Reviews

I have watched the entire series of Raavan which was aired on Zee TV from 2006-2008 and will give my reviews in a proper manner below:

* Authenticity - The makers did a good research on Raavan and its efforts were shown. Starting from his birth till his death, everything was shown in detail. * Cast - Narendra Jha who played the title role wasn't convincing enough. He did try his best to showcase the character but could not succeed immensely. He was quite thin for the role and also wasn't ferocious enough to scare people of his power. The actors who played Lord Ram, Lakshman, Hanuman, Jambavan (who had an awful makeup and costumes), Vibhishan, Sugreev, Nal-Neel were quite average. The only 2 actors who played Lord Shiva and Devi Sita (Yashodhan Rana of Om Namah Shivay fame and Namrata Thapa of Yahaan Main Ghar Ghar Kheli fame) were good. These two actors gave full justice to their roles. Even Ravee Gupta who played Raavan's mother Kaikesi gave an average performance. * Music - This is the only plus point in this average serial. Tapas Relia who gave great music in the animated movie Hanuman (2005) did an excellent job in this serial. The shlokas and background score was fantastic. * Sets - Very disappointing. It looked like 3D models. See the sets in other mythological series like Siya Ke Ram, Ramayan (2008 and 2012), Devon Ke Dev Mahadev. All these serials had excellent settings. Even Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan had better settings even though it was taken in 1987-88 where there wasn't technology at all. * Technical aspects - The VFX was just terrible. Even Sagars have the best graphics in all their serials. I agree that due to budget issues, the makers could not give proper VFX but atleast a little decent level could have been maintained. If Sagars would have taken this serial, it would have been a great hit as Sagars always chooses the right cast for the right roles and best VFX.

I would therefore conclude that if Raavan was taken during this time, it would have been a massive hit with good cast, best VFX and proper sets.

I give 4 out of 10 to this serial only due to its good music and these two actors who played Lord Shiva and Goddess Sita.

Exactly 21 years later ie. Ramanand Sagar's was first aired in 1987 in DD National; Sagar Arts launched a new Ramayan with new cast on NDTV Imagine in 2008. It was a great success. Gurmeet Choudhry played the role of Lord Ram very well. Debina Bannerjee (now Choudhry after marriage) played Sita well but unfortunately, her costumes were not matching especially in the royal palace of Ayodhya whereas the vanvaas costumes were perfect. The other actors did played their roles of Kaikeyi, Kaushalya, Sumitra, Bharat, Shatrughan, Mantra, Vibhishan and so on well. The only actors who played Ravan (Akhilendra Mishra) and Indrajeet (Praful Pandey) were awful. The actor who played Hanuman was also not satisfactory. He looked quite thing to be Hanuman. They should have selected a handsome, young and a good actor having a well built body which would have suited the role of Hanuman. They just could not act properly. Akhilendra had to scream his lungs out for his dialogues which was hard to hear that. Similarly for Indrajeet too.

The music by Ravindra Jain was the best. His voice started to age and he should only concentrate on giving music rather than singing.

The sets like Ayodhya, Mithila, Kishkindha, Lanka was perfect. The animation and VFX were in many episodes like Lord Ram's Birth, Goddess Sita's birth, Hanuman's birth and Lord Ram's Vishwaroop but in many other episodes ; it was not so appealing. The serials that had the best animations and VFX was in Jai Maa Durga, Jai Jai Jai Bajrangbali, Mahima Shani Dev Ki.

The reason I am giving 7 of 10 is only due to the grand sets, great cast (except Ravan, Indrajeet and Hanuman who were miscast), VFX (as mentioned only for those above episodes) and soulful music by Ravindra Jain. The costumes in the palaces were not good. Imagine a Goddess wearing sleeveless. It was just horrible seeing Sita and other young girls in those costumes. A bit decency needed. Hopefully Sagars will take a note of this next time.

I would therefore conclude that the remake attempt was great but not on par with the VFX of Jai Maa Durga, Jai Jai Jai Bajrangbali and Mahima Shani Dev Ki which was awesome in casting , costumes and mind boggling VFX.

