Maati Se Bandhi Dor, the new launch of Star Plus provides a good variation to the grandeur-filled concepts that are studded in the programming bouquet of the channel. This concept has its roots firmly fixed in its rustic ambience and provides viewers with a realistic foray into the life of the protagonist, Vaiju. The show is set in Kolhapur, and the story plot moves to and fro between the life of a farmer to the dwelling of the village Sarpanch.
The show very aesthetically shows the life of a farmer girl toiling in the fields, trying to give her family some sort of financial semblance. The sequences where Vaiju ploughs and works in her land religiously, trying to overcome every single problem that comes her way, have been well-shot.
The show also depicts a well-crafted contrast life of the city, Mumbai where the college life of the male protagonist Ranvijay is shown. There is also the rich household of the Sarpanch’s Mohite Patil family shown in Kolhapur. The variations in the lifestyle of these three setups have been effectively and realistically portrayed.
The love story plot of Ranvijay loving Vaiju’s sister Jaya, studying in the same college in Mumbai, has been emphasized quite quickly.
The hot and sour sibling moments in Vaiju’s family have been established well. The elder daughter Kaveri who is married, has seen her down phase in life with her marriage breaking up. Her character is shown to be very frank on the face but has a loving demeanour about herself.
Jaya, the youngest daughter, studies with Ranvijay at the college in Mumbai. She is shown to be positive, and very loving towards her sisters and mother. Though a bit sophisticated in her style, Jaya is rooted in deep family values.
Talking about Vaiju, she is confident, resilient, and the breadwinner, who toils it out in the lands for her family’s survival. We get to see two phases in Vaiju’s life. One is where she is the dutiful farmer who can stand no nonsense when it comes to near and dear ones. She is outsmart, frank and has the courage to call a spade a spade. The other side to Vaiju is the rather weak and emotional side, where she feels depressed about being rejected in marriage, time and again, by prospective grooms. Also, there is another romantic side to Vaiju, which the narrative has established in the very first week. She has fallen for Ranvijay, from the time she has seen his photo. He is a prospective suitor, and as Vaiju says, she connects with the man in the picture the very second she sees it. This side of Vaiju falling for a man so very conveniently, without even seeing him, is a bit too far to digest, considering the rough and tough persona that she is.
Ranvijay comes across as a man rooted in family values. An ace footballer, he is in love, at first sight, with Jaya. Their love story has been too forced into the viewers’ minds, in quick time.
The mother of the three girls, Durga’s character is quite interesting here. She appears to be loving towards all her daughters. But within her, is a self-centred mind who does not want Vaiju to get married and leave her house. She is the one responsible for all the anonymous calls made to the groom’s house against Vaiju. Her intention is to give her other daughters a good living by keeping Vaiju unmarried, and working for them.
Moving on to the Mohite Patil family, Jaykant Mohite Patil comes across as a breath of fresh air. He is arrogant and aggressive in the fold of a family man. The father who is the Sarpanch, does not have much of a voice in the house, considering a wrongdoing of the past. Vasundhara Mohite Patil is the strongest pillar of the household. She commands respect for her good deeds and has come up the hard way, from being a farmer herself to living a luxurious life.
The show’s rustic ambience has a realistic feel. The narrative has shown a disparity between Vaiju and Vasundhara’s thought process which has stemmed from a few misunderstandings. However, there is not enough clarity provided, and the sequences are rather quick for viewers to clearly understand what is happening. While the mass wedding issue is tackled well, the same cannot be said of the sequence where Vaiju got both Jaykant and Vasundhara arrested. Or perhaps, the scene where Salim gets hit!! The scene certainly shows the heartless nature of Vasundhara, who is forced to go away from the scene. We believe that Vasundhara’s characterization at this point, could have been better and clearer!!
Again, the confidence and determination of Vaiju to seek justice against Salim, vanishes the moment Ranvijay shows her a glimpse of his mother’s goodness, without making any justification for the sequences that transpired before and after the accident. This cannot be fathomed!!
The narrative has already given the hint to Ranvijay and Vaiju’s wedding taking place. While Ranvijay will serve a broken heart and vengeance towards Vaiju, it will be one-sided love for Vaiju. It is to be seen how Jaya’s character graph will progress from here. The Vasundhara-Vaiju dynamics will make for an interesting watch!!
Though the characterizations with respect to the situations shown could have been better, the story ahead has enough meat to engage viewers.
Coming to performances, Rutuja Bajwe is yet another actress coming from the regional circuit to the Hindi fold. She is immensely talented, and breathes fire into her character of Vaiju. We will surely see this actor going places!
Ankit Gupta has a different kind of a role here, when compared to his earlier outings. He is doing a good job, equally adept in the romantic as well as familial, emotional sequences.
Sarika Nawathe as Vasundhara is good in her role!! Diksha Thakur, as Durga, is a revelation and plays around with the complexities in her character with all confidence. Gauravv Mukesh who has attempted to go negative with this show, has taken the best decision for himself. He excels as Jaykant Mohite Patil. Raj Premi, Shiwani Chakraborty, Resham Shrivardhan and others, are well-placed in the cast.
Overall, we give 3 stars out of 5 for Maati Se Bandhi Dor!!
