Mood swings of Ratan Rajput, heroine of Agle Janam Mohe Bitiyan Hi Kijo on Zee TV

“Ratan doesn’t know how to switch off!!!” – Rupa Ganguly
According to senior artists on the sets, Ratan Rajpot though a fine actor, cannot really handle pressures of her character of Laali due to her young age. Since Ratan’s character involves a lot of suffering and depression, she stays with the same mood even after the camera goes off coz of which she is found cranky and cribbing most of the times. Sometimes she doesn’t even interact with the co-actors and locks herself in the makeup room. In her depression, she misses her family and starts crying. While a lot of times, co-stars act supportive towards her, sometimes they find her mood-swings unbearable.




Ratan says, “Though it’s only in reel life, it’s very difficult to let people trample all over you. I am treated very badly in show as Loha Singh uses foul language while talking to me and the women mistreat me as I belong to lower caste. I start imagining an actual life of this kind and the sufferings that poor people go through and that the reason I am not my chirpy-self on the sets.”

Ratan Regrets Missing Out on Personal Life…
Unlike most of our stars who enjoy the attention and glamour that the showbiz offers, Ratan Rajput, Laali, of Zee TV’s, Agle Janam Mohe Bitiyan Hi Kijo, says that she regrets missing out on her personal life. According to Ratan, “Though the industry has given me lot of fame and good amount of savings, I sometimes crave for simple things in life. I am in the industry because I love acting and not only for the materialistic things that it offers. I wish I could make weekend plans with my freinds or catch a movie or a walk on the beach whenever I feel like. What I miss the most is the roadside chaat. She also admits that due to ungodly hours of the shoot, it becomes difficult for her to connect to her family members and talk to them on a regular basis.”

Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo Title Track



Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo August 3, 2009



Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo August 4, 2009

Kahani Hamaray Mahabharat Ki on 9X

When it became known that Ekta Kapoor was going to be making her own version of the Mahabharat on 9X, there was a lot of fear that with her concept of entertainment, TRP's, and popularity being pegged to things such as the drama of saas-bahu serials, abrupt screen transitions, plastic surgery, and so on, this will be a Mahabharat that will remove the positive memories of the BR Chopra version. And now the serial is on air, having been launched on July 7, 2008, and appearing on 9X at 9 PM on weekdays.
The serial started out with depicting the episode of 'Draupadi Vastraharan', and this one did not go down too well. There was a lot of screaming by Anita Hassandani (playing the role of Draupadi), and one could actually see her using the full level of her voice while exhorting the Pandavas to take action to save her, while also screaming at the Kauravas. Over a period of time, the serial has started to reveal its cast, and the cast is essentially all the regulars of her serial (so far, no major new faces).



The costumes are very different from that of the original Mahabharat serial, more in the nature of costumes that would be there from the Indo-Greek fights shown in the 'Bharat Ek Khoj' serial. There is less of an emphasis on color (as in the original), and more of a focus on tight skin, functional costumes, a slightly darker hue, and tattoos. Acting is okay for the episodes that one is now seeing, although the initial reaction was one of shock.
Some of the traditional TV artists that one can see in the serial are / were Kiran Karmakar (Shantanu), Makrand Deshpande (Ved Vyasa), Rakshanda Khan (Amba), Chetan Hansraj (Bheem), Saakshi Talwar (Ganga), Ronit Roy (Bheeshma), and so on, all people from the various saas-bahu serials.

Link to Youtube videos on the serial (link)

The promise made by Bheeshm

Doordarshan Nostalgia: Hum Log (1984)

