"There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy," Hamlet told Horatio, when Horatio (in William Shakespeare's Hamlet) was being skeptical about ghosts.
Maybe rationalists like Horatio may raise an objection to a supernatural serial even going to the extent of accusing the show makers of encouraging the spread of superstitious beliefs; but the fact is that eerie shows like that of Mano Ya Na Mano, Fear Files, Aahat, Haunted Nights etc have attracted mass popularity. In Sony TV's upcoming show Anamika they have blended a love story with a supernatural plot.
Childhood sweethearts Jeet (played by Mudit Nayar) and Rano's (played by Annie Gill) blissful relationship is threatened by Anamika. When both are on the threshold of marriage Anaamika enters Jeet's life and charms him threatening the very foundation of their love. Anaamika, this mysterious 'other woman' is no ordinary woman but a chudail. She is scaring the hell out of their family by making mysteriously ominous appearances and creating havoc.
There are many Indians who are constantly subject to the fear of buri nazar where they believe that too much of happiness in one's life is bound to attract wrath and jealousy. The creatives said thatAnamika is based on a true story of a family based in Punjab which suffered inordinately because of a buri nazar cast on them. The cast and crew added that they did believe in it and didn't rule out the possibility of misfortunes happening in their lives induced by a buri nazar.
The creatives intend to build up eeriness with subtlety instead of abiding by conventional methods like loud performances etc. They are working on building up fear and dread through devices like artistic photography instead.
We asked Mudit Nayar and Annie Gill what they would do if a chudail really entered their lives. Annie replied, "I will start laughing." Mudit joked, "I will ask her to leave me and take Annie instead."
Vikas Seth, Producer, Trishulla Productions said, "Both Mahesh and me would like to thank Sony TV for giving us the opportunity in presenting a unique storyline Anamika as our maiden production venture. We hope that the hard work of the entire team at SET and at our end is appreciated by trade and audiences at large."
Anamika besides Annie Gill and Mudit Nayar also has Madhu Malti, Sonika Gill, Namrata Dhanija, Deepak Dutta and other actors as a part of its star cast. The show debuts on Sony TV on November 26th, Monday and will be telecast from Monday to Thursday at 8pm.
Reporter and Author: Pallavi Bhattacharya
Kamaljeet Kaur who was last seen in Imagine's Jamuna Paar, will soon be entering Sony TV's latest show Anamika.
The actress will be seen playing the role of Bubbly who is Ranjeet (Mudit Nayyar) and Rano's (Annie Gill) friend. Also, Bubbly is the only one who knows about Rano's love for Ranjeet.
We contacted Kamaljeet Kaur to find out about the show and she said, "I am feeling good and blessed as I am back again".
The entry of Kamaljeet will be seen in upcoming episodes of the show.
Reporter and Author: Nadia Malik
Sony TV, Monday to Thursday, 8pm
Production House: Trishulla Productions Pvt Ltd
Genre: Romance/ Thriller
Anamika has had a very original and artistic beginning. With simple devices they created a creepy feeling. The opening scene showed the male lead Jeet (enacted by Mudit Nayyar) in a dark and cold night haplessly trying to fix his car which has broken down in a desolate street. The chirping of night crickets add to the uncanny atmosphere. In the dark canopy of the night- the flashlight of the mobile, headlights of his car and the flickering lamp of the lamppost are providing light. The sound of Jeet trampling on dry leaves is highly audible in the sinister silence of the night. A woman's mysterious wail then envelops the ominous silence. Simultaneously white smoke engulfs the whole screen blotting out the dark TV screen- the scene also comes to an artistically unexpected halt.
'Show don't tell' is the foundation of any good fictional work. It is great that Anamika instead of spoon feeding viewers like many shows unfortunately do; leaves very subtle hints and clues. Instead of rushing towards a climactic scene the show is gradually and tastefully building up suspense. The arrival of a ghostly figure or chudail is done with gaudy close up shots, accompanied by a jolting loud sound, blood and gore in many of India's supernatural shows. Anamika is however refreshingly different.
