When she forayed into acting, she was taken for granted as the girl next door, but once she had presented herself in a bubbly avtar she was typecast for glamorous roles. "I have always surprised my detractors, as also my well-wishers and this time is no different," says Mouni Roy, who plays Sati, the consort of Shiva in Devo ke Dev Mahadev on LifeOk. "I enjoy the new look, the kind of make-up and costumes I haven't worn for any other project and delivering dialogues the kind of which I never have. I admire the character I am playing, of an innocent girl who goes against her father's wish to love and commit herself to a man with a wild image. But I don't have to be like every character I play, do I," poses the actress, who has a couple of anchoring assignments in hand, besides this serial. "Personally, I am opposed to the act of throwing oneself into the fire to prove loyalty for one's man, but the conditions in the story are idealistic and they are a high example set for all to at least admire if not emulate," reasons Roy, a native of CoochBihar, educated on the Delhi University campus. "It is important to break the mould and emerge with something new every time," she opines.
Daily, 8.00 pm, Life OK
Cast: Surendra Pal, Mouni Roy, Mohit Raina
Rating : ***
The show is awe-inspiring with respect to its production values.The locales, the settings, the costumes (especially the ones worn by Sati and her jewellery) are stunning but the performances are average
With the exception of Om Namah Shivay, which aired many years ago, Lord Shiva has largely been overlooked by Hindi serial makers. Life OK's new offering Devon Ka Dev Mahadev is like a breath of fresh air and a terrific lesson in the life of the bairagi destroyer, Shiva. It wouldn't be wrong if you can call it a divine love story between Shiva and Sati, the youngest daughter of Prajapati Daksh, the arrogant son of Lord Brahma.
Inspired by the writings of Devdutt Patnaik (who has produced some seminal work on Shiva, retold Mahabharata and dealt with mythology in the last couple of years to bring it within the realm of the common man's understanding) and Bodhisatva, Mahadev is about Daksh's denial about the significance of Shiva and his daughter's love for the Lord. The show begins with Daksh's sthapana of the statue of Lord Vishnu. Everything seems to be in good order till the sages point out a glaring aspect that is lacking. There is no Shivalinga and hence the statue won't budge inside the temple. Not one to accept defeat, the arrogant King asks for parijaat flowers for the Narayani yagya he wants to perform for the installation of the statue. Sati volunteers to go to the forests to collect the flowers and that's when she stumbles upon Shiva's existence. Much as Sati tries to pull herself away from the vagabond God, she finds herself increasingly drawn towards him.
The show is awe-inspiring with respect to its production values. The locales, the settings, the costumes (especially the ones worn by Sati and her jewellery) are stunning. However, the performances are average and the dialogues are cliched like 'Main chupchaap saare dukh sehti rahi' to the 'Main pratiksha karoongi, sheeghra hi apeksha' stuff.
Mohit Raina as the mighty Mahadev is quite striking as far as the physical aspect is concerned. However, we would want him to be a little more expressive. Mouni Roy as the petite, fragile Sati is also stiff. She leaves a lot to be desired in the emotional scenes. She tries hard to convey the pathos and the pain but in vain.
We wish someone better with more depth was cast in her place. It's a pleasure to see Surendra Pal as the arrogant Daksh, despite him scowling most of the time. The rest of the cast pitch in good performances.
Notwithstanding the minor flaws, Mahadev is an engaging watch.
Verdict: An absolute must-watch!