| Ek Veer Stree Ki Kahaani... Jhansi Ki Rani | |
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Zee TV Poster |
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| Format | Indian soap opera |
| Created by | Contiloe Telefilms |
| Written by | Rajesh Saksham, Ila Dutta Bedi, Malavika Asthana and Mairaj Zaidi |
| Directed by | Jitendra Srivastava |
| Country of origin | India |
| Language(s) | Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi. |
| No. of episodes | 520 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Abhimanyu Singh |
| Cinematography | Deepak Pandey |
| Running time | Approx. 24 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Zee TV |
| Picture format | 576i (SDTV), |
| Original run | August 18, 2009 – June 19, 2011 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Ek Veer Stree Ki Kahaani... Jhansi Ki Rani is a historical television series on Zee TV created by Contiloe Telefilms. As the title suggests, the story is based on the life of Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi, one of the leading figures of the Central Indian rebellion of 1858 (which was one of the last series of actions in the Indian Rebellion of 1857). The series premiered on August 18, 2009. Ulka Gupta played the lead. It took a leap on June 8, 2010 and Kratika Sengar protrayed the lead from there on.
Contents |
It is a historical show that is about Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi. The show starts with a girl of 14 years old who plays the role of the younger version on Rani Lakshmi Bai as she marries Maharaj Ganghadar Rao.She is a threat to the British Officials and hates to see them rule India. The focus is initially on the childhood story of the Queen and continues until her death. After a leap (June 8,2010), the story focuses on the elder Lakshmibai, played by Kratika Sengar.
This serial is currently dubbed into three languages: Tamil - Jhansi Rani, Telugu - Veera Naari Jhansi Lakshmi and Marathi - Jhansichi Rani. It is broadcastd by Zee Network's Zee Tamil (Monday - Friday;8.30 PM - IST), Zee Telugu (Monday to Friday; 6.00 PM - IST) and Zee Marathi (Monday to Saturday; 2.00 PM - IST). The Tamil and Telugu version of the seria are going parallel but whereas the Marathi version is lagging behind. The TRPs of Tamil and Telugu versions are very high.
Originally named Manikarnika and nicknamed Manu, Lakshmibai was born at Kashi (Varanasi)[1] to Moropant Tambe and Bhagirathibai Tambe, a Maharashtrian Karhade Brahmin couple. She lost her mother at the age of four. Her father worked at the Peshwa court of Bithoor; the Peshwa brought her up like his own daughter, and called her "Chhabili" for her light-heartedness. She was educated at home.
Because of her father's influence at court, Lakshmibai had more independence than most women, who were normally restricted to the zenana. She studied self-defence, horsemanship, archery, and even formed her own army out of her female friends at court. Tatya Tope, who would later come to her rescue during the 1857 Rebellion, was her mentor.
Lakshmibai was married to Raja Gangadhar Rao Newalkar, the Maharaja of Jhansi, in 1842, and thus became the queen of Jhansi. After their marriage, she was given the name Lakshmibai. The Raja was very affectionate towards her. She[2] gave birth to a son, Damodar Rao, in 1851. However, the child died when he was about four months old. After the death of their son, the Raja and Rani of Jhansi adopted Anand Rao. Anand Rao was the son of Gangadhar Rao's cousin, and was later renamed as Damodar Rao. However, it is said that the Raja of Jhansi never recovered from his son's death, and he died on 21 November 1853.
Because Damodar Rao was adopted, the British East India Company, under Governor-General Lord Dalhousie, applied the Doctrine of Lapse, rejecting Rao's claim to the throne and annexing the state to its territories. In March 1854, Lakshmibai was given a pension of 60,000 rupees and ordered to leave the palace and the Jhansi fort.
On May 10, 1857 the Indian Rebellion started in Meerut. This began after rumours that the new bullet casings for the Lee Enfield rifles were coated with pork and beef fat; British commanders insisted on their use and started to discipline anyone who disobeyed. During this rebellion sepoys killed many British soldiers and officers of the East India Company.
