Rangrasiya/ A tale of love and hate

Cast:  Ashish Sharma, Sanaya Irani, Ankita Sharma, Ananya Khare, Sadiya Siddiqui, Tarun Khanna, Vishal Gandhi

Monday- Friday, Colors, 9.30 pm
The stark, arid desert of Rajasthan serves as the perfect backdrop for Rangrasiya, a riveting tale of love, hatred, guile and treachery. The barren countryside with miles of sand dunes, that merge into the horizon to meet the border beyond, echo with an eerie silence synonymous with the fear of the inhabitants of Birpur, precariously situated near the border of Pakistan. The place witnesses a big wedding celebration once a year between borders, when the groom takes his bride back with him to Pakistan. The village is ruled by the wily Digambar Singh Tejawat (Tarun Khanna), who under the pretext of conducting marriages, smuggles arms and ammunition across the border. And when the BDS (Bharat Suraksha Dal) strike, Digamber instigates the villagers against them.
Rangrasiya has all the elements —drama, action, fear, thrill, love and hatred — that can keep the viewer glued to the television. The story unfolds with a bus full of passengers travelling to their village in Birpur, a hamlet in North-West Rajasthan being ruthlessly massacred by the BDS. Ten-year-old Parvati, fondly called Paro, loses her parents in the mayhem. Meanwhile, in another part of the village, young Rudra simmers with rage when his classmates taunt him about his mother who has abandoned him and his father. The story moves ahead when both Paro (Sanaya Irani) and Rudra (Ashish Sharma) meet each other after 15 years in unusual circumstances. Rudra, who is an officer with the BDS, storms the wedding reception of Paro under the pretext of investigating the illegal smuggling of arms. The incident shatters Paro’s life, when she witnesses her husband being shot dead by Rudra, leading to an unexpected turn of events. The show portrays Rudra and Paro’s passionate and intense love story.
A taut script, that aides in smooth story-telling and attention paid to minute detailing is what works in favour of Rangrasiya. Both Irani and Sharma have done justice to their characters, under the able guidance of Siddharth Sengupta. He has succeeded in catching the interest of the viewer, building up the pace, tempo and drama throughout. From the clothes to the Rajasthani dialect, the actors have essayed their characters with ease. Irani gives an effortless performance as Paro. It only helps that the stark countryside, the white desert of Rann of Kutch and dunes of Jodhpur and Jaisalmer, serve as the perfect backdrop to this passionate and violent love story.

Verdict: An engaging love story with good production value.