TOI: Rajasthan backdrop for lovestories-RangRasiya

Are you a sucker for love stories? Do you like a dose of telly romance in the evenings before retiring for the day? If so, then the coming weeks might find you glued to to your television sets, as an interesting bouquet of romantic sagas such as has hit the small screen. Not only that, it looks like Rajasthan is a super backdrop for such stories, for two of the big soaps - Rang Rasiyaand Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya are set in Rajasthan.

Last year, television was inundated with mythological and historical shows, but recently TV channels have started showing a revived interest in airing love stories.

Rang Rasiya, set in Rajasthan, and shot in some of the breathtakingdesert locations, it is the love story of a village girl and a paramilitary officer. The two meet under tragic circumstances and initially, they hate each other, but as the story will progress, they will fall in love. As Ashish Sharma, the lead actor, also from Jaipur, had told us, "Rajasthan is an integral part of the narrative. The whole conflict happens across the border. It's a love story of Rudra and Parvati. The way serial has been conceptualized, written and shot, and most importantly the locations, it will definitely set up a new era for television shows." Yet another Rajasthan based romantic serial is Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya, which is set right here in Jaipur. It is about a girl and her views on love and romance, and this serial will see the experience of falling in love being explored. Shot in parts of Mandore Garden, Mehrangarh Fort and other parts of Jodhpur and Jaipur, Rajan Shahi, producer, had told us then that, "We shot some portions in Jaipur for two days, then we did a few sequences in Jodhpur, and market scenes with the Mehrangarh Fort in the backdrop. This show is set in Jaipur, but we needed to keep the feel universal, and Rajasthan has helped us achieve that."

There's also Beintehaa, the love story of Aaliya and Zain. It is about finding your soulmate in a place that you would have never imagined. The two have a love-hate relationship, but they end up marrying each other. Then there's Doli Armaano Ki. The story of a girl's arranged marriage, and her dreams and expectations from her husband who is an antithesis of her ideal man.With all this, looks like Rajasthan is a hot location when it comes to shooting romantic serials.