Aeons ago there was a film Kohinoor starring Dilip Kumar-Meena Kumari which surprisingly was a light, romantic comedy for the king and queen of tragedy. Now, SaharaOne is bringing a crime thriller revolving around the precious stone and the myth that surrounds it, for the small-screen.
A situation-driven story, Kohinoor has complex layers of intrigue. As it unfolds, the viewer is taken along in a roller-coaster ride what with the show boasting of over 48 pacy scenes in the first episode of 45 minutes and of over 20 scenes averaging per 22-minute episodes.It promises thrills and emotions interwoven with aura and mystery.
Encompassing historical facts and contemporary events, the characters of the soap, Iravati Kohli (Kuljeet Randhawa) and Samar Khanna (Ankur Nayyar) encounter colourful people from different walks of life. The attempt is to cater to all the segments of the viewers. You will find hisotrical places, scenic places and even the seamier side of the cities as we see today in the serial. Purnendu Bose, COO, SaharaOne Television says, Kohinoor has perfect casting, great background score with various outdoor locations adding to its mysticism and largeness.”
Besides Iravati and Samar, the other interesting characters of the serial include inspector Shinde (Ajinkya Deo) who believes that Iravati has a link with a murder he is investigating and Karan (Amit Sadh) the playboy who is interested in Iravati.
Ajinkya Deo, who’s coming to the small-screen after a long gap - the last show he did was Ravi Rai’s Sailaab - is excited about his cop act. “I have been playing the inspector quite often these days (Aan). People tell me I look good as a cop,” he jests. The reason he accepted Kohinoor was it’s being produced by Cinevistaas “which is like family to me”. Secondly, it was the role that had his interest piqued. He plays Satyajit Shinde, a straight-forward cop who loves his job. He’s an earnest inspector whose efforts at nabbing criminals are frustrated by his rivals at every point. One day he resigns from his job only to find a lead to a sensational murder. He decides to investigate and teach his detractors a lesson. A Maharastrian, Ajinkya brings to his character the typical Marathi flavour and colourful language. “I am sure my Shinde will be popular,” he says confidently.
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Ankur Nayyar, who has done serials like Des Mein Nikla Hoga Chand, Jeet and Reth (he quit it mid-way) will be seen in an important role in this serial. “I play a character which is multi-layered. Viewers will always be on the edge trying to figure out what I am upto. There are hidden secrets ...,” he says mysteriously. As he works towards his motive-the Kohinoor- he is attracted to a girl who happens to be the fancy of another guy too.
Amit Sadh, the lover boy who loves to be the charmer in every serial starting from Kyun Hota Hai Pyaar, plays a cute romantic guy. Amit had scaled popularity as the college guy Aady in his debut serial. He went on to do action thrillers like Saakshi and most recently Guns And Roses. Personally too, the guy is on a high having got engaged to Neeru Bajwa with whom he will be tying the knot by the end of this year.
In the serial, he plays a flamboyant playboy who falls in love with the heroine at first sight. “I love playing these roles which have a lot of energy and charm,” he confesses.
As for the centre of attention and the protagonist, Kuljeet Randhawa , she is seen as a soft vulnerable girl in need of protection. This is in sharp contrast to the roles she’s played earlier. This tall beauty who made her small-screen debut with Hip Hip Hurray followed by Cats had become a known name with her tough aggressive role in Special Squad. However, she had to leave mid-way to shoot for her debut film By Chance which was to be released in July but got postponed. It was during this phase that she got the offer for Kohinoor. “The character was unlike any I had done so far. Besides, the script is great,” she says. Kuljeet plays a girl who comes down to India from UK for the first time to find her roots. Just as she is about to leave she gets a call from someone called Kunal Singh Kohli (Madan Joshi). He asks her to meet him, but just before she reaches him he’s killed. The cops also reach there to find her name written in blood beside him. The unsuspecting Iravati gets entangled in a murder-mystery and thus begins the quest for the elusive kohinoor.
But there’s someone else who is hell-bent on getting his hands on the precious stone. Called Kaali, he will leave no stone unturned to get to his goal, even kill. But before you brand him as the villain, Manish Wadhwa who plays the role, points out that even though he is the baddie, he’s a man with a heart of gold. He may kill but he won’t do it ruthlessly. He has emotions and is moved to tears before he does the dreadful act. “There’s a reason for him being the way he is. Only his guru knows what has happened to him in the past,” he explains. A misguided man, an eccentric guy, or a larger-than-life character, Manish assures that once you watch the show, things will fall into place.
Kohinoor assures a lot of twists and turns to keep you on the edge-of-the-seat through the week. If you want to be clued in, watch the serial Monday-Thursday at 10 pm from September 5. It will be interesting to see whether Kohinoor will finally turn out to be the jewel in the crown for SaharaOne?