Siya Ke Ram Review: Enchanting narration to present appealing chronicles of Ramayan

Star Plus’ Siya Ke Ram is the story retold once again to present a fresh perspective on Ramayan. This time, the story is told by Sita’s perspective. It will bring some unseen chapters in the mythological show. It brings Sita’s emotions, her independent thoughts, brave nature and then finally her true love for Ram. Sita’s birth from the soil to her tender years is shown in detail. The story will then focus on Sita’s marriage with Ram and their divine journey.

The story is adapted by Valmiki’s Hindu Epic Ramayana with some new points added to it. The viewers will get to see Sita’s narrative. The tale will take you on an enchanting chronicle of Sita and Ram’s life. It presents great visuals of Ayodhya and Mithila. Siya Ke Ram is a captivating show which brings mythology in fictional format.

Main Characters:

Raja Dasharath:
He is the king of Ayodhya and has three wives, Kaushalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi. He has four sons Ram, Lakshman, Bharath and Shatrughan. Dasharath is proud of his eldest son Ram. Ram’s mother Kaushalya blames Dasharath for their daughter Shanta’s death. Dasharath has mistakenly killed Shravan in the jungle, instead a deer. He is cursed by Shravan’s father that he would lose his son too. Dasharath fears to lose his sons, and secures Ram the most.

Raja Janak:

Janak is the king of Mithila. He has his wife Sunaina and was wishful to get a daughter. Sunaina assumes Mithila is affected by drought as she could not give a heir to Janak. Janak is best known for his values and teachings. His Rajya is the most peaceful when even drought has ruined the Rajya for 12 long years. The people do not lose hope and have immense faith in Janak. Janak sacrifices all his wealth to make a gold plough, as guided by his Gurudev. Janak unearths Sita and accepts her as daughter, given by fate and Lord’s blessings.

Sunaina:

She is Sita’s mother. She did not have child for many years and held herself guilty for Mithila’s drought. She supported Janak in his decision to sacrifice all his wealth and live a simple life. Sunaina is blessed with Sita, while preparing soil for farming. Sita was born from soil and thus called Bhoomija. After few years, Sunaina gives birth to Urmila. Sunaina and Janak feel lucky that Sita chose them as parents.

Sita:
Sita is born by the soil, whose cry gets rain shower in drought affected Mithila. Janak accepts her as his daughter. Sita’s steps become prosperous for Janak. Janak and Sunaina have another daughter Urmila. Sita has a curiosity to learn and obtain knowledge. She is daring and brave. She believes in having liberty of thinking. Sita is influenced by Devi Gargi, who is the only female Rishi. Sita wishes to get education by Devi Gargi, while Maharishi Gautama expresses his wish to teach Sita. Sita grows up into an inspiring and strong woman.

Ram:
Ram is Dasharath’s elder son. Ram and his brothers are sent off to ashram to gain teachings from Guru Vashisht. Ram qualifies in all the tests with his distinct intelligence. Dasharath is proud of Ram and fears of losing him. Ram is shown as his most caring son among all. Ram is mature, patient, brave, honest and possesses great archery skills. Ram’s stay at ashram ends and he heads to Ayodhya.

Cast:

Bijay Anand as Janak
Bhargavi Chirmule as Sunaina
Dalip Tahil as Dasharath
Madirakshi Mundle as Sita
Ashish Sharma as Ram
Grusha Kapoor as Kaikeyi
Sampada Vaze as Sumitra
Snigdha Akolkar as Kaushalya
Yash Mistry as little Ram
Vedant Sawant as teenage Ram
Nikhil Narang as Lakshman
Sujay Reu as Bharath
Richa Soni as Devi Gargi
Sandeep Mohan as Guru Vashisht

Story So Far:

Mithila is shown affected by severe drought. The people are shown starving for water and food. Raja Janak sends his trusted minister Shathanand to help the Rajya people. The people show immense faith in Janak’s values. Janak consults his Gurudev for some solution for the 12 year long drought. His Gurudev suggests him to sacrifice all his wealth and palatial comforts. He asks Janak to make a plough and do farming himself. Janak’s wife Sunaina assumes she is the cause of this drought, and compares her childless status with Mithila’s state. She advises Janak to remarry to get a child. Janak dismisses her thought and shows his faith in Lord. Janak melts the ancestral gold and makes a thick gold plough. He starts digging the soil, where he unearths a baby girl. The baby’s first cry showers rain in Mithila, which brings happiness and prosperity for the Rajya. Janak inquires about her family. Knowing she is not related to anyone, Janak accepts the baby girl as his daughter. He names her Sita. Sunaina and Janak love Sita, and later they are blessed with a daughter Urmila.