I always love Rajshree Productions as they are always family bound and take family movies which have become huge blockbusters. Vivah is one of them. I have seen this movie multiple times on TV , YouTube and recently on Netflix during the current pandemic. I also do not mind watching it again and again as it gives me a family feeling inside me.

The main protagonists ie Shahid Kapoor and Amrita Rao played the perfect couple on screen starting from strangers till they get married. I have become a great fan of them since their Ishq Vishk days. Now, I shall give the review in detail below:

* The Cast: Amrita Rao has proved that she is the real girl that anyone would have wanted as their life partner. Her spotless beauty, traditional looks and superb acting lit the movie to great heights. She just rocks the screen. Shahid Kapoor played his role so perfectly that he has become the nation's favorite. His handsome looks, zest acting has made all the girls weak. Alok Nath did an awesome job as the uncle cum father figure of Amrita Rao. His expressions, smile, acting proved that he is the real sanskari babuji of India. Amrita Prakash who played Amrita's cousin sister did a good job but could not act naturally (That's a flaw). Seema Biswas who played the aunt did a great job. Anupam Kher was just superb as the kindhearted, successful down-to-earth businessman. Other cast like Sameer Soni, Lata Sabharwal, Dinesh Lamba, Manoj Joshi did a great job too.

* The plot: In no way there was any sub-plot in the movie. Kudos to the director for having concentrated on the main plot. This is how in real life ; arranged marriages work out.

* Music: Ravindra Jain's music was so uplifting that it brought tears in my eyes. Do Anjaane Ajnabee is the perfect song for a marriage prospect and its used even today in real life. Another song "Mujhe Haq Hai" was so good. The bhajan "Radhe Krishn Ki Jyoti" was so divinely sung by Shreya Ghoshal that I play it everyday. These 3 songs are my favorites. The other songs were also good in their own way too.

* Cinematography: The cinematographer did a brilliant job in capturing wonderful locales like Nainital, Delhi, Uttarakhand.

There are several heart touching scenes in the movie like the father convincing the son to marry at the right age, the boy-girl meeting, the would-be-in-laws taking the prime responsibility of curing their would-be-daughter-in-law for her burn accident with the help of extra burn specialists , Mohnish Behl (special appearance) telling about abandonment of people during burn cases, Sameer Soni-Lata Sabharwal scenes, the Som Sarovar stay with the future family etc. The scenes between Amrita Rao Rao-Alok Nath, Manoj Joshi-Alok Nath was just touching.

I just loved the movie and would recommend people to watch it. I even have the DVD of the movie too. I also thank Netflix for releasing the movie during these tough times.

Watch "Vivah" and find your perfect match.

I am a great fan of Sagars as their serials right from Ramayan (1987-1988) till their last production in 2016 was always top class in all their mythological and historical shows. This serial "Meera" was broadcast on NDTV Imagine from 27th July 2009 till 29th January 2010. Even though it was broadcast only for 6 months, the entire life of Meera was shown beautifully right from her birth till her death. All the episodes were very well shown and each episode gave a message.

I will be giving a detailed pros and cons about the serial below:

* Cast - The right cast for the right roles were given utmost importance in the serial. Aashika Bhatia who played the younger version of Meera enacted her role perfectly. Even though this was her first serial in her career, she played it very well enacting all the emotions as the Child Meera. Aditi Sajwan who played Yashoda in the hit serial "Jai Shree Krishna" played the elder Meera with perfection. Her mannerisms, helplessness, calmness etc has been shown effortlessly though her acting. Zeb Khan who also played Nand (positive role) in "Jai Shree Krishna" acted as the evil king Vikramaditya (negative role) to perfection. The rest of the cast also did a great job in their respective roles. It was great to see the veteran actor Raza Murad on Television (he acted in several television serials in the 1990's till the turn of the 21st century). In this serial, he acted very well as the kind King of Mewar, Rana Sanga.

