Hats
off Ekta
August
8, 2014
Soap queen Ekta gives another mega hit that has got the viewers
hooked on the larger-than life romance tale.
By Inderjit Badhwar
I am hooked again. The
last time this happened to me was when Dallas and The Bold and the Beautiful
ruled the airwaves. And then there was Buniyaad and the memorable Dhoop Kinare
from Paskistan when Benazir Bhutto was the PM and glasnost on Pakistan TV was
the talk of the town. This time it’s Jodha Akbar. Not the big screen one but
the five-days-a-week half-hour televised serial made by Ekta Kapoor, the Balaji
Telefilms impresario who created the telethon Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi.
Usually, TRP and TAM
ratings mean little to me as a viewer. Shows I find repulsive or with abysmal
production values seem to have the highest ratings – which proves how far
removed my tastes are from public opinion. But this time around I am in sync
with the junta. Jodha Akbar ‘s ratings and my opinion of the serial on Zee TV
match: It’s a topper. Why? Because it works on several levels and achieves
dramaturgical credence and perfection even when dealing with the most
outrageous mythological and interpersonal fantasies—false pregnancies, a snake
woman seductress who feeds on venom, a man-beast sent to killl the
shah-in-shah.
Akbar the Sunni
emperor, played brilliantly by the macho, Greek god-ish Rajat Tokas, and Jodha
his Rajput princess played by Paridhi Sharma, a demure Meena Kumari look-alike
are a mixture of fact and fiction, fantasy and reality, but the plots and
sub-plots glide seam-lessly through this superbly entertaining admixture in
which lurks an ominous, omniscient, undercurrent of tension and danger.
This is what gives the
serial its edge-of-your seat mystery appeal. Ultimately it’s a real game of
chess in which the purpose is to kill or destroy the King—shah mat (origin of
the term “checkmate”). Part of this is true to history because during the
Mughal sultanate it was fair game for kith and kin to succeed to the throne by
bumping off the incumbent or aspirant. So, Akbar is the target. The serial’s
scenario is that of a chessboard–the King, Rooks, Knights, Bishops, Queen, and
Pawns. The story goes from episode to episode with pawns and players changing
positions amidst delicious palace intrigues, traps, wars, harem politics, in
which Jodha, remains the chief protector of her beloved shah-in-shah.
The falling-in-love of
Akbar and Jodha after their marriage, the delicate and super-sensitive handling
of potentially controversial
Hindu-Muslim concerns, feminist principles, and honor-related issues are the pioneering scripting and directorial triumphs.
Hindu-Muslim concerns, feminist principles, and honor-related issues are the pioneering scripting and directorial triumphs.
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1 comment:
Sir, why don't you go deep into the effects of such blatant lies on the Indian Psyche. I did expect this from you. you fail to notice the DISCLAIMER too. In the rotten India anything that can entertain people fucking their brains out - is a way to success.
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