On the other hand, Ayodhya’s king Dasharath wakes up from a bad dream recalling the curse from Shravan’s father. Dasharath was hunting for a deer and shot Shravan by mistake. He is burdened by this guilt and worries for his son’s safety and long life. Dasharath meets Kaushalya and shares his worry. He tells about visiting Guru Vashisht’s ashram, where he has sent his sons to obtain teachings. Kaushalya is in deep grief for losing her daughter and blames Dasharath. She calls him biased towards their daughter Shanta. Dasharath’s second wife Sumitra sings a bhajan which calms his worries. He confides his worries with her. Sumitra suggests him to send a messenger to know son’s welfare, as his fears will increase by his worry. Dasharath’s third wife Kaikeyi values Kaushalya’s son Ram a lot. She wishes Ram was born to her. Kaikeyi is Bharat’s mother, while Lakshman and Shatrughan are Sumitra’s sons. Dasharath’s sons are shown gaining knowledge in the ashram.

After a leap of 8 years, Sita is shown as a beautiful girl who innocently questions Janak and grasps knowledge around her. Sita is raised by Janak and Sunaina’s love. Janak is impressed seeing Sita’s play and feels she is really a Goddess. Sita tells Janak that she is Devi’s ansh so she is a Goddess too. At the ashram, teenage Ram is shown who is the best in sword fighting and archery. Dasharath visits his sons in the ashram and meets Guru Vashisht. He tells about the curse and gets pacified by Guru. He fees proud seeing Ram and his other sons perform well in the tests. Ram worries for Dasharath’s small wound, which makes Dasharath glad. Ram gets a bad dream about his kingdom Ayodhya being in trouble and confides with Guru Vashisht. Devi Sulbha advises Janak to organize a Gyaan Sabha for Sita. Janak organizes the Sabha, wherein Devi Gargi and Maharishi have an argument over searching truth. Sita gets impressed by Devi Gargi’s bravery to ask questions and not limiting herself. She asks Devi Gargi to teach her, while Maharishi Gautama tells Janak about his wish to teach Sita. Janak worries as cows have run away, which were to be gifted to Maharishi. Sita tells Janak that she will go to jungle and get the cows back. Janak happily permits Sita to find the cows.

Our Take:

Ramayana is the part of Hindu culture and influences civilizations. This show brings a new take on Ramayana, seen from Sita’s perspective. Sita is shown as a strong, powerful and inspiring woman. It has captivating moments. The sets, locales and costumes convey half the subject. The rest is done by the convincing actors. Yash Mistry was good in his few minutes scene as the little Rama. Vedant Sawant who plays teenage Rama is also convincing. Ashish Sharma will be stepping in grown up Ram’s character. The cast is very effective and makes the show a visual treat for the viewers. The story line is gripping and holds interest.

The USP of the show remains the visual delights by the locales and amazing scenes. Siya Ke Ram’s set look very authentic and gives a mytho feel. Detailing on characters is done well. Every character is given good time to be portrayed and absorbed. The background song on Sita is toned and very suitable. Work on the costumes and jewelry is done superbly to give the genuine look of those ancient characters. Dalip Tahil as Dasharath and Bijay Anand as Janak are worth huge mentions.

Overall:

The show is just a visual delight. It has amazing scene shots which leaves the viewers get back in that old era. The mythology detailing and appeal is fresh. It is a good family entertainer. It might be much loved by viewers of Mahabharat and Mahadev. The actors fit in their characters perfectly. The leads Ashish Sharma and Madirakshi Mundle may add more wonders in the show. A must try to get a good change from regular soaps.

Our Rating:

3.5 out of 5

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