Saraswatichandra -First Review

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It was all there. Huge poignant sets, larger than life characters, strong performances, good background score BUT ……there was something still missing. Don't you agree?

On February 25, 2013 at 7:30 pm, I was all glued to channel Star Plus on my television set desperately waiting to witness the launch of a phenomenon called Saraswatichandra. The show had created a lot of buzz right from the word GO. The audiences were already captivated by the promos of the show and were eagerly waiting to be a part of this grand and extravagant experience. So much so that the facebook page for Saraswatichandra(https://www.facebook.com/Starplus.Saraswatichandra) which was unveiled on February 1, 2013, reached 30,000 likes on February 25, 2013 even before the first episode was premiered. Well, Star Plus gets another reason to impress this date in its timeline.

An unusual show with an unusual fan following had an unusual opening as well. The show smoothly transited from its predecessor show without any title track or title print (shown at the beginning of the show and post commercials). We had already seen the party segment on special Valentine day premiere of the show. Further we were acquainted to the not-so-subtle stepmother's plans for Saraswatichandra (Gautam Rode) and his father's tough decision to pull him back into the real world. Wedding Bells rang and we were introduced to the leading lady, a strong and daring Kumud (Jeniffer Winget).

Overall, the first episode was all about introducing the key characters and their attributes to the audience. The sets were elaborate, though they had a striking resemblance to Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Sanjay Leela Bhansali's filmi tadka was pretty evident in the show like both male and female lead introductory scene in water, Saras being compared to serenity of moon while we see him first basking in the glory of sun, Kumud being compared to radiance of sun while we see her first in silent tranquility of moon.

Character sketching is flawless and so is the casting. None of the characters looked out of the place except for Monica Bedi. She lacked the charisma to keep the audience captivated with her performance. Chetan Pandit was at his usual best. Jeniffer Winget looked drop-dead gorgeous as Kumud and Gautam Rode exhibited the charm to die for. It will be intriguing to see them share the same screen space in coming episodes.

So, what was missing then? Why can't we give a perfect 10 to Mr. Bhansali for his premiere? Well, Sanjay Leela Bhansali's signature style and grandeur was missing in the first episode. There was no magical romance in the air unlike Bhansali's movies. There was too much of information jammed in to the premier. My first reaction to the show wassirf trailer hi dikha, picture toh baaki rah gayi. There were innumerous segments when one felt being taken back to Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Devdas which was a little disturbing (recap without ShahRukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan orAjay Devgan).

Well, it will be interesting to watch if the grandeur, the performances and Sanjay Leela Bhansali's tag enchants us to appreciate the show overlooking the same clichd script in making and set new benchmarks in TRP just like his movies. For this all you need to do is keep watching and tell us your views/ comments/ suggestions on Twitter-idduba and set reminders for your favorite shows on idubba app..