Monday, 3 November 2014

First day, First show – Everest on Star Plus #everest #review
















Star Plus has brought an interesting television show named “Everest” which is the creative idea of filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker and it includes A.R. Rehman as the chief composer of the television show. With such huge names attached to the show, it is natural to expect something different in the world of Indian television, where the creative minds are trying to do slight experiment in an industry dominated by the saas-bahu sagas. 

The first episode of the show which aired on Star Plus today at 10:00 pm had an intriguing appeal to the narrative. Everest’s first episode subtly introduces the prominent characters - Anjali Singh Rawat, a bright graduate of Literature who is to receive the state award for her performance in college. She eagerly wants her father to accompany her for the gold medal ceremony.  

Her father is shown to be a typical army officer, who is punctual, like to live a disciplinarian life and talks in a blunt fashion. The first episode reveals that Anjali’s eagerness to attend the ceremony turns into a shattering experience as she discovers that her father never wanted a daughter, but a son. Her father represents a typical patriarchal man who desires a son and not a daughter. 

This story runs parallel to another story, where Aakash Joshi, who is a video journalist in Mumbai, is given an interesting offer by his boss (played by Rajat Kapoor) to cover the story on Everest. However, Aakash’s traumatic experience in the past has made him acrophobic. His fear or height is established in an interesting scene, where he is unable to control himself on a transparent accelerator. This makes the screenplay gripping as it switches between the past and present, exposing multiple facets to the character of the show.

In a merciless world of television where people are impatient enough to flip across thousands of channels, Will the television show Everest succeed in keeping the audiences intrigued?  Only time can tell.

Written by Sourav