Unrest began to spread throughout India. During this chaotic time, the British were forced to focus their attentions elsewhere, and Lakshmibai was essentially left to rule Jhansi alone. During this time, she was able to lead her troops swiftly and efficiently to quell skirmishes breaking out in Jhansi. She kept Jhansi relatively calm and peaceful in the midst of the unrest in northern India; For example, she conducted the haldi-kumkum ceremony with great pomp and ceremony before all the women of Jhansi to provide assurance to her subjects and to convince them that Jhansi was under no threat of an attack.[3]
Up to this point, Lakshmibai had been hesitant to rebel against the British, and there is still some controversy over her role in the massacre of Company officials, their wives and children on 8 June 1857 at Jokhan Bagh.[4] Her hesitation finally ended when British troops arrived under Sir Hugh Rose and laid siege to Jhansi on 23 March 1858. She rallied her troops and fought fiercely. An army of 20,000, headed by Tatya Tope, was sent to relieve Jhansi and to take Lakshmibai to freedom. However, the British, though numbering only 1,540 in the field so as not to break the siege, were better trained and disciplined than the raw recruits, and these inexperienced soldiers turned and fled shortly after the British began to attack on 31 March. Lakshmibai’s forces could not hold out and three days later the British were able to breach the city walls and capture the city. Lakshmibai escaped by jumping from the wall at night with her son. She fled from her city, surrounded by her guards, many of them women.[4]
Along with the young Anand Rao, the Rani decamped to Kalpi along with her troops, where she joined other rebel forces, including those of Tatya Tope. The Rani and Tatya Tope moved on to Gwalior, where the combined rebel forces defeated the army of the Maharaja of Gwalior after his armies deserted the rebel forces. They then occupied a strategic fort at Gwalior. However, on 17 June 1858,[5] while battling in full warrior regalia against the 8th (King's Royal Irish) Hussars in Kotah-ki Serai near the Phool Bagh area of Gwalior, she died. The British captured Gwalior three days later. In the British report of the battle, General Sir Hugh Rose commented that the Rani, "remarkable for her beauty, cleverness and perseverance", had been "the most dangerous of all the rebel leaders".[6]
However, the lack of a corpse to be convincingly identified as that of Lakshmibai convinced Captain Rheese that she had not actually perished in the battle for Gwalior, stating publicly that: "[the] Queen of Jhansi is alive!".[7] It is believed her funeral was arranged on the same day near the spot where she was wounded. Lakshmibai was memorialized in bronze statues at Jhansi and Gwalior, both of which portray her on horseback. Other equestrian statues can be seen in Agra and Pune.
Her father, Moropant Tambey, was captured and hung a few days after the fall of Jhansi. Her adopted son, Damodar Rao (formerly known as Anand Rao), fled with his mother's aides. Rao was later given a pension by the British Raj and cared for, although he never received his inheritance. Damodar Rao settled down in the city of Indore, and spent most of his life trying to convince the British to restore some of his rights. He and his descendants took on the last name Jhansiwale. He died on 28 May 1906, at the age of 58 years.
Earlier this story was rejected in Maharashtra state because of the show does not reflect the real life of the Lakshmi Bai. For example, in one of its episodes a look-alike of Lakshmibai appears, which did not happen in reality.
| Cast | Character | Historical or fictional | |
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| Ulka Gupta | Rani Lakshmi Bai or Manu Bai | Historical | |
| Shaheer Sheikh | Nana Sahib | Historical | |
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| Kritika Singhal | Rani Lakshmibai/ KrantiGuru/ Rana Bakura | Historical | |
| Sameer Dharmadhikari | Maharaj Gangadar Rao Newalkar | Historical | |
| Damodar | Historical | ||
| Shailesh Dattar | Moropant Tambe | Historical | |
| Surbhi Tiwari | Maina Bai | ||
| Ravindra Mankani | Peshwa Baji Rao | Historical | |
| Ishita Vyas | Rana Bankura / Jhalkaribai | a) Fictional (?) / b) Historical | |
