Alt Balaji to end 2020 on grand note with Royal Saga Paurashpur 

By Rajesh Ahuja 

After success of #Dark7White, #Mumbhai and #WhosYourDaddy, #Alt Balaji is set to end the year on a grand note with streaming of the Royal saga Paurashpur from tonight. . 

Featuring an ensemble cast of Shilpa Shinde, Milind Soman, Sahil Salathia, Shaheer Sheikh, Annu Kapoor, Anantvijay Joshi, Flora Saini, Aditya Lal among others, Paurashpur is touted to be one of the biggest web series on the OTT platform. 

Infact, Paurashpur has created a strong buzz among the audience even before its release with its ensemble cast and its grand look.

The trailer of the series and its promos have evoked tremendous curiosity among the audience who are eagerly looking forward to the web series from tonight.

The period-drama series, directed by Sachindra Vats, is a show dealing with love, lust, revenge and gender politics. Set against the backdrop of 16th century India, it narrates the story of a kingdom where women have no freedom to make decisions.

Paurashpur features Annu Kapoor as Raja Bhadrapratap Singh, a misogynist king who treats women as objects. He marries several women for lust and thinks of them as lesser beings. 

Apart from Annu Kapoor , the show features Shilpa Shinde as Queen Meerawati, Milind Soman as transgender Boris, Shaheer Sheikh as Veer Singh and Poulomi Das as Daasi Kala.

After appearing in several dramas on television, Shaheer Sheikh will one again be seen in a period drama (after his role of Arjun jn Mahabharata) . He will be seen in a new avatar of mysterious Vyapari Veer Singh who is believed to be the son of Raja Bhadrapratap Singh.

Shilpa Shinde plays Queen Meerawati , a character which she says has a lotbif shades to it. 

'My character of Queen Meerawati has a lot of shades to it. At one level, she is is archetypal woman in the royal household of Paurashpur where woman are expected to be slaves to the will of their husband. At the same time, her character is seen to assert herself when things cross the threshold of tolerance,'Shilpa said ahead of the streaming of the web series. 

Talking about the show, Shilpa Shinde said, 'in the kingdom of Paurashpur shown in the show, husbands are seen to play a dominating role over their wives who are nothing more the slaves to the will of their husbands.'

Actor Poulomi Das, who plays the role of Kala, a 'Dasi' of Queen Meerawati in the royal kingdom of Paurashpur, says, that the web series also conveys a message of empowerment of women. 

'In the royal kingdom of Paurashpur, where women are considered slaves to the desires of men, including those in the royal household, the only way to claim power is to fight and the only way to achieve freedom is to revolt against the oppression of the empire!,Poulomi said ahead of the streaming of the web series .

'My character Kala believes that she and the other women of Paurashpur should get what is their rightful due,'Poulomi said 

n a way, the journey traversed by the women in Paurashpur in order to achieve freedom from male oppression conveys a message of empowerment of women,'she said. 

Poulomi plays the love interest of Milind Soman in the web series. In the show, the character essayed by Poulomi fights for her love.

Those associated with making of the web series say that Poulomi plays a strong parallel lead in the show. 

The show also features Milind Soman as a transgender Boris who fights against discrimination in the kingdom of Paurashpur.  It is the first time that the actor is playing an eunuch.

One of the factors that has evoked curiosity of the audience for the show is its grand look .

Those associated with the making of the show say that it had one of the biggest budgets for Alt Balaji and Zee5. 

A fictional magnum opus of this scale is a first for the Indian web series platform. 

Paurashpur will have seven episodes.