Colors' show 'Swaragini' zooms in on Kolkata's hotspots

From the Howrah Bridge to Victoria Memorial, tram lines to the Kalighat Temple and Millenium Park -- various key locations of Kolkata have been captured for a new Hindi TV show "Swaragini", which highlights the cultural conflicts between two neighbouring families.

The team of the show, including leading faces Helly Shah and Tejaswi Prakash Wayangankar who play Swara Bose and Ragini Gadodia respectively, launched the new entertainer in Kolkata.

"Swaragini" tells the story of how Swara and Ragini discover their true identities and hold onto their family ties amid fractured relationships, which are the result of a certain past.

Swara is a vibrant, fun loving and friendly girl brought up in an open minded Bengali family. She lives life on her own terms, takes her own decisions and enjoys the small joys of life. She has lived the most part of her life at her maternal house with her maternal grandmother and brought up by a single mother, who is like her friend and confidante.

Talking about playing the character, Helly told: "Swara is very similar to what I am in real life. The only difference is I am Gujarati and she is Bengali. Swara as Bengali is a non-vegetarian eating person, but in real life I am a vegetarian."

The promos of the show depict the Bengali family cooking fish.

For Helly, shooting with the fish was quite an experience.

"I never thought I will hold fish in my hand, but I did. It was very scary and was like a nightmare, but I did it for one of the opening sequences," Helly said.

On the other hand, Tejaswi's character Ragini is a simple, down to earth and obedient girl. She belongs to a Marwari family and believes in listening to whatever her elders tell her to do. She resides with her father and grandparents. She loses her mother to illness but holds her memories dear.

Tejaswi too had her share of secrets to reveal.

"There is lot of similarity and dissimilarity. Since I play a Marwari, so I can't eat non-vegetarian, but I am hardcore non-vegetarian in real life. Also, I was supposed to be a classically trained singer, so I am.

"I learnt classical singing and obviously when it comes to family, I follow my elders but I don’t belong to a conservative family, unlike what is seen in this show,” she told.

According to both the actresses, music is a key factor in the show. While Swara's character is seen playing the guitar, Ragini's character plays the sitar.

Both Helly and Tejaswi learnt the instruments for the show.

“I can play harmonium, but not sitar. I learnt the sitar for show. I had to start by learning from Google and YouTube, and then the show's makers called a trainer,” Tejaswi, who is fan of actresses Kate Winslet, Meryl Streep and Kangana Ranut, told.

Helly, who knew how to play an electric guitar, got trained in how to play the acoustic guitar.

"Swaragini", produced by Rashmi Sharma from Rashmi Sharma Telefilms, also features other characters -- Shobha Bose played by Tanima Sen, Sharmishtha Bose played by Parinita Borthakur, Parvati Gadodia played by Alka Kaushik and Shekhar Gadodia played by Sachin Tyagi.

This is the first time Parinita is playing the mother of a teenaged girl on screen.

Sachin, who is the real life husband of actress Rakshandha Khan, says anyone will be able to relate to his role.

“I play a very normal and regular person. From a businessman to service guy, anyone will relate with it,” said Tyagi said.

Also with this show, Bengali actress Tanima Sen is making her debut in Hindi showbiz.

(Source: IANS)