| Aruna Irani | Vahini Sahiba | Fictional (?) | |
| Jaya Bhattacharya | Sakku Bai | ||
| Garima Ajmani | Moti Bai | Historical | |
| Amita Nangia | Lachchu Bai | ||
| Tarun Khanna | Ali Bahadur | ||
| Satyajeet Dube | Nana Sahib | ||
| Vishnu Sharma | Vadrayan | ||
| Devv Khubnani | Dhrupad | ||
| Trishikha Tiwari | Vaaishali | ||
| Praneeta Sahu | Juhi | Historical? | |
| Soni Singh | Vishkanya | ||
| Minnal Kapoor | Mandira | ||
| Dinesh Kaushik | Narsinghrao | Historical? | |
| Hemant Choudhary | Raghunath Singh | Historical | |
| Eva Grover | Bhagirathi Tambe | Historical | |
| Siddharth Vasudev | Samar Singh | ||
| Puneet Vashist | Karma | ||
| Amit Pachori | Tatya Tope | Historical | |
| Ashnoor Kaur | Prachi | ||
| Tanya | Indu | ||
| Benaf Dadachanji | Ganga | ||
| Ashwini Kalsekar | Heera Bai | ||
| Arav Chowdharry | Mangal Pandey | Historical | |
| Achint Kaur | Larai Sarkar (Rani ki Orchha) | Historical[8] | |
| Sudhanshu Pandey | Yuvraj (Prince ki Modh) | ||
| Jayajirao Scindia (King ki Gwalior) | Historical | ||
| Raja Bahadur (Gwalior) | Historical | ||
| Dinkar Rao (Gwalior) | Historical | ||
| Rao Sahab | Historical | ||
| Laddi | Fictional | ||
| Ulka Gupta | Kaali | Fictional? | |
| Sanjay Swaraj | Rao Dulaju | ||
| Manoj Kumar | Ghulam Ghaus Khan | Historical | |
| Mundar | Historical | ||
| Malam Baba | Fictional? | ||
| Ben Kaplan (model) | John Lang (writer) | Historical | |
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| Queen Victoria | Historical | ||
| Charles Canning, 1st Earl Canning | Historical | ||
| Gary Richardson | Lord Dalhousie | Historical | |
| Hugh Rose | Historical | ||
| Captain Mac | |||
| Edward Sonnenblick | Captain James Manson / Captain John W. Nelson | Historical | |
| Ramona Sav | Rose Nelson | Historical | |
| Gall | Historical | ||
| Vikas Verma | Marshall / Captain Robert Hamilton | a. Fictional? / b. Historical | |
| Alexx ONell | Major Robert W. Ellis | Historical | |
| Captain Malcolm | Historical | ||
| Samuel Brown | Captain Ross | Historical | |
| Captain Martin | Historical | ||
| Captain Fraser | Historical | ||
| Glen David Short | Commissioner Wilson | Fictional? | |
| Robin Pratt | Sir Moreland (Commissioner of Kanpur) | Historical | |
| Suzanne Bernert | Mrs. Moreland | Fictional? | |
| Year | Award | Category | Cast | Role | |
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| 2009 | Indian Telly Awards | Best Historical Show | Jhansi Ki Rani | - | |
| 2010 | Indian Telly Awards | Most Popular Historical/Mythological Show | Jhansi Ki Rani (TV series) | - | |
| 2010 | Indian Telly Awards | Most Popular Child Artist | Ulka Gupta | Manubai/Rani Laxmibai | |
| 2010 | Indian Telly Awards | Best Costumes | Nikhat, Mariyam & Neerushah | - | |
| 2010 | Indian Telly Awards | Best Videography(Fiction) | Deepak Pandey | - | |
| 2010 | Indian Telly Awards | Best TV Lyricist | Mairaj Zaidi | - | |
| 2011 | Indian Telly Awards | Most Popular Historical/Mythological Show | Jhansi Ki Rani (TV series) | - | |
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| 2010 | Zee Rishtey Awards | Special Award for Most Popular Character | Ulka Gupta | Manubai/Rani Laxmibai | |
| 2010 | Zee Rishtey Awards | Favourite Beti | Kritika Singhal | Rani Laxmibai | |
| 2010 | Zee Rishtey Awards | Favourite Serial | Jhansi Ki Rani (TV series) | - | |
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| 2010 | Zee Gold Awards | Best Videography(Fiction) | Deepak Pandey | - | |
| 2010 | Zee Gold Awards | Best Art Direction | Sandesh Gondhalekar | - | |
| 2010 | Zee Gold Awards | Best Editing | - | ||
| 2010 | Zee Gold Awards | Performer of the Year | Ulka Gupta | - | |
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| 2010 | New Talent Awards | Editor's Choice Most Popular New Historical/Mythological Show | Jhansi Ki Rani (TV series) | - | |
| 2010 | FICCI Award | Best Entertainer of the Year | Ulka Gupta | Manubai/Rani Laxmibai[9] | |
| 2011 | The Global Indian Film and Television Honours | Best Fresh New Face(Female) | Kritika Singhal | Rani Laxmibai | |
| 2011 | BIG Television Awards | Veer Character Female (Fiction) | Kritika Singhal | Rani Lakshmi Bai | |
| 2011 | The Global Indian Film and Television Honours | Best Art Direction | Sandesh Gondhalekar | ||
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