Chittod Ki Rani Padmini Ka Johur
| Chittod Ki Rani Padmini Ka Johur | |
|---|---|
 Intertitle of Chittod Ki Rani Padmini Ka Johur | |
| Created by | Chandrakant Productions |
| Country of origin | India |
| Original language(s) | Hindi |
| No. of episodes | 48 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Nitin Chandrakant Desai |
| Running time | 24 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | Sony Entertainment Television (India) |
| Picture format | 576i (SDTV) |
| Original release | 25 May – 13 August 2009 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Chittod Ki Rani Padmini Ka Johur (English: The Johur of the Queen Padmini of Chittod) was an Indian historical television drama on Sony Entertainment Television (India), based on the life of Rani Padmini, the famous 14th-century queen of Chittod, Mewar, Rajasthan. The drama premiered on 25 May 2009 with Sony TV's "new look" along with many other shows. The series is produced by National Award (India) winning director, Nitin Chandrakant Desai, who spent millions of rupees to create the "right look" for the drama.[1]
The drama was meant to run for 6 months (104 episodes), but ended after 48 episodes due to its exceeding expenses and low TRPs.
Title
(चितौड़ की रानी पद्मिनी का जोहर) The title of the drama indicates the "johur" of the Queen Padmini of Chittod. Johar (also spelled "jauhar") is an Indian ritual similar to the suttee. In the jauhars, women suffered immolation before their husbands’ expected death in battles. In the Muslim period, the Rajputs practiced jauhar, most notably at Chitorgarh, to save women from rape, which they considered worse than death, at the hands of conquering enemies.[2]
Plot
The initial parts of the drama takes place sometime before 1302 AD. Princess Padmavati is the daughter of the King Ratnasen of Singhaldweep. She falls in love with Rana Ratan Singh, the heir to the throne of Chittod, Rajputana who comes to Singhaldweep after seeing a painting of her in his palace made by Chittod's painter / musician Raghav Chetan. He wins the princess's marriage contest, defeating warrior Padam Singh (which is actually Padmavati in disguise) in a sword fight and asking her to marry him, without the permission of his own parents. After much debate, Padmavati and Ratan Singh are wed together with the blessings of Padmavati's parents and all of Singhaldweep. Padmavati is permanently renamed "Padmini" by her husband, Ratan Singh, who then leave for Chittod along with a royal procession.
In Chittod, Princess Naagmati, Ratan Singh's first wife and his child, Yashovardhan's mother, opposes this second marriage and Padmini's entry in the royal palace. She appeals to the Queen of Chittod, her mother-in-law and former rival, to protest against her husband's adultery persuading her to forget their own quarrels and join hands together to "destroy" Padmini. On his wedding night, Naagmati forever forbids her husband to go to Padmini's palace after dusk and thereby stopping him from having sex with Padmini, in exchange for letting him see his son. Under pretenses of "Chittod's long-lasting palace traditions," Naagmati organizes various contests against Padmini, only to lose each time.
Parallel to this story is the tale of North India's then ruler Sultan Ala-ud-din Khilji, usurper of his uncle's throne through deceit and murder, who is now intent on conquering Rajputana and its kingdoms (including Chittod).
Cast
- Tejaswini Lonari as Rani Padmini / Padmavati - protagonist
- Rohit Bakshi as Rawal Ratan Singh - Padmini's husband
- Mukesh Rishi as Sultan Ala-ud-din Khilji - antagonist
- Aarya Dharmchand Kumar as Kunwar Gajendra Singh prince of chittod
- Karan Aanand as Raghav Chetan - painter / musician
References
- ↑ "Palatial sets, exquisite costumes - TV shows get opulent". Yahoo! India Movies. 2009-07-27.
- ↑ Wendy Doniger. "suttee (Hindu custom) - Britannica Online Encyclopedia". Britannica.com. Retrieved 2012-11-03.