ALTBalaji’s New Series Paurashpur Celebrating People Who Defied Norms is a must watch!
In every era, women have faced exploitation in every step of their lives. However, some women have not let these deep-rooted social norms and stereotypes hold them from following their hearts. They have fought against the patriarchal society, defied gender roles, redefined themselves to emerge as leaders, and ALTBalaji’s new web series Paurashpur celebrates just that. Paurashpur, which has been hailed as Indian OTT’s first fictional period drama series, explores medieval Indian patriarchal societies and oppressed people who fought against all odds to obtain what they wanted. The period drama traces the story of a medieval kingdom that delves into themes such as power-lust, betrayal, misogyny, and gender disparity.
Set against the backdrop of medieval India, we are taken to a kingdom called Paurashpur, which, as the name suggests, is an empire ruled and dominated only by men. Here women hold no repute and are merely reduced to objects. The trailer of the period fiction drama gives us a glimpse at the misogynistic King named Bhadrapratap Singh. He marries several women for lust and tortures them till death if they fail to satisfy him. However, there is one bold queen who survives, the King’s first wife— Queen Meeravati.
The persona of Queen Meeravati, played by ShilpaShinde, represents determination. Along with Dasi Kala, played by Poulomi Das, she encourages the repressed members of the kingdom to fight for their rights, even if it means facing death. Queen Meeravati stands out in her tenacious fight against her grotesquely misogynistic husband and joins the enemy Boris to claim power. In a recent interview with an online portal, ShilpaShinde remarked, “It is a very entertaining show that touches upon a few critical issues that existed in those days and even today. There are a lot of mystery elements in the show, which makes it even more exciting.”
Apart from this, MilindSoman’s portrayal of transgender Boris has been making waves. Speaking about his character, the actor weighed, “My character Boris, in Paurashpur, is one of the most mysterious characters that I have ever played on screen. And that’s one of the major reasons why I agreed to do this.” The actor concluded by saying, “While I was initially offered the King’s role, I found Boris’s character quite interesting as he is someone who stands for the women of the kingdom, against the King. So, the more complex the character is, the more interesting it gets.”
SahilSalathia, who marked his debut in the OTT world with this drama, also shared his views, “My name in Paurashpur is Bhanu, and I am playing the nritya guru, but it’s not as simple as it sounds. The script is just so good, and my part in the series is very layered. In India, not a lot of parts are written the way Bhanu is written.”
Another character from this groundbreaking series that brings revolution and rage to the screen is Dasi Kala, played by Poulomi Das who refuses to remain silent and stands up for her dignity when it comes to guarding her virtue. She is passionate and fights against the brutal atrocities to emerge as an influential leader. Talking about her big break, Poulomi Das said, “The reason I agreed on this project was because of my character and the message that the series relays. This series is a gamechanger and one of the biggest in Indian OTT. The censor-free medium of the platform gave the makers the creative freedom to explore such bold themes, and I am sure the audience is going to love it.”
The series is envisioned as par with Western fantasy dramas and comes complete with powerful dialogues voiced by the actors. Many fans have compared the show to the Game of Thrones series. The women-oriented drama has already sparked a lot of buzzes and is making headlines. Netizens reacted to it by flocking to the actors’ social media accounts and ushering them with praises and wishes, and some also added that they were thrilled to watch the series.
Paurashpur stands out in its attempts at revisiting the tales of oppression, gender discrimination, and abuse faced by women in medieval times. It tells the tales of repressed women that were left forgotten and unspoken and how they revolted against the oppressors despite their limited power. The seven-episodic series was released on 29th December on the ALTBalaji streaming platform. The period drama also stars legend Annu Kapoor, ShilpaShinde, MilindSoman, Shaheer Sheikh, SahilSalathia, Anantvijay Joshi, Poulomi Das, Aditya Lal, AshmitaBakshi, Kashish Rai, and Flora Saini, in the lead roles.
Have you watched Paurashpur yet? Stream it today on ALTBalaji and share your views in the comments below!
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