Hum Log was the show that started it all, the craze for serials. Doordarshan was the only channel in India, and people were slowly moving towards the concept of watching television for entertainment. And it was Hum Log that started it all. Starting on July 7, 1984, the show became widely popular. Written by the famous writer Manohar Shyam Joshi (who also wrote Buniyaad), the serial took the life of a family who could be any other family, a family that a large number of people could identify with.
The serial could seem a bit boring to kids, but was very engrossing to adults. It was also different in the sense that till then, most serials had to end in 13 episodes, and Hum Log was the first one that went way beyond 13 episodes.
The serial also had a very popular actor, Dada muni Ashok Kumar who would appear at the end of the episode and summarize the serial as well as give a brief speech. He became extremely popular, and received a large number of letters on a daily basis. And the irony was that he was supposed to do this only for the first 10 episodes or so, but the success made this happen for the length of the serial.
The story of Hum Log revolved around the everyday life of a north Indian lower middle class family, with each episode focusing on the triumphs and tribulations of one or more of the central cast members. The serial took everyday conflicts and tensions in relationships between parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, siblings and cousins as the basis of each story, and also incorporated a fair amount of elements such as nationalist issues and patriotic pride, family planning, gender relations and communal harmony. All these also became central to the definition of Hum Log as the story of an 'Indian' family.
The following were the main characters of the serial:
* Basesar Ram: was the father and was an alcoholic. Played by Vinod Nagpal
* Bhagwanti: The mother was a housewife and used to sleep in her kitchen itself. Played by Jayshri Arora who was also seen later in Chandrakanta.
* Lallu (Lalit Prasad): The eldest son, unemployed and looking for a job. Played by Rajesh Puri
* Nanhe: The younger son. Played by Abhinav Chaturvedi
* Badki: The eldest daughter, Played by Seema Bhargava
* Majhli: The second daughter, Played by Divya Seth
* Chutki: The youngest daughter. Played by Loveleen Mishra
* Dadaji: Retired teacher and the grandfather, Played by Lahiri singh
* Dadi: Grandmother, played by Sushma Seth

Buniyaad - Nostalgia times

After 'Hum Log' sort of opened the era of long-running serials on Indian television, making Doordarshan much more entertaining, it was the turn of another long running serial to try and captivate users. Buniyaad, from the Sippy house, was the next major running serial to capture viewers on Doordarshan. The serial started in 1987 and ran through 1988. The serial, however, will not ring in memories for a large number of TV viewers of today, given that it first appeared more than 19 years back.
The serial was directed by Ramesh Sippy, and was written by Manohar Shyam Joshi, and let to him becoming much more popular (he was already popular through being the writer of the serial Hum Log as well). The serial had the presence of Dadamoni Ashok Kumar who anchored the show without actually playing a part in the serial. The serial starred a number of characters who became very popular:

Alok Nath - Master Haveliram: The simple and unassuming teacher, he formed the backbone of the serial
Anita Kanwar - Lajoji: The simple wife of Master Haveliram, she was his student, but soon they realized that they shared a strong bond
Dalip Tahil - Master Haveliram's elder son: Dalip Tahil has probably had the biggest movie career out of the entire cast of the serial
Soni Rajdan - Sulochana: Master Haveliram's elder daughter-in-law
Kiran Juneja - Veeravali: Haveliram's sister. Kiran Juneja became very famous after the serial. As a side note, she also married the director Ramesh Sippy.
Vijayendra Ghatge - Vrushbhan: Veeravali's love interest
Kanwaljit Singh - Satbir: Vrushbhan's illegitimate son. Kanwaljit went onto act in many other hindi serials such as Saans, Family No. 1, Dard and Siski
Abhinav Chaturvedi - Jay: Vrushbhan's legitimate son
Krutika Desai - Mangla: Jay's wife and love interest of Satbir. This was a nice challenging role for her in terms of maintaining her relationship with her husband Jay, as well as maintaining a friendship with Satbir.

Buniyaad has a special attraction for the older generation because of the capturing of a number of emotions related to partition. The serial is based around the family of Master Haveliram (a dedicated teacher) and his wife Lajoji. They have a beautiful family with 3 sons and a daughter, and when everything seems great, the disaster of partition strikes.
They are now refugees in India, having lost all their material possessions, and have to make a life for themselves now. The serial is about this life, about the refugee camp and the rise in life while trying to maintain their principles in life.

Doordarshan Nostalgia: Mythology - Ramayana

The Ramayana is the most popular and holy epics in Hinduism, the story of the God who came to Earth and lived among humans in the form of a human, and who is now worshiped as epitomizing the ideals of the ideal man, in thought and action. In the 80's, as society developed, people were slowly moving away from religion and faith. TV was developing as a new media that would provide information and entertainment. And then came the serial written and directed by Ramanand Sagar called 'Ramayan' (with 78 episodes).



