Sony TV’s new show will bring forth unknown stories from the life of Hanuman. The series, which is sourced from three scriptures, boasts of high-end VFX. Shrabasti Mallik reports
In the last few years, mythology has made a grand comeback on the small screen. Shows like Devon Ke Dev Mahadev garnered high TRPs and emerged as a trend setter thus proving that mythology, if presented in a modern way, can be a huge success. The recently-concluded Mahabharat by Siddharth Tewari is another example that a well-researched show, contemporarised as per the need of the hour, never fails to impress the audience. Sony TV’s latest offering Sankat Mochan Mahabali Hanuman is another mythological show prepared with high-end VFX to present a story of Hanuman in a different way. The makers say that the show will unravel some unknown stories and episodes from the life of Hanuman.
“The show will share stories of Hanuman’s past — the things that changed and influenced him, apart from portraying his extraordinary feats. It will start from the point where Hanuman is grown up but will also trace the time when his mother Anjani was an apsara in heaven. It will trace her downfall to earth, her marriage to god Kesari and the birth of their child Hanuman,” said producer Abhimanyu Singh, CEO of Contiloe.
At the recent launch of the show at Kingdom of Dreams, the cast of the show put up a larger-than-life performance to introduce their characters. The actors appeared one after the other, in their costumes with Hanuman Chalisa playing in the background. Eight-year-old Ishaan will be seen as child Hanuman in the show and Barkha Bisht Sengupta will play Anjani. Ram and Sita will be played by Gagan Malik and Debolina Chatterjee (of Balika Badhu fame). Arya Babbar will be seen as Ravan.
One would be surprised that Nirbhay Wadhwa, who shot to fame with his portrayal of Dushasan in Mahabharat, will play Hanuman in the show. The transformation from being a bad man to someone as powerful and influential as Hanuman is extraordinary, said Wadhwa. “The role of Hanuman is not something that comes to an actor very often. And through few episodes that we have already shot, we have come to know so many new things about him. It is an educational show,” said the actor who gave up non vegetarian food the moment he signed up for the character.
Preparation for the role, however, was difficult for Wadhwa because he was required to put on 20 kgs within a few weeks and he is working out every day for three hours to get that perfect look. Wadhwa drew reference from Dara Singh, who iconised Hanuman on screen through Ramanand Sagar’s show. He said, “The idea was not to do what Daraji did but to create an image different from his. I can never be like him so it will be my attempt to make Hanuman as believable as possible.”
The story of Hanuman’s journey in the show will be narrated by Krishna, played by Gagan Malik. “I portray all the characters of Ram, Krishna and Brahma in Sankat Mochan Mahabali Hanuman,” said Malik, who did not find it difficult to enact the three characters. “I have played mythological characters most of my life so I am familiar with the nuances. Every character can be distinguished by the way they speak. So when I am narrating the story as Krishna, there is frivolity in the voice but when I embody Ram, the voice is calm. Brahma is the creator of all, so his voice is authoritative and yet soft,” he explained.
A lot of research has gone into the making of the show. The stories have been sourced from Valmiki’s Ramayana, Tulsidas’ Ramcharitmanas and Vyasa’s Vishnu Purana. “It is Contiloe’s first tryst with mythology and we are using high-end VFX in the show. We have always experimented with multiple genres and we are utilising the state-of-the-art visual effects and stunts to tell the story because today everything is about visuals. Unless you supplement a story with graphics and visuals, it is tough to retain people’s attention,” said Singh.
photos Pankaj Kumar