Sep 22, 2008 01:06 PM
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Child marriage is a distant name for us. Most of us believe that it is extinct completely or even if does exist, it is only in the remote areas of Indian villages. This issue has little impact on us and our daily lives because in essence these are just stories for us.
One such story comes into our homes everyday at 8.00 pm and for the first time, makes us feel that child-marriages are not just stories but they has more life. It is an eclipse in the Indian society and one of the reasons for India’s backwardness.
…:Soul of BV:…
A very sweet girl plays the role of little bride(balika vadhu). You can’t help falling in love with this sweet-cute-innocent-inquisitive girl’s screen presence. It leaves us wondering if it is the magic of the director or exuberance of the girl.
She is the show-stealer - the soul of the serial. Her character is named(Aanandi) who is a girl from a remote village, loves studying, intelligent, does her hubby’s homework, gives bangles to her widow-friend and gets punished for the same.
Director has done a marvelous job in exhibiting the transition of Aanandi from a chirpy girl to a disheartened soul. It has come out so beautifully and naturally that it leaves the viewers astounding.
…:Story:…
Balika Vadhu, set in rural Rajasthan, narrates the story of child bride Aanandi. She is just 11 years old and married to Jagdish and lives with his parents(sasuma and bapusa), paternal uncle(tausa), sister(sugna) and grandmother(dadisa).
Aanandi’s mother-in-law is a very loving and doting mother. She loves Aanandi as her own daughter.
The villain in the story is dadisa. She plays the character of a lady who is orthodox and believes in old customs and traditions. She keeps harassing and scolding Aanandi as she expects her to act and behave like a grown up bride for her family.
…:Rajasthani flavor:…
As colorful and vibrant Rajasthan is in the backdrop of this show, it aesthetically captures the essence of the state.
The background score is truly Rajasthani folk music which is neither too loud nor too laidback. Even the title track(choti si umar mein…) is perfectly aligned to Rajasthan.
The sets can’t be more magical and natural. They reflect pure Rajasthani flavor. The house of Aanandi’s in-laws is elegantly Rajasthani on the lines of thakurs. Aanandi’s own home captures remote Rajasthan’s enigma.
In fact, the language usage is also decided after completely researching on Rajasthan’s language.
In a nutshell, watching this makes us feel that we have entered into Rajasthan.
…:What it means to me?:…
My mom was the first person to talk about this show in our home after word-of-the-mouth publicity in her kitty circle.
I discarded the show straight away commenting that who is going to bear the preachy torture…
To my surprise the show is completely opposite to what I thought. It is not a preachy show about child-marriage. It is full of entertainment as this fictional account focuses on entertaining the viewers. The show addresses the issue of child marriage but the tone and mood is not at all preachy.
…:Footnotes:…
This very unique show is produced by Sphere Origins. The main star cast includes:
“Avika Gor” as Anandi
“Avinash Mukherjee” as Jagdish.
'Balika Vadhu' on Colors TV is an interesting and really a "hat ke" daily soup. Watch it from Mon-Fri at 8 pm!
