November 17, 2010 : “Rishta wahi soch nayi”…….is the new tagline of Star Plus which is being used since June. So have they actually changed their thinking or “Soch” and moved away from showcasing dramas about ultra rich familes and losses of 2000 crores in businesses. Yes they have and ‘Gulaal’ is one such step in this direction.
‘Gulaal’ is a story set in the parched village of Talsagra in Kutch and its rival village Rashipur. ‘Gulaal’ as the name suggests is a character who fills colors in villagers lives. Talsagra is a village which has been drought ridden and desperately needs water for their survival. The village hero, Vasantji decides to help his village and sets out in search of a man who has an magical power of finding water. Vasantji does meet the man in the desert but before he could be of any help, he passes away. Before dying he gives a ray of hope to Vasantji in the form of a girl who also possess magical powers like him. This girl is Gulaal who has a special gift of sensing water beneath the sand in an arid desert. Unfazed by the protests from the villagers, Gulaal and Vasant solve the water problems of their village and over the period fall in love. This story is about finding a ray of hope in the darkness of despair.
The 9.00 pm slot has been very crucial and frontrunner for all the channels and specially for Star Plus. ‘Bidaai’ was running at this slot till last week and it was garnering very high TRPs for the channel. This story is completely different from ‘Bidaai’. Though ‘Gulaal’ promises to bring new hopes and aspirations into the lives of its viewers only time will prove its worth. The show has been produced By Sphere Origins and directed by Siddharth Sengupta. The character of Gulaal has been played by Mansi Parekh marking her comeback on television. Her love interest, Vasantji is characterized by Raahil Azam of Hatin Tai fame. So tune into Star Plus every week from Monday to Friday at 9.00 pm to judge whether the show has done justice to the 9.00 pm slot or not.
