Director Umesh Bist auditioned a hundred actors before casting Kritika Kamra, Raghav Juyal, and Dhairya Karwa as Vamika Rawat, Yug Arya and Shaurya Anthwal in 'GyaaraH GyaaraH', his remake of Korean drama 'Signal'.
In an exclusive statement to Moneycontrol, he said: "We were very aware while adapting from the original that we had to make it our own. The whole story has to fit in with our culture, our history, our philosophy and our ethos."
'GyaaraH GyaaraH' on Zee5 banks on the audiences buying into the idea that time is not linear. That multiple timelines can be layered on top of each other and even intersect at times. It's an idea that we in India are familiar with. Case in point: think back to how time is shown as a wheel spinning in space in B.R. Chopra's 'Mahabharat' (1988-90) - there is no sense of time going forward or backward, just constantly moving all the same. Other Hindi films and series have adapted the concept of non-linear time as well. Another example is Anurag Kashyap's 'Dobaaraa'.
GyaaraH GyaaraH plot
'GyaaraH GyaaraH' released on August 9 to mixed reviews - with verdicts ranging from "stellar" to "middling" and "convoluted". Having said that, there is much to recommend the Hindi series. Here's how it plays out: 'GyaaraH GyaaraH' begins with the kidnapping and murder of a child. Fifteen years on, the case is solved through intrepid policework by Inspector Yug Arya (Raghav Juyal) in the year 2016 and Shaurya Anthwal, the policeman on the case in 2001. The medium for their conversation: a walkie-talkie that comes to life for a minute at a time, at 11.11 pm. The resolution of the case, in the first three episodes, leads to the formation of a cold case unit. The three show leads will work on two more cases - with the stories becoming more personal to them each time.
GyaaraH GyaaraH ending explained
(Contains spoilers) Guneet Monga Kapoor's Sikhya Entertainment and Dharma Productions' sci-fi series 'Gyaarah Gyaarah' ends on a hopeful note. Here's what happens: One of the three main protagonists, Vamika Rawat, meets with a gruesome end. Minutes later, however, we see her in a different timeline - alive and well. If this sounds kooky, remember that this show is based on the idea that time is not linear. That different timelines can loop and intersect - an idea that already exists in some Asian cultures, including in India.
'GyaaraH GyaaraH' Season 1 looks at three fictional "cold cases", or cases that have not been solved for years and where the leads have gone dry. In each one, Shaurya Atwal is involved with the investigation soon after the crime occurs, and Yug inherits the case as part of the cold case unit.
Unknown to them, Vamika is the common link - she knows both of them, but of course in different time periods: Shaurya in the 1990s to early 2000s and then Yug in 2016. In love with Shaurya who disappeared soon after the 2001 case, Vamika visits his father - a quantum physics scientist and teacher - often in the 2016 timeline.
A still from Gyaarah Gyaarah on Zee5 (Image courtesy Zee5)
It is Shaurya's father who explains to Vamika how time is a continuum. Though it isn't stated in Season 1 of the show, you get the feeling that Shaurya's father has something to do with the invention that makes it possible for Shaurya and Yug to talk to each other across time. (If you are getting 'Mr India' deja vu here, you're not alone: a scientist father who invents a breakthrough gadget that makes the impossible possible - we've seen and loved that before.)
Coming back to the three cases: They each become linked with the three police officers in some way. In the first, the kidnapping and murder of a 9-year-old, Yug is a child witness in 2001. In the second, a serial murder case where the killer targets beautiful working women, Shaurya's fiancée Pallavi becomes a victim. In the third and final case, Shaurya is personally invested in the fate of the girl whose murder is being avenged. Each time, there is a sense that Shaurya is in some kind of danger.
In the final case of 'GyaaraH GyaaraH' Season 1, however, it is Vamika who becomes the victim of a gas-leak explosion. Towards the end of the final episode of 'GyaaraH GyaaraH', we see Vamika's charred body being taken away on a gurney. Yet, minutes later, there's a triptych, with Shaurya, Yug and Vamika once again active in the police force.
Kritika Kamra as Vamika Rawat in Gyaarah Gyaarah on Zee5 (Image courtesy Zee5)
Throughout the series, Yug and Shaurya have struggled with the question of whether they can use their gift to change the past. In the absence of confirmation of a second season, we can only conjecture that the ending hints at more possibilities than what has already come to pass; that there is a chance that not just Vamika, but also Shaurya can be saved and found in the next timeline of the show.
In the statement to Moneycontrol, Bist had added: "There were two main elements in this sci-fi crime thriller – mystery and mysticism. It was a new concept that we were introducing, but there was a certain kind of relatability that our audiences already have. It was not easy, but we knew we could do it."
'GyaaraH GyaaraH' Season 2?
Kritika Kamra said in an interview to DNA that while the broad story for Season 2 is in place already, the screenplay is not. Naturally, the team haven't started shooting for it. Having said that, the way that Season 1 ends hints that the makers wanted there to be a 'GyaaraH GyaaraH' Season 2.
Speaking about his experience of working with Dharmatic, Zee5 and Sikhya, Bist said: "I have a very long association with Sikhya – Guneet and Achin (Jain, COO, Sikhya Entertainment). My last film ‘Pagglait’ was also with them and now they are like family. Karan (Johar) and Apoorva (Mehta, CEO and managing director, Dharmatic) came in with their full support and provided us with all the resources to make our vision come to life. Also, I felt that this idea had to be done on a slightly larger canvas for which we needed a partner like Zee5 to support this entire journey... we are just (like) a bunch of kids who are always looking for new toys."
Given this curiosity to see where the idea takes them, the cliffhanger ending and the way Zee5 is promoting the show with hoardings in major metros, a second season seems imminent and possibly welcome.
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