| Saarrthi | |
|---|---|
| Format | Drama |
| Created by | Neela Telefilms |
| Written by | Prakash Kapadia & Rajesh Joshi |
| Directed by | Qaeed Kuwajerwala |
| Starring | See Below |
| Opening theme | "Saarrthi" by Unknown |
| Country of origin | India |
| Language(s) | Hindi |
| No. of episodes | 679 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 24 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | STAR Plus |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV), |
| Original run | November 9, 2004 – February 15, 2008 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Saarrthi is a Hindi television drama broadcast on STAR Plus and produced by Neela Telefilms. It aired from November 9, 2004 to February 15, 2008 and contained 679 episodes. It aired every Monday–Thursday at 2:30 pm IST on STAR Plus channel and eventually started airing every Monday–Friday in August 2007. The story is a reworking of the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, detailing the conflict between two brothers and their families in contemporary India.
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Neela Telefilms had created many television serials in India throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s. In 2004, they signed a deal with India's most popular TV channel STAR Plus to start a drama serial called Saarrthi. Depicted as the modern Mahabharata, the drama serial was based on Mahabharata. The serial featured many established actors and actresses including S.M. Zaheer, Parikshit Sahni, Neena Kulkarni, Nawab Shah and Mansi Salvi. It also included famous rising stars like Neha Devi Singh, who had portrayed "Bijli" in Ssshhhh...Koi Hai, Mayank Anand, who was portraying "Sid" in Hello Dollie and Romanchak Arora, who had worked as Neeraj in Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii and was hosting Pardey Ke Peechey. It also introduced new faces on television and launched their careers. These included Karan Grover, Adita Wahi and Mickky Dudhani. The drama serial premiered on November 9, 2004 and aired every Monday to Thursday. The serial went on to become popular and successful.
The drama's popularity increased with many talented artists as well as a good storyline plot based on Hindu epic Mahabharata. Viewership increased and popular actor Rahil Azam from Hatim also joined the cast and portrayed Suraj Kiran, who was an antagonist in the beginning but the storyline changed and he became a protagonist. The serial also launched the career of Rajesh Shringarpore, who was portraying the Hindu god Krishna. All the artists who had previously performed low caliber roles on television became famous with this drama serial. The serial became so popular that its lead character Bhoomika Goenka, portrayed by Neha Devi Singh, won the STAR Parivaar Award in Favourite Devrani category in 2006.
However, downfall started in the drama when original cast started leaving the serial in 2006. Rahil Azam left the serial and his character Suraj Kiran ended that was considered an important character of the drama. By 2007, the megacast had suffered a lot of decrease in number and the lead actress Neha Devi Singh herself left the serial and was replaced by Zalak Thakker. Only the main cast remained with the show. The serial began more decline when its most important character Arjun Goenka was shockingly killed. In reality, Karan Grover had started working in a new drama serial called Meri Awaz Ko Mil Gayi Roshni and did not get time for Saarrthi, so he requested the producers to remove him from the cast. He was killed and the drama serial began flopping.
In August 2007, Saarrthi began airing on Fridays as well. Gurpreet Singh was added in the drama to portray Rudra Singh as the new protagonist. He had previously replaced famous actor Rajeev Khandelwal as the protagonist in Kahiin To Hoga. However, Rudra could not get the same success and popularity as Arjun received. As a result, the drama serial could not air for long and ended on February 15, 2008 with 679 episodes.
The story and characters are adapted from Mahabharata is of conflict between two brothers Mansen and Siddharth (Kaurava and Pandu) and their families. The lead, Bhoomika (Subhadra) with her husband Arjun (Arjuna) portray the eternal couple who try to bring peace between families. Along with them is Manasi (Draupadi) who becomes center of conflict between two brothers Suraj and Karan.
| Actor / Actress: | Role: | Time Period: | Notes: | Mahabharata Role: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karan Grover | Arjun Goenka | (2004–2007) | Male Protagonist | Arjun |
| Rajesh Shringarpure | Lord Krishna | (2004–2008) | Krishna | |
| Neha Devi Singh | Bhoomika "Bhoomi" Goenka | (2004–2007) | Female Protagonist | Subhadra |
| Adita Wahi | Shefali Goenka | (2004–2006) | Lead Antagonist | Bhanumati |
| Zalak Thakker | Devika Parekh / Bhoomika Goenka | (2007–2008) | Female Protagonist | Subhadra |
| Nawab Shah | Mansen Goenka | (2004–2008) | Lead Male Antagonist | Dhritarashtra |
| Rahil Azam | Suraj Kiran | (2004–2006) | ||
| S.M. Zaheer | Devrath "Devji" Goenka | (2004–2008) | Bhishma | |
| Mickky Dudhani | Yuvraj Goenka | (2004–2008) | Antagonist | Duryodhana |
| Manasi Salvi | Manasvi Goenka | (2004–2006) | Draupadi | |
| Romanchak Arora | Keshav | (2004–2006) | Krishna | |
| Parikshit Sahni | Hemraj Goenka | (2004–2008) | Chitrāngada & Vichitravirya | |
| Neena Kulkarni | Kumud "Baisa" Goenka | (2004–2005) | Ambika & Ambalika | |
| Savita Prabhune | Kumud "Baisa" Goenka | (2005–2008) | Ambika & Ambalika | |
| Mayank Anand | Shakti Goenka | (2004) | Bhima | |
| Kiran Karmarkar | Bhujang Ahuja | (2006) | Guest appearance (1 episode) | |
| Gurpreet Singh | Rudr Singh | (2007–2008) |
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