Aroona Irani's Icchadhari Naaginn

Human transformation to werewolves, vampires, flies etc has always been a successful concept in the west. In the Indian context, it's the Ichhadhari Naag (snake) that always arouses the viewer's interest. Come this Friday at 8.30 pm, viewers on Zee TV will witness another such tale in the weekend drama 'Naaginn' Naaginn is a tale of an Ichadhari Naaginn who transforms herself to take revenge from the Rathod family that had killed her parents for attaining the invaluable Naagmani. She gets married in the same family but her duty as a wife comes in between her revenge and her love towards her husband. Set up in a Rajasthani background the show has Shayantani Ghosh (Naaginn) playing the lead protagonist along with Aroona Irani, Ali Hasan, Siddhart Dhawan and Shabaaz Khan. The initial shooting had been done in Mumbai, other scenes are likely be shot in Rajasthan. Though there was ample use of computer graphics, the series had used actual snakes. Legendary actress and producer Aroon Irani, who earlier dished out hits such as Des Main Nikla Hoga Chand, Mehndi Tere Naam Ki and Rabba Ishq Na Hove, now touches upon this age old concept. So will this tried and tested formula appeal to the present viewers? Aroona chides, "Why shouldn't it. Despite wide criticism the saas-bahu sagas are still a hit with the audiences. On the contrary, the so-called realistic shows aren't doing all that well. This concept of Naagin will work wonderfully well and I'm sure the viewers will like it again" Refusing to accept that such shows encourage superstition, Aroona says, "This series in fact also shows how wild life should not be harmed. In any case, the audiences know it's just a fantasy" However, she adds that two news reports about how snakes had sought to wreak vengeance for being harmed by humans had given her the idea of the series. Punit Goenka, Business Head Zee TV says, "We have always believed in creating subjects in viewers' interest. The concept of Naaginn and it's unfamiliarity with the masses has always been of intrigue with the Indian audiences and I am confident that this show would largely appeal to them" The producer and the Business Head sound pretty optimistic but will our viewers fall prey to the Ichadhari Naagin? Only time will tell.