlefield was unmatched and he was known to be virtuous and principled until his death.

The "warrior king" as he was popularly known, was in love with his enemy's daughter-Sanyogita. He rode off with her on the day of her swayamvar before the watchful eye of her father.

His story highlights all the important aspects of life-duty, bravery, patriotism, friendship, family and romance.

The series will be divided into five phases, and will trace the life of Prithviraj right from his birth until his death. The series is set in the 11th century but will introduce a more modern look with respect to the treatment of the costumes, production design and language, while staying true to the original story. It will maintain a fine balance between the authentic and the contemporary.

Catch the story of one of India's immortal kings only on STAR Plus!

Characters
Anangpal - Ahmad Khan
Anangpal is the King of Delhi. He is the most powerful ruler of his time, loved and respected by all. He has 2 daughters Kamladevi and Roopsundari. He holds the great warriors Someshwar and Vijaypal in high esteem, and gladly gives his daughters in marriage to them. He is a considerate father and father-in-law. Unfortunately, he does not have an heir. This great King always tries to maintain friendly ties between Jaichand and Someshwar. Showing great foresight, he alerts them about the Yavan invaders and often helps the other rulers. An important historical figure, King Anangpal appears as a father figure in the story of Prithviraj.

Vijaypal - Milind Gunaji
Vijaypal, the King of Kannauj, is a great warrior. He is resolute, profound and sensible, yet he is a sensitive and loving person. In pancham veda "natyashaashtra" such a character is called "deeroddaatt nayak." He loves his wife Roopsundari and shares an ideal relationship with her. He cares for Someshwar and Kamladevi, the King and Queen of Ajmer and prays that they have an heir. He voluntarily joins Someshwar in war and assures Kamladevi that he'll bring her husband back safe. In an attempt to fulfill his promise, the brave King sacrifices himself. He asks Someshwar to vow to care for his son Jaichand when he is no more.

Roopsundari - Rajni Chandra
Roopsundari, the Queen of Kannauj, is the perfect match for Vijaypal. As the elder sister, she is stronger than Kamladevi and often provides emotional support to her younger sister. When she sadly loses her husband in the war, she refuses to commit Sati. With all the grace of a true Queen, she decides to live only for their son, Jaichand, and for the kingdom of Kannauj. She has the traditional saali-n-jeeja relationship with Someshvar. She is also confident of the relationship that her husband had developed with the Chauhan dynasty. She often suspects Jaimal's feelings for Ajmer, but is also convinced that they will have to depend on him and his experience, to handle the problems Kannauj might face. She realizes that although her son Jaichand has most of the characteristics of his father, he is still young, inexperienced and often overemotional.

Jaimal - Vishnu Sharma
Jaimal is actually the only antagonist in the story. This feeling of animosity arises because he feels that he was unjustifiably deprived of the throne of Kannauj and given the tiny State of Khokhandpur in its place. He is a shrewd man whose strong ambition makes him stay in Kannauj, far away from his own State of Khokhandpur. He doesn't budge from his goal even if he is insulted. Always plotting a conspiracy, he ruins Jaichand's life as a result of his bad advice. Changing colours like a chameleon, he stays true to his motto-"raajneeti kisi ki sagi nahi hoti." He is a sharp, astute man who doesn't hesitate to kill even his own man, Mahipat, who came between him and his ambition. He rests easy with the knowledge that he can't easily be thrown away from Kannauj.

Jaichand - Sanjay Singh
Jaichand is an extraordinarily courageous warrior who begins ruling Kannauj at the young age of 13. However, he is very stubborn and can be easily ill advised, especially by Jaimal. He loves Someshvar, Kamladevi and Prithvi very much, but Jaimal often poisons his ears. He sometimes guesses that Jaimal has some ill feeling about Ajmer but is unable to recognize the root of these feelings. Besides, he feels that giving the throne of Delhi to Prithviraj instead of him was an unjust decision.

Someshwar - Jas Arora
Someshwar is a great king and warrior. He is also a very religious man. He is a fighter, but he often gets caught in situations that create conflicts. He cares for Kamladevi, Prithvi, Vijaypal, Roopsundari and Jaichand. He is ready to die for his friend, Vijaypal, in the battlefield, but destiny decides otherwise. Someshwar supports his wife Kamladevi who is emotionally weaker than her sister, Roopsundari. He respects his father-in-law, Anangpal, never hesitating to fall at his feet and always at his service.