In the Oscar winning movie Jaws, Director Steven Speilberg juxtaposed a frightening scene with a relaxing scene. When the shots of the sea in which the man eater shark was searching for its next human victim were shown; the atmosphere was foreboding. Right after a sinister scene we were transferred to scenes happening on the safe land (shore) where the shark can in no way even harm a hair on the head of anyone.
Similarly in Anamika, an ominous scene is generally followed by a safe and cozy scene. For instance the opening scene of the car wreck cuts into a scene of the busy bustling Chandigarh railway station. It seems for a while that in the merry crowd of the railway station no chudail can ever step in. However if you observe the railway scene carefully you see a little girl Guddi [who is the sister of the female lead Rano (played by Annie Gill)] who is sitting without saying a word and is somewhat awkwardly engrossed with solving the Rubik's cube. The same child is later shown writing as if doing her school homework. There is obviously nothing apparently strange about that; in fact her family doesn't seem to suspect that anything is wrong with her but when I watched it a chill ran down my spine leading me to speculate if the chudail already has an evil influence on her.
Even in the seemingly safe indoor family scenes in which the close knit family members are warmly interacting with one another and freely joking; the camera focuses from an angle from outside the family bungalow to perhaps indicate that some mysterious figure is silently watching them. This was conveyed even more effectively when Jeet is turning on his side in his bedroom at night in his sleep and when Rano fastens the lost bracelet (which mysteriously re-appeared on Jeet's car's rear view mirror) on Jeet's wrist.
Besides the supernatural angle; the USP of this show is also the love story. Rano has gone out of her way so that her boyfriend Jeet could pursue his dreams of being a champion boxer. When Jeet tells Rano that he will dedicate the medal he will go on to win to Rano; it is touchingly romantic. The tiffs that Rano and Jeet have are very realistic and sweetly funny.
The characters are also being etched out very well and that includes the supporting characters too. MadhuMalti (Jeet's grandma) is an endearing matriarch who instead of instigating needless fights with her bahu and indulging in petty kitchen politics; is logging onto a social network site of the likes of Facebook to post amusing status posts and enjoys playing video games.
Regarding the performances, everyone has done a good job. Annie Gill makes a spontaneous debut. Mudit Nayar who is in real life an introvert, plays with elan a very cheerful and extrovert young man. His acting training at Barry John's Acting School has surely groomed him into a very fine actor.
The art direction and cinematography of this show stands out. The bungalow of Jeet's family is looming and shadowy; its exterior sports a slightly haunted look. The interplay of shadows and light is done with panache.
As far as sound effects are concerned; it's refreshing that no loud sounds are used at all. Unfortunately deafeningly loud sounds are often replete in supernatural TV shows which strip the show of artistic merit. The sound effects of Anamika are very sober and far from being amateur.
Anamika on Sony TV at the 8pm slot faces stiff TRP competition from the evergreen showBalika Vadhu also at 8pm on Colors. Devon Ke Dev. Mahadev on Life OK is also going strong however the channel has lower reach. Rab Se Sohna Isshq on Zee TV surely is a far less formidable competitor than Balika Vadhu. The highly popular Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon? on Star Plus would have been a tough opponent. However it's ending tomorrow and from Monday the new show Kaali- Ek Punar Avatar will be launched. At this juncture you can't predict for sure what the TRP of Anamika will be when we get the TRP sheets again in mid December. We however know for sure that we have a nice show which will especially appeal to viewers who love to sample the supernatural.
According to our source, Sandit will essay the character of Shekhar in the show who is an architect by profession. His family members want him to get married to Rano (Annie Gill) whom he also loves since he will be off to London soon for his job.
Speaking about Rano, her love interest is Jeet (Mudit Nayyar) and her family would like her to get married to Shekhar, whom they like.
Tellybuzz contacted Sandit who said, "Yes, I will be seen playing the character of Shekhar in the show. I choose to play this character because I feel I am very much related to him and I like the production house too. I have already started shooting for the show."
Now, it will be interesting to watch in the forthcoming episodes of Anamika the interesting turns that Rano's life will take after Shekhar's entry into the show.
Reporter and Author: Anwesha Kamal
Our Thursday column is dedicated to the Singletons of Tellywood. Annie Gill who is currently seen in Sony TV's Anamika is single and is on the hot seat of our singletons column this week.