He refuses to accept Gayatri as his wife and declares that she can be the queen of the kingdom, but, wait for it, will never rule his heart. In fact theĮntire Suhaag raat gone wrong sequence is identical from a major high point in the book where the new wife unknowingly wears the same clothes the old wife had worn tormenting the husband with painful memories.ĭreamy Gayatri believes that her prince charming has marries for love, he thinks that she and her father have struck a deal with his mother to write off the debt the palace owes Govind Seth. The whole Gayatri Indravadan Sulakshana love triangle is heavily inspired/adapted from the famous novel Rebecca. However, unknown to her Indravadan is still in love with his late wife Sulakshana who had an untimely death. The largest such loan is owed to Govind Seth (Darshan Zariwala) whose daughter Gayatri ( Drashti Dhami) starts off as an intelligent spirited young girl, only to fall typically in love with the mysterious monarch she has barely had a conversation with.
While the Rajmata poses for self potraits and counts the wrinkles on her long neck, the palace is sagging under heavy loans from money lenders. The last but significant member of this family is Indravadan’s grandmother, Badi dadi ( Surekha Sikri) who seems to have some bad blood with her Simi Garewalesque bahu. As it often happened during British rule, they conspire with the British resident officer to create further problems for the Raja, his mummy and now wife. The supporting cast includes an expectedly wicked uncle, aunt and their rogue son, who dress like they popped out of Chacha Chaudhary and in true amar chitra katha style want Indravadan dead and the throne firmly under their control. For example while asking for an alternative necklace, she says Rajmata ka choker laya jai (Bring Rajmata’s pearl choker)instead of just saying mera/humara (bring my pearl choker). For some reason, the queen mother talks about herself in third person which can sound a tad disconcerting. Rana Indravadan Singh Deo (Siddharth Karnick) is the prodigal heir to the throne of Amerkoth, which he runs with assistance from his mother, Rajmata Priyamvada (Anita Raj) and their loyal staff.
The first week of the show quickly set up the main and supporting cast. The period drama opens with a rather extended sequence that is heavily inspired from Ashutosh Gowariker’s films complete with a deep baritone voiceover and a lot of sorry looking white skinned extras.
READ: TV Series Review: Swaragini- A rather besura composition The set and production design definitely get a thumbs up in this tale of Raja mopes-a -lot and his he ‘loves me-loves me not’ Rani Gayatri devi. A lot of research and effort has gone in into creating the look and feel of a period drama set in pre independence India. The show is mounted on a grand scale with lovely shots of a palace, flowing staircases, chandeliers, stained glass doors and carved wooden furniture. Ek Tha Raja, Ek thi Rani, airs on Zee TV Mon-Fri at 9.30 pm and is produced by Sphere Origins who have earlier given us interesting shows like Gulaal, Saat Phere-Saloni ka safar, Jyoti and the immensely successful Balika Vadhu. But she seems to have a penchant for choosing roles where she has to spend about 6 months of air time, winning the heart of a man who is either depressed, misogynistic, abusive or an attractive combination of these three qualities. A few months ago, we were introduced to Gayatri, an innocent commoner who ends up marrying a bearded brooded king, who believe it or not hates her.ĭrashti Dhami is pretty girl with expressive eyes and more than average acting abilities. Then a few years later there was Madhu, an unassuming commoner married to a bipolar superstar who oscillated daily between loving and hating her. Once upon a time in a channel not so far away there was Geet, a helpless girl who falls in love with a brooding bearded man who seems unattainable.