Kamladevi - Sunila Karambekar
The youngest daughter of King Anangpal, Kamladevi is a pampered child. She isn't as strong as her elder sister, Roopsundari and is an insecure woman. She feels guilty for she is unable to give an heir to the kingdom for ten years. She is however a god-fearing and a loving woman. Prithvi is the apple of her eye and she is very concerned for him. Her husband Someshwar too loves her very much. Roopsundari is a mother figure to her. She represents an Indian wife and mother capable of rising up to the situation.

Prithviraj - Angad Bedi
Prithviraj is born to his parents after 10 years of long prayer. Although he grows to be a very naughty boy, he is the sharpest of all the princes. He often surprises everyone by his profound thoughts on subjects beyond his young age. He loves his parents very much and also respects Jaichand, Nayantra and Anangpal. Everybody in turn, loves him. As a child, he is indeed the Balkrishna, and as he grows up, he reflects the different faces of Lord Krishna-Murlidhar, Chhaliya, Chakradhar. He and his friend Chander share an equation almost like that of Krishna & Sudama. In his youth, he defeats many enemies but always allows room for kshama or forgiveness. This shows that he never fights in anger or for personal gain, but only performs the duty of a king.

Sanyogita - Parivah
Sanyogita is the beautiful daughter of the King of Kannauj, Jaichand. She is a pampered and protected girl. Tales of her beauty had spread far. On hearing the tales of Prithviraj's valour and courage, she falls in love with him without even seeing him. Her love for him is so strong that she defies her beloved father's wishes and chooses to run away with him. On the day of her swayamwar, she refuses to choose any of the princes present and instead openly declares her love by garlanding Prithviraj's statute kept at the door by her father. Soon, Prithviraj himself appears and they elope. Their love story was immortalized through songs and poems.

Trivia
Prithviraj Chauhan is one enigmatic being who has a lot written about him, be it in history books, Amar Chitra Kathas, numerous websites, or just pure folklore passed down the ages in the form of stories, anecdotes and parables. It is but obvious that some of the stories are conflicting!

Here are some interesting facts about Prithviraj Chauhan….

His Family

- Anganpal, the King of Delhi had two daughters, Roopsundari and Kamaladevi.

- Roopsundari married Vijaypal, King of Kannauj. They had a son Jaichand. His daughter was the beautiful Sanyogita.

- Kamaladevi married Someshwar, the King of Ajmer. Prithviraj was their son, born after 10 years of marriage.

His Childhood

- At his guru Ram Purohit's gurukul, Prithviraj learnt shatra vidya (weaponry, armed combat), sahitya (literature), kala (arts) and rajniti shastra (politics). It was here that he was groomed to be the King of Ajmer.

- One day at the gurukul, young Prithviraj was attacked by a lion. Though caught unawares and unarmed, Prithviraj bravely fought the lion and killed it! Tales of his heroism spreading far & wide….

- Similarly, once Prithviraj and his friends were lost in the jungle. During the night, when they were resting, they were attacked by dacoits. With Prithviraj courageously leading the way, they managed to chase the dacoits away. Just another example of Prithviraj's cleverness!

- On the suggestion of Ram Purohit, Someshwar took Prithviraj to the Brahma temple in Pushkar where he was taught the art of "shabd bhedi baan chalana" i.e. using a bow and arrow to shoot without having to see the target, purely on the basis of sound).

- With the stories of Prithviraj's courage, valour and intelligence spreading far and wide, Anangpal the King of Delhi decided to adopt him. He announced Prithviraj Chauhan as his heir. Thus he was crowned prince of Delhi at the young age of 13 years.

His Battles with Ghori

- One of Prithviraj's major battles was fought against Ghori, the ruler of Afghanistan. Ghori had become very powerful. He had captured Ghazni and defeated the Governor of Punjab. His kingdom stretched up to the domains of Prithviraj Chauhan and a clash was inevitable.

- They first clashed during the first battle of Tarain-Prithviraj won the battle and took Ghori as a captive but he respectfully released him. Some say that Prithviraj actually pardoned him 16 times over 16 encounters.

- Desperate to avenge his defeat, Ghori attacked Prithviraj the next year, before sunrise. Prithviraj was unprepared, as Hindus didn't fight between sunset and sunrise. Through his deceit, Ghori captured him.

- In captivity, Prithviraj refused to lower his gaze before Ghori. Thus the angry Ghori burnt his eyes with red-hot iron rods and blinded him!

- The blind Prithviraj then took revenge on his enemy by shooting him during an archery competition thanks to his knowledge of shabd bhedi baan chalana. His friend Chand Bardai is said to have helped him with the help of the couplet:

Dus kadam aggey, beed kadam daey, baitha hai sultan. Ab mat chuko chauhan, chala do apna baan.

