First it was the badlands of the Hindi heartland. Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Purvanchal, Haryana – scores of online content creators set their web series in the backdrop of the lawless land. ZEE5’s Rangbaaz, Amazon Prime Video’s Mirzapur and Panchayat, MX Player’s Bhaukaal, Raktanchal, Madhuri Talkies, are some such shows.
And of course, the setting has been done to death. Viewers are bored of the setting, and so are content creators themselves — something like how filmmakers, after showcasing the beauty of mesmerizing Switzerland in film after film, got tired of it and shifted loyalties to Spain, Austria, New Zealand, South Africa, et al.
Something similar has happened in the Indian OTT space. Series makers have shifted gears from North India, and set their sight on Rajasthan as the new hub of web series. And the state too lends itself beautifully to new-age storytelling — breathtaking locales, colourful people and a legacy that goes back to ancient times. Disney Plus Hotstar’s Aarya, Amazon Prime Video’s Bandish Bandits, ZEE5’s Rangbaaz 2 and Yaara, are some of the shows/movie set in Rajasthan recently.
And now, another one of Disney Plus Hotstar’s upcoming shows, ‘Kaun Banega Shekhawati’, finds its setting in Rajasthan. Earlier titled Shekhawati, the upcoming series is produced by filmmaker Nikkhil Advani and Sameer Nair under Emmay Entertainment and Applause Entertainment respectively.
Kaun Banega Shekhawati will be directed by Gauravv K Chawla, who made his debut with Bazaar starring Saif Ali Khan and Radhika Apte. The show stars Naseeruddin Shah (his second show in Rajasthan, after Bandish Bandits) as a foolish and ageing king, with four daughters. Lara Dutta (who was in Disney Plus Hotstar’s Hundred earlier), Anya Singh and Kritika Kamra are playing crucial roles in the series.
Now, let’s see how Kaun Banega Shekhawati utilises the divine beauty of Rajasthan!
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