Trishna

Past two days have been absolute bliss binge watching Trishna, a Hindi serial, which was aired on Doordarshan in the 1980s. It is an authentic Hindi remake of the much-cherished classic, Pride and Prejudice. It has been uploaded on YouTube by Prasar Bharati Archives in April, thanks to the re-broadcasting spree by Doordarshan of late.

I used to miss watching Trishna in school days because it used to air during the time I used to be in school. I had been searching for these videos for more than 20 years now, until someone from a book club tipped us off with the YouTube upload.

The story follows a life of the bright, chirpy and high spirited Rekha Anand (Elizabeth Bennett), second daughter of a middle-class family in Bombay (now Mumbai) and a rich business man, Rahul Mehta (Oh, Mr. Darcy) from Ahmedabad. One is proud of himself, and the other is prejudiced against him. We all know the rest of the story. I am not going to narrate the plot of Pride and Prejudice here 😊

Considering it is a 35-year-old serial, one can understand that it has few major glitches. The chemistry is not so great between the main leads. The acting of most of the actors and settings are quite mediocre. But the storyline itself is so refreshing. The native “Indian” ness adds much charm to it. We all can recollect those loose Kurtis and salwars we used to wear in our schools and colleges. The dances and balls in the book are replaced by parties and picnics. The story brings back memories of those days when we all used to huddle up in a neighbor’s house to watch a movie or play some games. The long walks our dads and uncles used to take to avoid paying the taxi fares, the urge from few of them to arrive on time and the chaos they create in the family to be punctual brings back some good old memories and a big smile on your face. There are two characters who specially deserve special mention for their acting skills. Lakshmi Anand (Mrs Bennett) has played her role to such perfection in the Indian context. Most of us can relate to the fussiness of our own moms when we watch her. Another character is Raj Mohan (Mr. Collins). He is a natural and his acting is brilliant. He has portrayed the imperfections of Mr. Collins so perfectly, all of us can relate to one distant relative of ours who makes such a fuss. These two characters are given enough screen time to show case their skills. Rekha Anand is casted very well, according to me, the perfect Elizabeth Bennett. Sangeeta Handa as Rekha Anand, is dusky, has a very ordinary face but such beautiful eyes. She does not dress up well, wears those loose kurtas and most of the times, does not comb her beautiful hair. She has an unkempt bun tied on her head, and has no make up or any other adornments most of the times. But when she looks and talks with such beautiful eyes, even we fall for her, leave alone Mr. Darcy!!

It might sound preposterous, but I could never come to terms with Aishwarya Rai or Keira Knightley or even Jennifer Ehle (who was so perfect) as Elizabeth Bennett. They all are too pretty to play the role of the charming Elizabeth. But for once, I liked this casting of Rekha Anand. She is just perfect! I cannot say the same for Rahul Mehta though. Whoever plays Mr. Darcy has to be charming. Tarun Dhanrajgir is indeed good looking, but leaves a lot to be worked upon on his acting skills. He just doesn’t seem to connect with his counterpart, though he does due credit to his role in the last episode.

These episodes were shot 35 years back and the print which is uploaded on YouTube is not very clear. The acting of most of the characters is quite mediocre except a few of them, who have done a brilliant job. The script writers have to be lauded to stick to the authenticity of the plot. Each and every dialogue is in line with book. Contrast to the boisterous and loud Aishwarya Rai starrer Bride and Prejudice, which had such glamour around it, this simple yet refreshing 13-episode serial is bound to steal your heart.

I was waiting for this serial with great expectations, and it did not let me down.

If you are an obsessive fan of Pride and Prejudice as I am, do not miss Trishna despite its glaring flaws. Go get transported to your childhood memories with this precious port-key.