Colors’ trendsetter show Barrister Babu won hearts and also acclaim. Pravisht Mishra and Aurra Bhatnagar Badoni as Anirudh and Bondita gave stellar performances. Barrister Babu was extremely popular and depicted the struggle and journey of Bondita.
Now, Durga aur Charu traverses the life and journey of Anirudh and Bondita’s twin daughters Durga and Devi. An unfortunate tragedy changed the lives of the kids when they lost their parents in a road accident and also got separated on the same rain-hit night.
Charu is taken away by a villager while Durga is found by Anirudh’s family. The story’s narrative starts with the tale of Anirudh and Bondita with Anirudh narrating it. The dreaded accident followed by the separation of kids is shown. Durga who is raised by Binoy and Sampoorna is an under-confident girl who is under a constant fear. She is diffident and prefers to stay alone. However, she lives with the hope that she will unite with Devi one day.
On the other hand, we have the extremely confident, outspoken Charu who is a mirror image of Bondita. While Durga has gotten the looks of her mother Bondita, Charu seems to be as strong as Bondita in her attitude and confidence level. The kids though away from each other, can sense the trouble and pain that the other goes through.
Vaishnavi Prajapati and Aurra Bhatnagar Badoni as Charu and Durga are doing an extremely good job. For Aurra, it is a total contrast to the character of Bondita that she played earlier. We can say that she is handling the change in characteristics and depicting the other extreme very well.
Vaishnavi Prajapati is a fabulous actress and she proves this in every role that she grabs. This one is so different from her earlier project on Star Plus. The role of Charu is tailor-made for her. Vaishnavi breathes in the fire needed to play the confident and smart girl that Charu is.
For Chandan Anand, Binoy’s character has also undergone a drastic change. We get to see the mellowed positive version of Binoy, with fatherly instincts well-etched in his character. Jyoti Mukherjee is a well-cast addition to the new edition. As the loving and caring Sampoorna, Jyoti is doing a great job.
Actors Sudeep Sarangi, Preeti Amin have been extremely natural in their display. Kaushiki Rathore who plays Sumona has a very good character and has already displayed her negative traits well. Sayantan Banerjee is too good in the role of Palash, Sumona’s husband. The couple provides the drama quotient in the show.
The story has been moving at the right pace. The makers have nurtured the characters of both Durga and Charu well. The execution to show the contrasting under-confidence in Durga and the street-smartness in Charu is perfect. After all, Charu has to take more of instincts of Bondita in the show, and it has come across well in the execution.
The makers have succeeded in keeping the aura of Anirudh and Bondita’s life and journey alive by giving them the needed mention in the narrative and story plot. This show relies totally on the child power of Vaishnavi and Aurra, and of course on the plot. So the makers need to hold the audience with its gripping plot. They have done it before with Barrister Babu and they have to relive the same magic in this new plot.
The drama has certainly kickstarted with both Durga and Charu getting together under one roof at a quick time. Their scenes together have always been worth a mention.
The direction and cinematography seem to be on spot. It will be interesting to see if the makers (Shashi Sumeet Productions) can deliver this hit and change the latest notion that sequels can never be as well-accepted as the original. Colors has to get it right with Durga aur Charu, as they have a lineup of sequels planned (as per reports) for their once-popular shows. We feel they are in the right direction with this one!!
We credit Durga aur Charu 3.5 stars.