The serial took the epic and presented in a dramatized form. It started coming on Doordarshan Sunday Morning at 9:30 AM from January 1987 to July End 1988. India had never seen something like this serial. It ignited the religious thought in people like nothing that had been seen. Television in India was not so common then, and yet, people found a set somewhere to watch. If a neighbour had a TV, you would go there to watch, or go over to a relative's place. In smaller towns or villages, a single set would have a large number of people watching the single set.
The effect was apparent. Roads would be empty when the serial came, and woe betide a electricity board office if the light would go off; people would gather and raise slogans and threaten. At one time, it set a record for the world's most watched mythological serial. In addition, it opened the floodgates for more mythological and historical serials after that.
The serial took the whole story of the Ramayana from before the birth of the God Rama and all the way till the story of how he re-discovered his sons, Luv and Kush when they had grown up to be child warriors. This was covered through an extension of the serial called 'Uttar Ramayan', created on public demand. The serial brought about a much greater understanding of the epic in a way that no amount of reading would have brought about, and also served to highlight the values and culture embedded in the epic.
The serial also made celebrities of the main actors, who were revered as godly figures (except for Dara Singh (played the role of Hanuman) who was already famous)
* Arun Govil as Ram
* Deepika as Sita
* Sunil Lahri as Lakshman
* Arvind Trivedi as Ravan
* Vijay Arora as Indrajit
* Sameer Rajda as Shatrughna
* Mulraj Rajda as Janak
* Lalita Pawar as Manthara

Watch Videos from Ramayan on Youtube

Nostalgia: Hum Paanch

It has been said again and again that serials that have run well once before do not so well in their second innings. Many times, a serial has been very well-received earlier, and then years later, the serial makers come out with a desire to run the serial again, hoping that it will reach the same level of popularity. That is an event that does not happen, in almost all cases, the serial being introduced again does not work that well, and gets eventually withdrawn. Example of such serials are Karamchand, Hum Paanch, and a few others. There are many reasons for this, such as the choice set being limited when the serial first started appearing, but now choices are much greater. Further, why a serial becomes a hit is not exactly a well-defined science, and just because it was a hit earlier does not mean that the serial will still be a hit.
Hum Paanch started appearing on Zee TV in 1995 and ran for a couple of years, and was well appreciated. The story of a father with 5 daughters, each of them a specimen of a different kind, would make for each episode to have a new story. And to make things even more interesting, there is the photograph of the dead first wife hanging on the wall that speaks to him and only to him. No else knows about the conversation that he has with the photograph, although his second wife is very suspicious. Although the serial was a different sort of comedy, it could produce a lot of laughs when dealing with the normal travails of a middle-class family. The serial was one of the first made by the Ekta Kapoor-run Balaji Telefilms before it started specializing in saas-bahu serials.
Who were the principal characters ? Ashok Saraf plays the role of the struggling father Anand Mathur, who has a mind of his own, but it does not work much when against his daughters intentions. Priya Tendulkar played the role of his dead first wife who only speaks through her photograph. His daughters are:
- Meenakshi: The eldest, played by Vandana Pathak. She plays the role of a feminist and presents that outlook in her actions and statements.
- Radhika: The second eldest, Radhika was played by multiple people including Vidya Balan for a short while, Amita Nangia played the main part of the role.
- Sweety: The third daughter, Sweety was fascinated by Bollywood heroes and dreamed all the time about marrying them. Sweety was played by Rakhee Tandon.
- Kajal: The second youngest, she was the only who was the closest to a son. Playing a tomboy and speaking all the time about bhai-log, her presence on the serial made a huge difference. Her role was played by Bhairavi Raichura. If you needed to threaten or bully someone, then she would be the one to do so.
- Chhoti: The youngest. She would love to gossip and the role was played by Priyanka Mehra.
The role of the second wife, Bina Mathur was played by Shoma Anand; she would always side with her daughters even when Anand Mathur was fed up with something done by his daughters.
The serial was re-introduced in 2005 and was finally taken off in 2006. It never did catch on much in the second run.

