In Siddharth Kumar Tewary’s ‘Radhakrishn’ a new perspective is provided to viewers. The television serial explores the true love between Radha and Krishna
– By RADHIKA RAJAMANI
Most of us are familiar with the story of Radha and Krishna – their sublime, sacred love filled with bhakti bhava. Jayadeva in his ‘Gita Govinda‘ extolled this spiritual love. His ashtapadis are sung even today and form an integral part of dance forms like Odissi and Bharatanatyam. The love story of Krishna and Radha is also a central theme in Manipuri dance as well. In north India Radha or Radharani as she is sometimes referred to is venerated in temples in North India, particularly in Vrindavan. People greet each other with Radhe Radhe. Radha and Krishna worship is integral In the Gaudiya sampradaya of Vaishnavism.
Mythologicals invariably captivate people. It’s even more so in the visual medium. One saw the renewed vigour, interest and enthusiasm of the young and the old watching the re-telecast of Ramayan (Ramanand Sagar’s) and Mahabharat (the BR Chopra version and Swastik Productions one made in 2013). Well Swastik Produtions had started another mythological – RadhaKrishn in 2018 which was showed during the lockdown too. The telecast of the new episodes began again in July end. The serial has crossed 500 episodes so far.
In this Radhakrishn serial, produced by Siddharth Kumar Tewary and Gayatri Gill Tewary under Swastik Productions a new perspective is provided to viewers. This explores the love between Radha and Krishna wherein their true love is shown. Essentially both are one soul. Here the way a young Krishna gets Radha out of various negative human traits like anger, hatred, fear, jealousy, ego, fascination etc is shown through various ways. The charming and enchanting flute player that Krishna is attracts not just Radha but other gopis to get near him. Such is his compelling aura that Radha and the gopis are drawn towards Krishna to do the raas leela with him. Even though Radha gets married to Ayan, Radha is still with Krishna as they are one soul. Krishna feels incomplete without Radha. The words of wisdom (gyaan) at the end are certainly helpful and thought-provoking as it mostly touches on human issues and behaviour.
Many may or not agree with what is depicted in the serial. It may or may not touch a chord with some. Some may even find it a profane depiction of a sacred theme. One must remember that this is another perspective and watch it for the way it is done and not indulge in nitpicking.
Besides the story, the superb production (grand sets, costumes, jewellery etc) along with the melodious music and special effects makes the serial highly watchable, new story angle notwithstanding. What stands out most is the acting of the young pair – Sumedh Mudgalkar as Krishna and Mallika Singh as Radha. It’s a joy to watch them both as they both play their characters with grace and felicity. Full credit must be given to Swastik Productions to come out with such a lavish serial. Currently the story has shifted to depicting the Krishna-Arjun Gatha.
