Archive for the ‘History’ Category
Ek Veer Stree Ki Kahani…Jhansi Ki Rani – on Zee TV
On February 21, 2010 in Action, Character, Drama, Hindi Serial, History, Jhansi Ki Rani, Marriage, Zee
Historicals are very difficult to pull through given the fact that the audience already has a definite opinion of the story one is about to narrate. It is almost next to impossible to carry out an interpretation that will closely fit into the collective imagination of the person or the period. Ek Veer Stree Ki Kahani…Jhansi Ki Rani, is Zee TV’s attempt to capture the essence of a woman who is revered and much adored till date in India. Indeed Laxmi Bai, the Rani of Jhansi is for many India’s Joan of Arc-the brave lady who fought the oppressive British rule and took part in our very first Freedom movement.
It must be said that the channel, the producers of the show and the different creative heads by deciding on this particular historical figure took on a huge risk. The charisma of Jhani ki Rani is such that she is known through the length and breadth of the country. To capture the essence of such a dynamic and much loved character required a tremendous amount of guts and skill. To the credit of the entire team of the show, they have pulled it off. In fact it can even be said that their interpretation of Laxmi Bai has helped to strengthen the aura around her. The makers of the show have put more focus on characterisation than on the setting or on costumes. They have tried to delve into the psyche of this young girl/woman who rose above her ordained position to carve out a name for herself in history.
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Chittod Ki Rani Padmini Ka Johur – Historical Saga on Sony TV
On July 18, 2009 in Action, Character, Chittod Ki Rani Padmini, Drama, Family, Hindi Serial, History, Marriage, Romance, Royal, Sony, TV, Video
From time to time, the channels make shows that deal with historical figures, such as serials on Rani Jhansi, Prithviraj Chauhan; as a part of this, there are also shows with a religious fervor such as the serials on Sai Baba. The story of Rani Padmini, and her Jauhar (self sacrifice in a fire) rather than be dishonored by Alauddin Khilji (the Sultan of Delhi) is a part of the history of India, and the tales of her beauty and valor are incredible. So, the serial takes the story of her life (read an article on Wikipedia about her story). The few reactions that I have got from people about the serial (not too many people continue to see the serial after some time) are that they expected more drama, and that the serial seemed to have very colorful costumes, but was lacking in something.
Movie: Jodhaa Akbar – can watch !
On February 23, 2008 in Bollywood, Character, History, Romance
I will state this right at the beginning, Jodhaa Akbar is a watchable movie. Keep in mind however that the movie started at 5:25 PM and I walked out of the hall at 9:10 PM, so this is a long movie. On the plus side, whenever I start getting bored in a movie, I keep on looking at my watch or fidgeting, and I did not do much of that, so the time did get spent (I can recall some movies that seemed to go on and on). Quite frankly, when I walked into the hall, I was not expecting anything great (maybe even bad), but the movie turned out better that I thought.
Leave aside the story of whether Jodha was married to Akbar or not (more for historians), and forget about learning much of a history lesson from this movie. For all the talk about having been made after much discussion with historians, I did not come away from the movie having learned something new. I did feel that Aishwarya Rai was okay in this movie (she always looks beautiful, but the debate has always been about her acting abilities, and she seemed to have done nicely in this department in the movie). Hrithik seemed a bit young for the role (maybe too much of watching Mughal-e-Azaam where you have developed an image of a wise and old Akbar), and to a lot of people, the concept of Hrithik playing Akbar seems a bit incredulous. I however was easily able to rationalize this, after all Akbar was young once, and must have been impulsive, emotional, and so on, and Hrithik managed to convey these emotions well.
Dharti Ka Veer Yodha Prithviraj Chauhan on Star Plus
On December 13, 2007 in Action, Character, Drama, Hindi Serial, History, Power, Romance, Star Plus, TV, Video
Prithviraj Chauhan is a well remembered figure in Indian history. The most common stories around his revolve around these concepts:
- He was most likely the last Hindu king of Delhi, and after him, the Sultans took over
- He married a princess called Sanyogita, who was the daughter of his arch rival. He was not allowed to come to her swayamvar, and in fact, his statue was placed outside the hall. She garlanded the statue and he came and whisked her away in front of her father
- He defeated the invader, Mohammed of Ghori, and let him go; but in the next battle, he was defeated and taken prisoner. He finally killed Mohammed in captivity, when even though blind, he was able to locate the sound of Mohammed and shoot with an arrow
You can read more about Prithviraj Chauhan at this Wikipedia entry.