Doordarshan Nostalgia: Epic Serial - Mahabharat

After the success of Ramanand Sagar's Ramayana, it was the turn of the other great epic of India, The Mahabharat to be brought to television viewers. The series was produced by B.R.Chopra and directed by his son, Ravi Chopra. It was a spectacular success, maybe the most popular serial ever in terms of dedicated viewing. The serial had 94 episodes and ran for a length of 45 minutes for each episode, appearing on Doordarshan between 1988 and 1990. For people who know the Mahabharat as a great epic that also incorporates the Gita, the spiritual guide to all Hindus, it was as if the epic had come to life.
For many, the Mahabharat was a story that was not supposed to be kept in the house, and a story that they could relate to only with context to having read in their childhood as an 'Amar Chitra Katha' comic. Seeing it in life and blood, with real life characters was an incredible experience, and kept the immense crowds watching the serial. If you did not have a TV, then you would go to the neighbor's house to watch the serial. If you wandered out, the roads would have much less traffic than you would expect.
If you watch the serial now, having watched much more slick serials, you might think that the serial was a bit crude in terms of sound and shooting quality, but my recollection of the serial (including re-runs that happen from time to time) was that of a fast paced serial combining some good acting of these-larger-than-life characters with the weaknesses and human failings that they had. It was essentially a serial that conveyed a deep sense of what The Mahabharat was all about, the depth of human emotions such as loyalty, love, bonding, jealousy, hatred, envy, and bitterness.
Starting with the fore-fathers of the Pandavas and Kauravas and the twists and turns in their life, along with the life of that incredibly complex character known as Bheeshma; and the life and machinations of Krishna, the Supreme Being who knows what good and evil is all about, but prefers to let people do what they are doing rather than trying to make major changes, and the titanic clash between good and evil in the end that forces people to use loyalty rather than good vs evil; and one of the most doomed characters of the epic, Karna, who was steadfastly loyal out of gratitude even though he knew that he was going to be fighting against his kinsmen and against the good side; the serial presented all these in enough detail. There are few major acts of the epic that were missed out.
The serial made stars out of a number of people such as Harish Bhimani who essayed the voiceover of Samay (time), Mukesh Khanna as Bheeshma, Nitish Bharadwaj as Lord Krishna, Girja Shankar as Dhritrashtra, Puneet Issar as Duryodhana, Pankaj Dhir as Karna and Gufi Paintal as Shakuni. For more cast members, refer to this link.

Here are some video scenes from the Mahabharata serial:

Opening sequence of Mahabharat



All the major characters who are involved in the war

Doordarshan Nostalgia: Nukkad: Streetlife

There are times when you get reminded of serials that one watched a long time ago, at a time when Doordarshan was the only channel in town and the only entertainment that you got on TV were the serials and Chitrahaar that Doordarshan would dish out.
One such very popular serial of the Doordarshan time was called 'Nukkad'. What does Nukkad mean ? It literally means the neighborhood, and was all about the characters who would live in the neighborhood or a locality (in the case of the serial, it was a locality of people that were not well-off by any means, in fact, they were poor). The idea of the serial was to show their life, and for many of us, it was a good awakening to see how people separate from us lived, what were their hopes and aspirations, and most of all, they emotions, their ambitions, and their despair.
The serial was directed by Saeed Mirza, and starred such actors such as Dilip Dhawan as Guru (Electrician), Avtar Gill as Kadar Bhai (Hotelier), Sameer Khakar as the drunkard Khopdi, Javed Khan as the barber, Pavan Malhotra as the cycle repair guy (Hari), Rama Vij as the wise teacher, Suresh Chatwal as Chotu, and many others.
So you had stories related to their everyday life and interactions, and you had stories about their attempts to do something like when Hari attempts to set a world record for the longest continuous time cycling and fails when very close, and another time when they play a cricket match and win with a shot from the most unlikely of sources.

Doordarshan Nostalgia: The cultural show - Surabhi

This is more like nostalgia for people of my generation, given that a number of today's youngsters would not remember this excellent cultural program called Surabhi; but it was more than just a simple cultural program. The serial attempted to show us the diversity across the length and breadth of this country; it is almost a guarantee that in each episode we would discover something new.
The serial ran for a very long time and had a total of approx 415 episodes making this a very long-running serial indeed. Imagine learning about the martial art of Kerala called 'KALARIPAYATTU', or learning about the art and culture of a city in Tamil Nadu or Rajasthan. The serial was hosted by the popular duo of Siddharth Kak and Renuka Shahne. It was a popular combination, with the slightly more serious Kak and the ever-smiling Renuka. One of the hottest point about the serial was the involvement of the audience, with audiences being asked a question at the end of an episode, and the involvement grew and grew till they had to handle a huge number of postcards (I believe that they had a record of 10 lakh postcards for one episode).
If you want to know more about the contents of each episode of the serial, there is a whole list available at this link. In addition, you can download clips of videos at the Rajshri Site (after some ads), or purchase the entire episode at this link.