His Immortal Love

- During his reign, Prithviraj heard the court poet describe the unmatched beauty of a lady. Immensely impressed, he soon found out that the beauty described was Sanyogita, the daughter of the Jaichand, King of Kannauj. He disguised himself and went to see her.

- Meanwhile Sanyogita too had heard tales of Prithviraj's courage and valour and was smitten. When she finally saw an attractive painting of Prithviraj Chauhan, she knew in her heart that she would marry him. She met the King in disguise and they fell in love.

- Suspecting the relationship between the two of them, Jaichand decided to organize a swayamvar in all pomp and splendour for his daughter. He called many princes worthy of his daughter, from all across the country. However Prithviraj wasn't invited. Jaichand despised Prithviraj as the latter had been chosen by Anangpal to be the heir to the throne of Delhi.

- So as to humiliate Prithviraj, Jaichand erected his statue, dressed and bent as a dwaarpal at the gateway to the swayamvar. However, at the time of the swayamvar, Sanyogita passed all the eligible princes and finally garlanded Prithviraj's statue. At that moment, Prithviraj stepped out and whisked his beloved away! It is believed that after Sanyogita's haran, Prithviraj was presented with a special, magical bow and arrow.

Star Plus freshens up its weekend bouquet

With summers catching on, Star Plus is giving its viewers more reasons to stay home and chill their weekends, as it freshens up its weekend bouquet by launching the mega opulent historical series first time ever on Indian television - 'Dharti Ka Veer Yodha-Prithviraj Chauhan', starting May 12, 9.00 p.m., Friday to Sunday.

Sprucing the programming in its prestigious weekend space, Star Plus' weekend-retreat would be an affair to remember for the viewers, as the party begins with the channel's biggest costume drama at 9.00 p.m. from Friday to Sunday, - Dharti Ka Veer Yoddha - Prithviraj Chauhan; while the 9.30 p.m. & 10.00 p.m. slot will be lined-up by the popular weekend soap Baa Bahoo ur Baby and Shanno Ki Shaadi, respectively.

The 8.00 p.m. slot will also see some movement on Saturday & Sunday which will be reserved by the popular celebrity game show- Idea Presents Jodee Kamaal Ki on Saturday and the widely-watched fable Sai Baba on Sunday. Another truly 'cool' offer for the viewers would be the channel's new Bollywood blockbuster movie slot 'Plus Superhits' 12.00 noon every Sunday, which will feature the mega superhits ranging from Viruddh, Black, Main Hoon Naa...this summer. However from May 8 Miilee and Kavyanjali the channel prime-time offering will now be telecasted from Monday to Thursdays only.

You can't miss Prithviraj Chauhan Dharti Ka Vir Yodha
Trust Sagar brothers of Ramanand Sagar Productions to beat their own level of opulence and grandeur. While they mesmerised the kids in Hatim, they are now going to recreate an era from the past with their latest offering —Prithviraj Chauhan Dharti Ka Vir Yodha. A two palace-sets, symbolising Ajmer and Kanauj palaces, have been built in Baroda.

To recreate the magic of ancient times an artificial lake and a desert have also been created. Around 200 workers have laboured to build those palaces. Artists from Rajasthan have created the miniature paintings. Hope the script and the screenplay are equally colourful as the sets.

Album on Prithviraj Chauhan launched




In a bid to promote its biggest historical series yet, Star Plus has launched the music album of the forthcoming serial Dharti Ka Veer Yodha – Prithviraj Chauhan.

The album, which has artistes like Roop Kumar Rathode, Sadhna Sargam, Udit Narayan, Shreya Ghosal, Babul Supriyo and Suresh Wadekar lending their voice to six tracks written and composed by Ravindra Jain, will hit the market on June 2.

Prithviraj Chauhan to hit television

Spin legend Bishen Singh Bedi and his wife could barely control their emotion as their son Angad strode majestically into New Delhi's Oberoi hotel on Tuesday. He was dressed for his lead role in the television series on the 12th century Rajput king Prithviraj Chauhan. "Our good wishes are with him and we hope he succeeds as he is putting in a lot of hard work in an unknown field," Bedi told rediff.com. "When I was offered this role a year ago," said Angad, "I discussed it with my family before agreeing to do it. It means a lot of hard work of course, but I am sure I will succeed." The young man initially wanted to play cricket like his dad, but his efforts on that front didn't pay off.

Angad as Prithviraj Chauhan and Parivah as Rani Sanyogita during a press conference to launch the serial Dharti Ka Veer Yodha - Prithviraj Chauhan in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Prithviraj Chauhan ascended to the throne when he was just 13. He was fascinated by the beauty of Sanyogita, the daughter of the king of Kannauj, and whisked her away from her swayamwar, an act of derring-do celebrated through the ages.

