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Sita,
Rajni, Shanti, Parvati, Tulsi, Jassi,etc,
etc may be the names of your neighbours' daughters or their cousins. But these
names have also transformed the image of an Indian woman. They are none other
than our iconic tellywood characters who have proved to have an impact in the
lives of the common woman. On the occasion of Women's Day, while celebrating womanhood,
we at tellychakkar look behind and talk about those women- centric serials and
most importantly the characters that over the time became a household name.
Anita
Kanwar as Laajo in Buniyaad
Buniyaad narrated the story of
Master Haveliram, a patriotic and principled man, who chose teaching as his way
of building the so-called ideal society.
Anita Kanwar - who played Lajoji,
the simple wife of Master Haveliram, was his student. This character is remembered
because she was one woman who stood up for what she believed. It portrayed more
of woman's emancipation in a man's world.
Priya
Tendulkar in and as Rajni
In 1985, with the huge success of TV series
Rajni, Priya Tendulkar who played the protagonist, rose to national fame.
She portrayed the role of a housewife who shuns injustice, fights against the
corrupt, inept social system and solves social issues. This role made a household
name.
Simple and unlayered, the acting was convincing. It caught the imagination
of a heterogeneous public and became a blockbuster overnight. Priya lives on.
Navneet
Nishan in and as Tara
It was in the 90s that viewers saw a path
breaking serial called Tara. Navneet Nishan sketched the lead role and
with growing popularity, she became a household name. Both the actor and the serial
dominated the television industry for a very long time.
With characteristics
like being mean, bitchy, she shattered the "good girl" image. In the
year 1994, with Tara, India got its first taste of a long-running unconventional
soap.
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Mandira
Bedi in and as Shanti
Came the 90s and Doordarshan witnessed an
array of hit teleserials targeting women. One amongst them was a daily series
- Shanti. With 804 ongoing episodes, it was an incredible success story
in the history of Indian television.
The character of Shanti was
played by Mandira Bedi. The serial depicted the story of a strong, inspirational,
career oriented woman in the world of showbiz. This headstrong woman also happened
to be an illegitimate child who returns to take revenge and fight for both her
and her mother's rights.
The show only came to an end when it seemed that
the story was dragging on and TRPs had dipped. But Mandira is still remembered
for her fine acting in the serial.
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Neena
Gupta as Priya in Saans
Directed and enacted by Neena Gupta, this
emotional serial portrayed the real life problems faced by most of us in society.
It portrayed the declining phase of a husband-wife relationship.
It demonstrated
the problems faced by Gupta after her husband, Kanwaljeet Singh gets infatuated
with a lady, who is a maniac and then starts the worst phase in the life of Gupta.
It showed, how despite of all the problems, she managed to handle her family and
children. The serial set a standard for the woman of today's era and sends a message:
"Yes, we can stand, even without you."
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Shefali
Shah in Hasratein
A story which revolved around extra marital affairs,
Shefali played the lead called Savi.
Considering our male dominated society,
Hasratein had a woman who got away with a lot of things that traditionally
only a man could do. The serial helped society to look at the world from a woman's
point of view. Shefali's histrionics were applauded and the serial owed a lot
of its success to her inputs.  |
Nikki
Aneja as Simran in Astitva: Ek Prem Kahani
Astitva - Ek Prem
Kahani is all about Dr Simran Mathur, a successful gynecologist. Having devoted
her entire life towards achieving this success, she finds herself lonely, as she
edges closer to her mid-thirties. At this point Abhimanyu steps in. This 24-year-old
Abhi brings out the feminine side of Simran and brings her in contact with her
desires and needs. Initially Simran resists him but gradually she is unable to
resist and is left with no alternatives when Abhi proposes her for marriage.
After
their marriage, Abhi gets attracted to a model who is younger to him and betrays
Simran. But, this powerful lady is not dependent on her husband for every need
and knows how to handle her family and career even without him. This was the first
serial to break the trend that a man has to be elder than the woman to marry her.
Nikki won many a heart and many an award for this portrayal.
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Smriti
Irani as Tulsi Virani in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi
Born to
a poor pujari and married into a rich household, Tulsi is a clever, intelligent
and sensitive bahu stuck with the scheming a mother-in-law. Tulsi's cause is championing
the underdog. She was a dutiful daughter, an ideal bahu, a perfect mother and
an emphatic saas- the complete homemaker who binds the family into a single cord
of harmony. Though Smriti made an exit from the show people still remember her
as Tulsi.
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Mona
Singh as Jassi in Jassi Jaise Koi Nahi
Jassi Jaise Koi Nahi
lifted from the English series Ugly Betty was the story of a simple girl named
Jassi - an ugly but brilliant duckling who later turned into a beautiful swan.
This courageous and liberal girl secretly falls in love with her boss but gets
betrayed and later gets back her love. With faith in love and life put to test
many a times, the serial showcased the journey of an ugly looking girl and her
encounter with the real world. Mona Singh did complete justice to her debut role. Kavita
Choudhary as Kalyani in Udaan
Udaan was based on the struggle
of a woman aspiring to be an IPS officer. It was the story of Kalyani Singh who
joined the police force and with her hard work and sheer determination went on
to become an 'ASP'. Inspired by the life of her elder sister Kanchan Choudhary,
who was later appointed as a Director General of Police of Uttaranchal, becoming
the first Indian woman to head a state police force, the script was written by
Kavita Choudhary.
The most difficult part of making the serial was to
do an indepth research about the lifestyle, functioning and idiosyncrasies about
those working in police stations. It was the first serial to showcase "women
empowerment". The series displayed the aspirations. It was a serial that
had every schoolgirl across the country wanting to be a policewoman and promptly
forgetting about it by the time the episode ended. Kavita is still fresh in the
minds of viewers who had the privilege of watching this serial.
More
Women's Day Special
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| By
Tellychakkar Team |
Posted
on 7 Mar 2008 4:30 pm |
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