Doordarshan Nostalgia: Shanti (made a star of Mandira Bedi)

Nowadays Mandira Bedi is on a roll, having made a mark in the area of television commentary on cricket, something that no other lady in cricket has managed to do. You can imagine the reaction of cricket purists when they first saw Mandira on 'Extra Innings' wearing her noodle straps. There was an lot of hue and cry about trying to sex up the world of cricket commentary, but she managed to overcome the controversy and made her name. And now she is very much in demand, having posed for a series of very sexy photographs in the men's magazine 'Maxim' and also having acted in a Hindi movie called Shaadi Ka Laddoo (which was not so good though and sank without a trace).
What started her on this path to fame were 2 things - a supporting role in Shahrukh's movie 'Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge' and her role as the main heroine of the Hindi serial 'Shanti'. Shanti was an incredible episode in Doordarshan's history, a show set in the daytime to appeal to the stay-at-home women audience, and it was incredibly successful. Imagine a serial running every day on the weekdays, and managing to go for 804 episodes. I remember when Doordarshan started this show in the mid-nineties and I remember that the word was out that there was no limit on the number of episodes. The serial only finished when it seemed that the serial was dragging on and TRP's had gone down a lot (in fact, it seemed that Doordarshan actually put a stop to the show because of its low ratings).
The serial was about a strong career oriented women, in the world of show-biz and powerful movie moguls, it was a strong role for Mandira Bedi with her playing the role of an inspirational character, head strong woman, and was essentially the story of an illegitimate child who came back to take revenge and fight for both her and her mother's rights.

Dekh Bhai Dekh: A great comedy serial

Hindi comedy serials are a very rare set. If you neglect the current set of stand-up comedies such as Comedy Circus, Laughter Challenge, etc, then in the past, there have been very few, and specially ones that can make you laugh. There was for example, some serials such as Wagle Ki Duniya, Sarabhai vs. Saraibhai, Khichdi, Yeh Jo Hain Zindagi, etc. But excepting for some of these, in many cases the comedies have been flawed, and in most cases, the serial makers have not been able to find the exact combination that will have audiences in splits.
Currently, most of the serials are some sort of family dramas, with something or the other happening between relatives; and of course, many of them are very rich and not somebody we can connect with. It is then that I remember this serial called 'Dekh Bhai Dekh' that started appearing on DD Metro in 1993 (at that time, DD Metro had appeared as the alternative entertainment channel, as Doordarshan main used to be much more boring).
It had a set cast of characters, and was extremely entertaining, taking a joint family in their home, and their antics and activities. You watch their activities, and how their interactions generate comedy by itself, and how it all seems so natural. This was a production by Saraswati Production, a company owned by Jaya Bachchan.
The story is about a joint family with 3 generations staying in the same house. So you have the grandparents, with the grandmother (Sushma Seth) being the matriarch, being in control of everybody including her husband. She is a socialite, while her husband, even though hen-pecked, could not enjoy more than having fun with his grandchildren, and plays a person who is loving and nice to like.
And then the 2 sons of the house, with Baldev (Navin Nischol) being the elder son, the more serious of the two, and who watches everything that happens in the house, understanding and not getting angry and having a loving relationship with his wife, Suhasini (Farida Jalal) who runs a beauty parlour at home. The younger son, Sameer (Shekhar Suman) is the more dashing and flamboyant of the two, and runs his own business. He is married to Sonu (Bhavna Balsaver) who is a writer, very sweet and also very absent-minded, and slightly dumber than the others.
And then there are the kids - Sanju and Keethi are the teenaged children of Baldev and Suhasini, while Vishal and Pinky are the school-going children of Sameer and Sonu. Sanju by himself is able to generate a huge amount of laughter, with a hot-tempered girlfriend Shilpa (Urvashi Dholakia) who always doubts him and he is always trying to ensure that he remains in her good books. And then there was Liliput and the house servant, Deven Bhojwani

