Stories like ‘Gudiya Ki Shaadi’, ‘Sandhya Chhaya’, ‘Aaj Rang Hai’, and ‘The Relationship Agreement’ promise to engage both the heart and the mind

Diwali is a time of nostalgia, celebration, family bonding and creating lasting memories and Zee Theatre will add even more sparkle to the festivities with four engaging and entertaining teleplays. ‘Gudiya Ki Shaadi’, ‘Sandhya Chhaya’, ‘Aaj Rang Hai’, and ‘The Relationship Agreement’ are just perfect for family viewing and are guaranteed to evoke a rush of emotions and also deep thought.

An overview of the offerings:

1) Gudiya Ki Shaadi:

Obsession with fair and flawless skin, rampant colourism and unrealistic beauty standards are what this Samta Sagar and Sourabh Shrivastava directorial discusses. The teleplay in a very light-hearted way asks pertinent questions about why women are always judged by how they look. At the heart of the story is Gudiya (Shweta Basu Prasad) who loses her eyebrows because of a cosmetic accident just before her wedding. The furore this causes in her family and how she deals with the situation forms the crux of the teleplay. Gudiya with her unshakeable self-worth and her sense of humour counters patriarchal beliefs that expect her to live up to an impossibly perfect image. The teleplay will be aired on Tata Play Theatre on October 22 and also stars Virendra Saxena, Samta Sagar, Ishtiyak Khan, Saroj Sharma, Neha Saraf, Vikram Kochhar, and Anveshi Jain.

2) Sandhya Chhaya:

Diwali brings families together and a teleplay like ‘Sandhya Chhaya’ is a reminder to not exclude senior citizens from our celebrations. This classic, emotional drama highlights the isolation, loneliness and longing for connection that old age brings with it, especially when aging parents live far away from their children and rarely get to see them. Even though the teleplay was written in 1973 by the noted Marathi playwright, Jaywant Dalvi, the issues it explores, continue to be relevant even today. The teleplay’s protagonists are an elderly couple, whose children are too busy to bond with them emotionally. The two spend their time thinking about happier times and remain hopeful of seeing their children and grandchildren but they never come. The teleplay directed by Ishan Trivedi has Deepak Qazir and Uttara Baokar in the lead roles. It also stars Vinnay Vishwaa and will be aired on Dish TV, D2H and Airtel on October 22nd.

3) Aaj Rang Hai:

This Purva Naresh creation directed by Sourabh Shrivastava draws from the syncretic literary and musical legacy of Sufi poet and musician Hazrat Amir Khusrau. One of the key characters in this ensemble teleplay is Baithak singer Beni Bai who introduces the audience to the variegated history of Indian classical music and to the harmony enshrined in Khusrau’s poetry. In her twilight years, Beni is a beloved neighbourhood matriarch and simplifies religion for her young neighbours, Ameena and Vidya. The period drama is set in the post-partition era and depicts how the many hues of communal harmony once again heal a neighbourhood after it is torn apart during a riot.

The teleplay stars Trishla Patel, Sarika Singh, Prerna Chawla, Preetika Chawla, Purva Naresh, Pawan Uttam, Imran Rasheed, Sukant Goel, Nishi Doshi, and Rajshri Deshpande. It will be aired on Dish TV, D2H, and Airtel on October 23rd.

4)The Relationship Agreement:

Get ready to decode modern relationships via ‘The Relationship Agreement’, a teleplay that offers a humorous take on love, romance and commitment. At a time when the necessity of the institution of ‘marriage’ is being questioned, teleplay provides insight into how young people process their relationships today. Jointly directed by Meherzad Patel and Sourabh Shrivastava, the slice-of-life teleplay revolves around two lovers of dramatically opposite characters who draft a relationship agreement to conduct their personal life. The story takes an even more amusing turn when the couple discovers that they’re young at heart, free-spirited, single parents are dating each other! The teleplay also explores how gender roles have evolved over time.

‘The Relationship Agreement will be aired on Tata Play Theatre on October 23rd and stars Sumona Chakravarti, Sajeel Parakh, Darius Shroff, and Pheroza Mody.