In the 12th century, when Hindustan came under attack from Arab and Turkish invaders, Prithviraj Chauhan rose to power as the Rajput kings united under him to fight off an invasion by Mohammad Ghori.

Commending the efforts of the late Ramanand Sagar?s family -- the people behind the serial -- Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat asked them to consider making serials on other powerful personalities in Indian history like Rana Pratap and Chhattrapati Shivaji.

It will trace the life of the great king from birth to death," Prem Sagar told rediff.com. "The scale of the show is immense as it captures not just the nuances of his love for Sanyogita but the ferocity of his battles with Mohammad Ghori as well. It is being directed by the young duo of Shakti and Amrit Sagar."

A lot of hard work has gone into designing the costumes for each character. Credit for this goes to Nisha Sagar and Neerushaa, both of whom spent months doing research, visiting places associated with Prithviraj Chauhan and reading books on the era.

"We divided our work into two parts," said Nisha Sagar, "I was doing the costumes for the main characters. I spent hours, sometimes days, going into details of each costume. I looked for pearls and precious stones. We have a huge budget for costumes."

Although the other stars were also present, it was Angad Bedi who held the attention of the media.

"I am tall and have the additional advantage of a tough body," he said with a smile, as he hugged his grandmother and planted a kiss on her forehead.

Dharti Ka Veer Yodha - Prithviraj Chauhan hits Star Plus on May 12
9 pm, Friday to Sunday

Star Plus launches 'Prithviraj Chauhan' music album


Mumbai, May 25 , 2006: To give the viewers entertainment galore, just after the launch of its biggest historical series STAR PLUS draws out another offering with the launch of the music album of its mega opulent series Dharti Ka Veer Yodha-Prithviraj Chauhan...A Times Music & Sagar Arts presentation, the music album is titled after the show Dharti Ka Veer Yodha- Prithviraj Chauhan, which is a unique collection of seven exclusive tracks releasing on June 2nd.
Said Ajay Vidyasagar, Executive Vice President, STAR India, "What could be a better way of extending our brand experience, taking it from visual to an audio experience. So, we are back with yet another music launch - 'Dharti Ka Veer Yodha-Prithviraj Chauhan'. After the success of the Nach Baliye, Remix and STAR Parivaar Awards albums, we are sure that this new launch will be one of the major milestones for extensions of STAR's Entertainment properties and the music category.

With a range of soulful music the seven tracks of the album: Oh Vidhaata, Raj Dulare So Jaa, Uttradhikari, Sunn Re Megha, Jai Bholenath, Mitti and Dharti Ka Veer Yodha-Prithviraj Chauhan, are all penned by the applauded & veteran lyricist Ravindra Jain, who is also the music director of the album. The songs are adorned by the country's most acclaimed playback voices like - Roop Kumar Rathode, Sadhna Sargam, Udit Narayan, Shreya Ghosal, Babul Supriyo & Suresh Wadekar to name a few. However the music for the title track is given by Gaurav Issar and the lyrics are penned by Dr. Sohan Sharma.

So stay tuned to the biggest historical saga on television every Fri-Sun, 9.00 p.m. only on STAR PLUS! As itsbrings music to your ears too...Dharti Ka Veer Yodha-Prithviraj Chauhan - cassettes & CD's available at all the Times music outlets for Rs.195/- only.

The Rajput warrior

The makers of mega-hits like Ramayan, Shri Krishna and Vikram aur Betaal, Sagar Arts Production, are back with the release of their new historical series Prithviraj Chauhan-Dharti Ka Veer Yoddha, which will begin on Star Plus from May 12.

The series, which will be aired from Friday to Sunday 9 to 9.30 pm, will trace the life and times of Prithviraj Chauhan, a Rajput warrior.

The story, set in the 11th century, has been shot in Baroda. Directed by Shakti Sagar, the cast includes Jas Arora, Milind Gunaji, Angad Bedi, Parivah and Nirmal Pandey.


Contributed by:anishma24

Album on Prithviraj Chauhan launched


New Delhi, DHNS:




In a bid to promote its biggest historical series yet, Star Plus has launched the music album of the forthcoming serial Dharti Ka Veer Yodha – Prithviraj Chauhan.

The album, which has artistes like Roop Kumar Rathode, Sadhna Sargam, Udit Narayan, Shreya Ghosal, Babul Supriyo and Suresh Wadekar lending their voice to six tracks written and composed by Ravindra Jain, will hit the market on June 2.


Contributed by:anishma24