Chanakya, a serial from the past

In the midst of so many serials about troubles within the family, about the serials that explore the relationship between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law (saas bahu) and the constant problems between them, one sometimes get a wish (driven by nostalgia) for some of the serials that appeared on Doordarshan. One of these was Chanakya; and why am I thinking of Chanakya ? Because while I was browsing on YouTube, I came across some videos of Chanakya (watch them here), and that activated the section of brain dealing with memory.
I remember Chanakya for many things. At a time when serials based on ancient India or mythology were mainly costume dramas with a heavy focus on heavy language, where every other sentence referred to honour or the lack of it, here was a serial heavy on political drama. While in school, we learnt in a few short paragraphs (or maybe it was one chapter, I don't remember) about who Chanakya was and what he had done. However, as far as I can recall about what we were taught, we were primarily taught that Chanakya was the writer of the 'Arthashastra, the book on Indian politics and that he was a very clever tactician who brought his favorite king to power.
However, it was the serial that presented things in a slightly different (maybe it was just more detailed) context, labeling Chanakya (known as so because his father was called Chanak) (also known as Kautilya or Vishnugputa) as a person who was inspired by a mission to bring the country together after the invasion of Alexander (or Yakshendra as I remember the name being pronounced in the serial). Just like the Discovery of India series (Bharat ek khoj) brought the history of Indian to everyone, this serial brought the life of times of one of India's greatest thinkers and tactician to the screen.
The serial essentially captures the rise of Chanakya in those time when the Nandas were the rulers (but not very skilful). They had a superb minister, almost to the level of Chanakya himself, called Rakshas. Rakshas was able through his actions to keep the Nandas in power and ensure that no one was able to plan or execute any actions against the Nandas. It was Chanakya, a ruthless person in his mission, who was able to weld together the different states, defeat the Nandan and bring his brave protege, Chandragupta Maurya to power.
There are many examples of his determined nature shown in the serial, but the most famous of them have to be the episode of where when grass hurts his feet, he gets the grass eaten by ants; and probably the most famous one where he makes a solemn vow not to tie his hair till he has got rid of the Nandas.
The serial seemed to be very well-researched, and spent a lot of time and effort to make the entire portrayal including the sets seem authentic. The director and lead actor (Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi) essayed the role in a way that seemed to be very authentic (including the fact that people rode horses bare-back since the saddle was not yet introduced in India). One person who did not come off so well in this serial was Alexander, since the serial also mentions his brutality many times. People will also be surprised to know that the serial was somewhat controversial at its time because of the large use of saffron flags particularly because there was already a lot of feelings about the ongoing rise of the BJP and the Ram Janmabhoomi agitation.

Raavan, a different kind of serial

There is a serial on Zee, which can be truly called a serial with a difference. There have been a number of serials on air to do with mythology, with most of them being loud, very flashy costumes, big dialogues, etc, not at all subtle. But there is now a serial with a difference. Ravan attempts to tell the history that no one knows about, the story of Ravan, the embodiment of evil. The makers have tried to present his entire history, including many of his positive points. The attempt of the makers is that the serial will not glorify Ravan. It will simply give Ravan's point of view - why he abducted Rama's wife Sita - without justifying what he did. The serial will show Ravan's transformation from mahamanav (a great human being) to a mahadanav (a great demon).
“Ravan has been portrayed in a negative light so far. He is known as Sita’s kidnapper but what people don’t know is that he was a big pandit and a powerful man. His real persona has been hidden from the audience and in this show you will see him as a warrior, a real hero!” The serial will reveal little-known aspects about Ravan like the fact that he was the grandson of Brahma, that Hanuman was one of the ministers in his court who left after a misunderstanding, and that Ravana did not actually have ten heads; he actually wore a necklace of ten heads.



