Aarambh had a very hopeful aarambh on 24 June as it launched at prime time during the weekends. The show premiered on the assurance that it came from the same pen that gave us the magnum opus, Baahubali.
Was it confidence to attach the writer, Vijayendra Prasad’s name in the promos or a desperate attempt by the producers and the channel to grab more eye-balls? Goldie Behl has not had any show after Reporters on Sony (which was back in 2015) and Star Plus has been struggling to get its weekend programming right for a long time.
Since the writer was a big item on the menu card (we will come to that later), let’s first dissect and digest what it promised and then eventually offered on the plate.
To begin with the show promos - visually, it didn’t seem as great as we had seen in Mahadev, Mahakumbh and Siya Ke Ram. One main show promo talked about the clash of two empires - a warrior queen (Devasena) on one side and a dedicated commander (Varun Dev) on the other side - making its story line obvious. It looked like the show would showcase never-seen-before action sequences on television and offer great chemistry between the lead pair. But once the character promos and throne promos came about, it led to a great deal of confusion. After watching all the promos, it started to seem like a buffet of action, drama, emotion and much more.
Even if you put aside the promos and watched the first episode with anticipation and excitement, it would be dampened in the first episode which offers no memorable visuals or action sequences.
The action sequence in the first episode looks as if White Walkers from HBO series Game of Thrones are about to attack the Aryan soldiers. But it seemed like a petty action sequence in comparison, like how the goons attack on a heroine in a regular GEC show. Hahuma’s appearance, with her coiled up with snakes, was a unique offering but she was sitting and acting as if she was at a kitty party!
The second episode was better in terms of a visual promise. There were some interesting sequences like the one where Varun Dev (Rajneesh Duggal) attempts the test to become the member of the council and Hahuma’s entry inside the Dravid palace. Rajneesh did full justice to the action sequence and proved to us why he deserved to win Khatron Ke Khilaadi.
The show could easily have premiered with the second episode. It gave you a sense, what difference would it have made had someone swapped episodes one and two?
As leads of the show, Former Mr India Rajneesh and South Actress Karthika Nair (Devasena) seemed like a good pick by the producers and channel. The chemistry in the promos did create a promise of love. But it was disappointing to not have any scenes between them in the first week. There is one scene where they come to fight with each other but then it ended rather abruptly.
Yesteryear actress, Tanuja was again a fresh thought in terms of casting. Her appearance with snakes made her character quite unique. Children would certainly love that. She is definitely a good reason to keep watching the show.
Well, let’s come to the writer and his writing.
Episode one: While it was heartbreaking in terms of visuals, it didn’t seem to make the connect that it was attempting. Neither it did establish the conflict between Aryans and Dravidians nor did it give room for protagonists to get introduced properly and come face-to-face. The writing was very verbose in nature. Too much information supplied through dialogues. Scenes didn’t have any visual appeal. Characters were talking as if they were holding a bucket of water in both their hands.
If fans were expecting a love story, well, then you’re in for a disappointment. Because, like it’s mentioned before, Varun and Devasena didn’t even meet. Well, they did have a clash at the end of episode one but even that ended abruptly because it was 10 pm. Also, it left you wondering if the film was a flash forward or it happened in real time because somehow the writer forgot to pick the second episode from where he left it in the first. Did you notice it or was I feeling sleepy?
Maybe Hahuma’s snakes could have given some premonition to the writer and makers of the show because even Hahuma was confused by the end of the second episode about the three threats to Devasena’s life; her Aunt Dayalini (obviously), Aryan (really?) and her own father (surprise, surprise).
Hahuma’s confusion was still understandable but why did the writer get confused about the show’s plot? It was about the clash of two empires and a love story, not a thriller set in Dravidian times.
Over all, the performances and execution of Aarambh was quite average. It failed to connect with the viewer.
It is great to be inspired by epics like Baahubali and Game of Thrones but translating the same onto Indian television is a complex task. And it doesn’t look like the makers have been able to do that.
Storytelling on the weekends is like taming a wild beast. It should sting the viewer, just like Naagin did. People still talk about its success and the way it captured the market.
By the way, who said that Baahubali was great on writing and not extraordinary in terms of its visuals. It was writers’ film and not a director’s vision? While the hopes were high on Vijayendra Prasad, it gave some haunting feeling for Drona as well.
Drona? Don’t tell me you don’t know about it.
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