Knot to Be

As the team came down to Amritsar over the weekend to create awareness and talk about the show,they shared the storyline and introduced the characters. Amritsar girl Shefali Sharma plays the lead role,while Chandigarh-based Neha Bagga acts as the feisty younger sister Rajji. The abandoned bride named Rano is essayed by veteran actor Navni Parihar. The show has a sutradhaar in the form of singer Harshdeep Kaur,who has been brought on board in an unconventional role of narrating Gurbani’s journey to the viewers through music. “What can’t be said,can be sung,” says Kaur,who will appear in the background,singing in her signature sufi style and attire,taking the story forward at crucial turns. “I am the singing storyteller,” she says with a smile.

Kaur,along with music director Udhbhav Ojha and lyricist Gagan,has worked on original compositions for the show including Saiyyan and Ishqe da kalma. For Kaur,it was the concept of the show that got her interested. “I have heard of such stories where,to get that NRI tag and status,young girls are married off in haste to boys without doing any checks. It’s the mindset that needs to change,” she says. Parihar,who has worked in films such as Tanu Weds Manu,Corporate,Page 3,Andaaz,Hulchul,Jail and TV serials such as Mansha,Upasna,Chahat Aur Nafrat,Dastaan and Waqt Ki Raftar,agrees. “My mother had a friend,a Punjabi lady,who used to live near our house in Madhya Pradesh. She got married to an NRI and he left her here. She was highly educated and she still waited for him,” narrates Parihar,who shot to fame as Naintara in Doordarshan’s Mujrim Hazir Ho,a show that also starred famous actor Nutan. A housewife-turned-actor,Parihar’s been in the industry for 20 years and laughs at how she never received any formal training in acting. “I got married in Mumbai and happened to meet my husband’s friend and producer Rakesh Chaudhary and work just rolled in,” she says.

In Gurbani,she plays Rano,an abandoned bride. “Rano’s character is 20 years into a non-existent marriage and she wanders around,waiting for her ‘Balbir ji’,” shares Parihar,who found it challenging to play this part as it required immense depth,pain and no gloss and glamour one sees the ladies sport on television. “It’s her eyes which have to do the talking,and I found the role physically,mentally and emotionally challenging,” says Parihar,who will be seen sans make-up.

Produced by Damini K Shetty’s Mystic Entertainment,Gurbani has been shot at iconic spots such as Khasa railway station at the India and Pakistan border and Sirhind Canal near Ludhiana.

Sharma,who is playing Gurbani,says that roles like these are few. “I play this lively girl from Amritsar who is forced by her mother to marry a prosperous NRI suitor and enrich the family’s affluence,” shares Sharma,who comes from a theatre background. Chandigarh-girl Bagga says that television was her dream. An alumna of Government College for Girls,Sector 11,Bagga is currently pursuing her MBA from University Business School. “It’s a woman’s medium. I love watching serials and always wanted to be in one,” she says.

The show begins on March 18 and will air Monday to Friday at 10.30 pm on Colors