‘Ravan’ is shown Saturday nights at 9 PM (and started on 21:00 from 12th November 2006). Basic story starts with Ravan's mother Kekashi (Ravee Gupta) shown trying to seduce Rishi Vishrava (R K Gupta), because she wants to have a child with him. It all began with the Daitya named Sumaalee ( maternal Grand Father), Raavan’s Nana. After Sumaalee lost his kingdom the Devta’s, he was very upset and started to conspire and wanted his kingdom back at any cost.
He got a vision that if he had son’s from Vishravaa, he would have sons equal to Kuber the ruler of lanka. Sumaalee’s daughter Kaikasee, was convinced to go and entice Vishravaa into marrying her and has children from him. Kaikasee went to seek out for Vishravaa, and managed to win his love. After some time she gave birth to a 4 children. His father named him Dashgreev (ten-headed). Then born Kumbhkarn and after him their sister Shoorpankhaa. Kaikasee’s last child was Vibheeshan.
Having watched it many times, it can be gripping, and because of the previous mythological serials, I was a bit apprehensive. But to connect to the 21st century, the loud drama of the 80s’ Doordarshan presentation has been cut out. Ravan speaks human. There is no thigh-slapping, foot-stomping swearing of a bigmouth. He is younger and leaner. Rama looks like a conscientious leader not given to lengthy discourse and beatific smiles.
The serial is also raising a toast to scientific progress of the age. “The sages, like Agastya Rishi, were actually great scientists. Why speak of only Ravan’s Pushpak rath? There were nine types of aircraft in vogue then, including fighter planes. The Brahmastra itself was a missile. It is well-known that centuries later Leonardo da Vinci was influenced by military accounts in Ramayana.
An excerpt from the serial that shows the inherent nature of Rama. Rama has picked up the Brahmastra and taken aim, but Ravana has desisted from countering with an equally destructive weapon from his arsenal. “I cannot let Creation come to end,” he thinks and embraces his own death.

Producer : Gulshan Sachdeva ( Film and Shots )
Research : Om Prakash
Screenplay Writer : Umesh Chandra Upadhyay
Dialogue Writer : Vijay Pundit
Director : Ranjan Kumar Singh
Star Cast : Narendra Jha (Ravan), Divya Desai (Mandodari), Ravee Gupta (Keksi), Rajendra Gupta (Sumali)

Bharat Ek Khoj on Doordarshan: Nostalgia

Way back, in the 1980's (1988 to be precise), there used to appear a serial on Doordarshan called Bharat Ek Khoj. It presented in dramatic form, a depiction of the history for India for 5000 years till the year 1957, and was based on a book by Jawaharlal Nehru (first Indian Prime Minister) called Discovery of India. This is a pretty famous book, and the series was very gripping. Written and directed by the famous director, Shyam Benegal, and was an excellent depiction of history, especially for those who either have not been very interested in Indian history, or never got a chance to see it in a connected form, that is, a single series covering 5000 years.
I was a kid at that time, but I remember watching it regularly, and now that I am older, I got a chance to suddenly view the opening track (very impressive) on Youtube,



and memories got suddenly refreshed. I still have not found the DVD of the series, and am actively looking. There were so many things that were great in the series. For one, they had an excellent narrator; Om Puri's voice seems like a perfect fit. And, unlike some of today's serials dealing with mythology or history, there was no excessive dramatization; costumes seemed of the period with seeming artificial.
One needs to of course remember that the serial was based on the writings and evidence available from the period when Jawaharlal Nehru wrote the book, and if such a serial came out at this point of time, just the period of history from the time of the Indus Valley would have sections either not acceptable to the Left, or to the RSS/BJP. In addition, sections dealing with the Marathas vs. the Mughals would be sure to have agitations, given how easily the Shiv Sena is wont to take up controversial series as a part of its appeal to its voter base and to seem relevant.
Having said that, the serial covered so many periods such as the Vedic people and the writings of the Vedas, beginning of the caste system (consider it part of the innocence of youth that I did not understand this part of the serial, of course I would easily understand it now, although whether I would still be able to rationalize it remains to be seen), the period of Chanakya and the invasion of Alexander, Ashoka, classical ages, Kalidasa, the formation and survival of the Delhi sultanate (the slave dynasty and ahead), Mughals, Marathas, British East India Company, the first war of Independence of 1857, and numerous others).
For those who are interested in the lyrics of the opening ditty, a bit of information, it is actually the Nasadiya Sukta from the Rig Veda. For those who are not so interested in the lyrics of this one, please ignore from this point onwards (I for one found it perfectly captivating):

Original lyrics:

Srishtee se pehle sat nahin thaa, asat bhi nahin
Antariksh bhi nahin, akash bhin nahin thaa
chhipaa thaa kyaa kahaan, kisne dhakaa thaa
us pal to agam, atal jal bhi kahaan thaa

Srishtee kaa kaun hai kartaa
Kartaa hai vaa akartaa
Oonche aakash mein rahtaa
Sada adhyaksh banaa rahtaa
Wahin sachmuch mein jaantaa..Yaa nahin bhi jaanataa
Hai kisi ko nahin pataa, nahin pataa,
Nahin hai pataa, nahin hai pataa