* Music - The Bawra bros ie Sunny & Inder gave amazing music in this serial. Some of the bhajans I have stored in my playlist. There's one bhajan which Meera sings to her Lord Krishna for want of rain as there's drought in the kingdom of Mewar. That bhajan filled me with tears seeing Meera's devotion to her Lord. The music director did a fantastic job in composing amazing Meera bhajans. The same music director gave us amazing music in Sagar's productions like Sarvopari Swaminarayan Bhagwan, Jai Shree Krishna, Bharat Ke Mahaan Sant, Ramayan (Zee TV), Dwarkadheesh Bhagwan Shree Krishna and non Sagar productions like the superhit serials Devon Ke Dev Mahadev and Siya Ke Ram.

* Locales: The authentic look of Rajasthan was well captured. The settings inside the palaces of Mewar, Merta etc were of highest quality.

* VFX - The animation and VFX in this serial was just too good. The scenes where VFX was required like GOLOK of Lord Krishna, the flute of Lord Krishna disappearing while protecting Meera from the snakes, the light coming from the idol of Lord Krishna etc was amazing and spectacular to watch.

These were the above pros

Now the cons below:

* There was too much sounds like thumping in almost episode of the serial which was irritating after a point * The actress playing Lalita, Meera's best friend was changed 2-3 times which was inconsistent.

Apart from the above mentioned 2 cons, the rest was all pros. I would therefore like to conclude that Meera is a beautiful serial based on the life of Meerabai. The direction, music, cast, cinematography, VFX was great.

"Mere To Giridhar Gopal Dusron Na Koi , Jaake Sir Mor Mukut Mero Pati Soi".

Jai Shree Krishna !!

Kudos to BR Chopra for producing a magnum epic "Mahabharat" on TV in the 1980's. This is the second serial to be shown after Ramayan. All the chapters have been almost covered beautifully though some other chapters like the Yadav clan fighting, Dwarka submersion, death of Lord Krishna by hunter Jara, Pandavas death etc have been omitted.

The music by Rajkamal was good and Mahendra Kapoor's vibrant voice added flavour to it. The best song on Lord Krishna was Binati Suniye Nath Hamari by Sadhna Sargam which immerses you in total bhakti.

The entire cast did full justice and were born for these roles. Harish Bhimani as Samay was brilliant in narrating the epic through the whole serial. Nitish Bhardwaj did a superb job as Lord Krishna at the age of 25 years.

Exactly after 22 years (the last time I watched was in 1998 when I was 7 years old), I am watching this serial during the lockdown and am liking it.

I am really thankful to DD Bharti for broadcasting this serial during the lockdown. I once again thank BR Chopra for making this grand epic a massive success. Jai Shree Krishna !

Ramanand Sagar's SHRI KRISHNA is the best show on earth. All the chapters of Krishna has been 85% covered starting from his birth till the Mahabharat war. The casting, sets has been researched thoroughly. I would like to mention the pros and cons very carefully below:

The Pros:

* The introduction by Ramanand Sagar has been awesome. His description about the essence of Lord Krishna which started from India and spread to the West has been brilliantly touched upon. The way he appears and explains the chapters in every stage of Lord Krishna's life is mesmerizing. His humility, way of explaining, appearance gives an indication of a saint of this modern era.

* The casting has done a fantastic job. Sarvadaman Bannerjee who played the title role of Lord Krishna was just simply divine. His mannerisms, body language, emotions etc match the Lord 100%. The other actors who played various roles in different stages of Krishna's life also did a great job.

* The music by Ravindra Jain was melodious. The title song "Shree Krishna Govind Hare Murare" created a special place in my heart. All the other songs were also great to listen to.

The Cons:

* The voices for other actors sounded quite similar like a single voice artist dubbing for everyone which is sometimes irritating.

* Some of the actors went a bit overboard in their acting especially in emotional scenes.

* In the Mahabharat, Sahadev had killed Shakuni but here Nakul killed Shakuni which is not true.

* After Gandhari cursing Krishna for 36 years; the death of Lord Krishna, the Yadav clan destruction, Dwarka submersion, the pandavas dying one by one with Yudhishtra answering the reason of their deaths etc were not shown.