Weh tha hiranyagarbh srishti se pehle vidyamaan
Wahi to saare bhoot jaat ka swami mahaan
jo hai astitvamaana dharti aasmaan dhaaran kar
Aise kis devta ki upasana karein hum avi dekar

Jis ke bal par tejomay hai ambar
Prithvi hari bhari sthapit sthir
Swarg aur sooraj bhi sthir
Aise kis devta ki upasana karein hum avi dekar

Garbh mein apne agni dhaaran kar paida kar
Vyapa tha jal idhar udhar neeche upar
Jagaa chuke vo ka ekameva pran bankar
Aise kis devta ki upasana karein hum avi dekar

Om ! Srishti nirmata swarg rachiyata purvaj raksha kar
Satya dharma palak atul jal niyamak raksha kar
Phaili hain dishayen bahu jaisi uski sab mein sab par
Aise hi devta ki upasana kare hum avi dekar
Aise hi devta ki upasana kare hum avi dekar


English translation:

At first was neither Being nor Nonbeing.
There was not air nor yet sky beyond.
What was wrapping? Where? In whose protection?
Was Water there, unfathomable deep?

There was no death then, nor yet deathlessness;
of night or day there was not any sign.
The One breathed without breath by its own impulse
Other than that was nothing at all.

Darkness was there, all wrapped around by darkness,
and all was Water indiscriminate, Then
that which was hidden by Void, that One, emerging,
stirring, through power of Ardor, came to be.

In the beginning Love arose,
which was primal germ cell of mind.
The Seers, searching in their hearts with wisdom,
discovered the connection of Being in Nonbeing.

A crosswise line cut Being from Nonbeing.
What was described above it, what below?
Bearers of seed there were and mighty forces,
thrust from below and forward move above.

Who really knows? Who can presume to tell it?
Whence was it born? Whence issued this creation?
Even the Gods came after its emergence.
Then who can tell from whence it came to be?

That out of which creation has arisen,
whether it held it firm or it did not,
He who surveys it in the highest heaven,
He surely knows - or maybe He does not!

Mile Sur Mera Tumhara: Nostalgia about Doordarshan

A long time back, Doordarshan used to run theme based short clips on national integrity, and they made a few that had an excellent direction and theme. For example, they had this 5 minute clip called Mile Sur Mera Tumhara and featured a number of people from different parts of the country, coming together as a conclusion in the shape of young kids assembling in the form of the national flag. The voice by Lata Mangeshkar was haunting, and overall, when you look at this now, it seems very click and well made.
Here is the YouTube version:




Lyrics of this song (although in English text):

Mile sur mera tumharaa, Thoo sur bane hamaraa.... sur kee nadhiyaan har disha se behkee saagar mein milee. Baadalon ka roop leiker bharse halke halke... Mile sur mera tumharaa.. thoo... sur bane hamaara.. Mile sur mera tumhara...
Chaain taraj tahin nyay tarajek but baniye saayen taraj
Tera sur mile mere sur de naalmilke bane ek nava surtaal
Mile sur mera tumharaa....tho sur bane hamaara..
Mohnja sur tohi desa pyara mile jadein geet ashaanjo madhur tarano bane tadein
Sur ka dariya bahte saagar me mile badlaan da roop leike barasan holle haule
Isaindhal namm iruvarin suramum namadhakum.. Dhisai veru aanalum aazi ser aarugal Mugilai mazaiyai pozivadu pol isai ...Namm isssaiiii.... Thik thakida thathikakidA....thaka thimi thaka junu
Nanna dhwanige ninna dhwani-ya, seridante namma dhwaniya..
Naa swaramu nee swaramu sangammamai, mana swaram ga avatarinchey
Ende swaramum ningalude swaramum otthucheiyum Namudeya swaramai....
Tomaar shoor moder shoor srishti koroor koi ekshoor[2]...
Sriishti karoon woi katha
Toma mora swarer milan srishti kare chalbochatano
Male sur jo taro maro, bane aapno sur niralo
Majhya tumchya julta tara madhur suranchya barasti dhara
Sur ki nadiya har disha se behke saagar mein mile...
Baadlo ka roop leke barse halke halke..
Oh...Mile sur mera tumhara tho....sur bane hamara...
Mile Sur mera tumharatho sur bane hamara tho sur bane hamaratho sur bane hamara