Despite of the cons, I give 9/10 because of the hardwork done by Ramanand Sagar and team for making the serial a grand success from 1993-2001.

I have seen this movie millions of times and do not mind seeing it again. This title is apt for the movie's storyline which is mentioned below: I will write the review in a very honest manner after seeing all is pros and cons.

The Plot: Anjali (Shilpa Kundra aka Shetty) loved Dev (Sunil Shetty) and would like to get married. Unfortunately, her father (Kiran Kumar) doesn't approve of Dev as he is poor and she is very rich. Also, his manners do not suit Anjali's father too so he arranged her marriage with Ram (Akshay Kumar) who is also a business tycoon but very religious and kind-hearted. Dev, who has promised his mother (Sharmila Tagore in a guest appearance) about Anjali's love is heartbroken about this news and his mother passes away hearing about Anjali leaving him despite made the promise to his mother. Anjali & Ram's marriage initially goes through some rough waves as Anjali hasn't forgotten Dev completely. Ram lives with his stepmother, step sister and step brother and they hate him behind his back. Then, he asks his family members to leave them alone so that they could live peacefully. Trouble starts after 3 years ie on their 3rd anniversary party, Dev returns as a wealthy businessman and is determined to win back Anjali by hook or crook. How Anjali and Ram convinces him about being happy and satisfied with whatever he has got now forms this beautiful movie climax.

The pros: There are several beautiful scenes in the movie which convey important messages: a) Giving respect to someone's feelings especially after marriage. b) Having no evil thoughts or regards to anyone even though they are bad. c) Helping others in times of need. d) The saying "money can buy everything but not not values like happiness, compassion " is very nicely said by Akshay Kumar in the climax.

The music: Nadeem-Shravan's music is enchanting. The songs; Dil Ne Yeh Kaha Hai Dil se in both versions, Tum Dil Ki Dhadkan Mein (sung in both versions), Aksar Ise Duniya Mein, Na Na Karte Pyaar and Dulhe Ka Sehra created a special place in my heart and also my playlists.

The cast: a) Akshay Kumar gives a brilliant performance as Ram. The characterstics that he denotes is like Lord Ram in the Ramayan. b) Shilpa Kundra acts as an arrogant girl initially after marriage but mellows down after seeing the character of her husband. Her performance is also good. c) Sunil Shetty gives the best performance as the rejected lover but needs to improve in some parts here and there. d) Mahima Chaudhry as Dev's business partner cum girlfriend gives a wonderful performance. e) Kiran Kumar as Anjali's father has acted the best. His concern, anger and sadness is well depicted in the movie. It was a change in seeing him playing a positive role after a long time (he was playing negative roles then). f) Sharmila Tagore as Dev's mother did her part but could not be given enough screen footage later on.

The cons: Even though the movie has plenty of positives, there were some negatives also below:

* Sharmila Tagore's role as Dev's mother could have lived on till Sunil Shetty established his successful career but breathed her last early. * How Dev became rich after Anjali left him remains unanswered. * The scene where Ram's stepmother promises to go to the temple for atoning her deeds was not shown * The wedding of Sunil-Mahima was not shown. * The apologising of Shilpa to her hubby was not shown despite her eyes denoting it.

Since the movie has lots of advantages, the above disadvantages could be ignored. Watch the movie and feel the heartbeat.....

I have seen this movie many times and I have liked it. The story, music, cast etc is great. Om Puri is the best actor in Bollywood. Whatever roles given to him, he comes out shining. His voice, acting, dialogues etc is powerful. He did a good job even in this movie also. Infact, the entire movie goes to him. Its good to see Ashutosh Rana in a positive role (Raaz, Kasoor, Tamanna, Gunaah, Dil Pardesi Ho Gaya etc are the movies where he played positive roles) after seeing him playing negative roles all the time. Abbas, the south actor too did a commendable job. The heroines were ok and could have done better. Nadeem Shravan's music was good. Masoom Chehre and Hum Apni Taraf Se were the best love tracks and was beautifully. This movie of 2002 was a success at the box office due to its good storyline, acting, music, cast. Enjoy the movie and feel the patriotism of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev arising in you.

I'm a great fan of this series ever since it began a decade ago ie 2008. Kudos to Sagar Arts for producing a fantastic show on the planet Saturn. The title role played by Daya Shankar Pandey was the best role in his whole career. All the stories starting from King Vikramaditya, birth of Shani till the miracles of Shingnapur were brilliantly shown. The music by Surya Raj Kamal was melodious. There's one Krishna bhajan sung by Anup Jalota called "Darshan Do Ghanshyam" in episode 96. Its a very beautiful song relating to Shani Dev's devotion to Lord Krishna. It brings tears to my eyes whenever I listen to this. All the cast of various episodes did a fabulous job. Its great that this series restarted on Dangal TV. The computer graphics and animation were great. By watching this show, the crowds at the real Shani Shingnapur started to increase everyday including the temple income too. The message which this serial portrays is great. Shani rewards you for your good deeds and punishes you for bad deeds. Watch this show and immerse yourself in it. Jai Shani Dev !

I was shocked at the negative reviews given by imdb. Raghavendra Rao's movie "Shirdi Sai" was certainly one of the best movies made in 2012. The movie has lots of devotional value. Nagarjuna has acted brilliantly as the title role. Even the other cast did a good job. All the stories mentioned in Satcharitra were true. Only the biggest flaw was the comedy track which was too loud and boring otherwise everything else was in the right track. The music by Keervani was the best. He's one of the best music directors in the south especially for devotional films.

I recommend all the Baba devotees to watch this film and feel Baba's presence.

Kudos to Sagar Pictures for making a brilliant serial of Lord Krishna. Though the serial ran for a year, it showcased all the episodes from Krishna's birth till his teenage years. The cast, sets, VFX and music was the best. See this show and become an ardent Krishna devotee.

This movie "Shirdi Sai Baba" was released in 2001 and has been my favorite most movie. I have seen this devotional film atleast 100 times. The cast, music etc has been portrayed brilliantly. Aushim Khetarpal as Arjun has acted brilliantly as an atheist. All the stories of Baba has been shown nicely as mentioned in the Satcharitra. The music by Pandurang Dixit is brilliant. The best song is Reham Nazar Karo sung by Sonu Nigam. This song makes me weep due to the excellent lyrics and soothing voice. Everything was shown the best in this movie. This film was a huge hit at the BO due to its storyline, cast, music etc.

I request all Sai devotees to watch this movie and feel the bliss.

Jai Sai Ram!!

I am devotee of Lord Krishna and Shirdi Sai Baba for the past few years. This serial was beautifully presented from the episode 1 onwards. The cast did a fantastic job. Vishal Karwal who played the title role won million hearts with his powerful performance and acting. Everyone thought him to be the real Krishna. The actresses who played Rukmini, Jamwanti and Satyabhama too performed their jobs decently. The sets were brilliantly depicted as mentioned in Dwapar Yuga. The music by Ravindra Jain (in the first few episodes) and Bawra Bros (for the rest of the episodes) were melodious and filled with devotion. The title song "Jai Dwarkadheesh" sung by Anup Jalota was on all Krishna devotees lips. The animation and SFX were very good. The flaws were some of the episodes of Mahabharat was not shown after the Pandavas 13 year exile period, Lord Krishna not showing his Vishwaroop as shown to Arjun in Shri Krishna etc. Gufi Paintal played Shakuni brilliantly like in Mahabharat (1988-1990) of BR Chopra. Unfortunately, the serial ended abruptly on 12th April 2012 due to the channel shutting down. Either they should have revived the serial in some other channel or released the shown episodes on DVD. Luckily they showing the repeated episodes on Dangal TV from 2015 onwards.

Overall, the serial was beautifully shot, amazing acting by the cast (especially the title role), music, VFX and sets. I recommend all to see this beautiful serial on Lord Krishna.