''Unch Majha Zoka'' () is an Indian television series directed by Viren Pradhan and was aired on
Zee Marathi
Zee Marathi is an Indian general entertainment channel which carries programming in Marathi. It is owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. The channel was launched on 15 August 1999 and was known as Alpha TV Marathi until 28 March 2005, then ...
. The series premiered on 5 March 2012 from Monday to Saturday at 8 pm by replacing ''Ekach Hya Janmi Janu''.
Summary
It is a dramatization of the story of how the child Yamuna was given at age 11 in an arranged marriage to
Mahadev Govind Ranade
Mahadev Govind Ranade (18 January 1842 – 16 January 1901), popularly referred to as Justice Ranade, was an Indian scholar, social reformer, judge and author. He was one of the founding members of the Indian National Congress party and owned ...
and then proceeded to defy society's expectation to become the social activist
Ramabai Ranade
Ramabai Ranade (25 January 1862 – 25 January 1924) was an Indian social worker and one of the first women's rights activists in the early 20th century. At the age of 11, she was married to Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade, who was a distinguishe ...
. It is set during the
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
in 1870s India.
Cast
Main
*
Spruha Joshi
Spruha Joshi (born 13 October 1989) is an Indian television, film, and theatre actress, the television anchor who works in the Marathi film and television industry. She is also a poet and lyricist for films.
Early life and education
Spruha Joshi ...
as
Ramabai Ranade
Ramabai Ranade (25 January 1862 – 25 January 1924) was an Indian social worker and one of the first women's rights activists in the early 20th century. At the age of 11, she was married to Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade, who was a distinguishe ...
, Mahadevrao's wife and Govindrao's daughter-in-law
** Tejashree Walawalkar as maiden Yamuna Annasaheb Kurlekar and Young
Ramabai Ranade
Ramabai Ranade (25 January 1862 – 25 January 1924) was an Indian social worker and one of the first women's rights activists in the early 20th century. At the age of 11, she was married to Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade, who was a distinguishe ...
* Vikram Gaikwad as
Mahadev Govind Ranade
Mahadev Govind Ranade (18 January 1842 – 16 January 1901), popularly referred to as Justice Ranade, was an Indian scholar, social reformer, judge and author. He was one of the founding members of the Indian National Congress party and owned ...
aka Madhavrao, Ramabai's husband, Govindrao's eldest son
*
Sharad Ponkshe
Sharad Ponkshe is an Indian actor and writer, mainly working in Hindi and Marathi cinema. He is a speaker and an actor in Marathi film, theater and television.
Career
Ponkshe started his career in the year 1988 and worked in multiple fields incl ...
as Govindrao (Bhausaheb) Ranade, Mahadevrao, Durga Akka, Nilkantha (Aaba) and Shripad's (Baba) father, Ramabai's father-in-law, Gopikabai and Mai's husband
*
Shailesh Datar
Shailesh Datar (Shailesh Dattar) is an Indian film, television and stage actor, who started in Marathi theatre and television. He is best known for playing role of sage Narada in the mythological TV series '' Devon Ke Dev...Mahadev'' (2012). Pr ...
as Annasaheb Kurlekar, Umabai's husband, Gopal, Daji, Keshav and Ramabai's father, Saraswatibai and Mahadevrao's father-in-law
*
Kavita Lad
Kavita Lad-Medhekar is an Indian actress, known for her work in Marathi Theatre, Television and Films. She is best known for her daily soap opera roles in ''Char Divas Sasuche'', '' Unch Maaza Zoka'', ''Radha Hi Bawari'' and ''Radha Prem Rangi R ...
as Umabai Annasaheb Kurlekar, Annasaheb's wife, Gopal, Daji, Keshav and Ramabai's mother, Saraswatibai and Mahadevrao's mother-in-law
* Rugvedi Pradhan as Mai Ranade, Govindrao's second wife, Ramabai's step mother-in-law, Mahadevrao and Durga Akka's step mother, Nilkantha (Aaba) and Shripad's (Baba) biological mother
Recurring
* Sharmishtha Raut as Tai Kaku, Mahadevrao's widowed paternal aunt
* Sanyogita Bhave as Subhadra Kaku
*
Mitali Mayekar
Mitali Mayekar (born: 11 September 1996) is an Indian Marathi television and film actress. At the age of 13, She debut in the acting industry with Irrfan Khan's movie ''Billu'' in 2009.
Personal life
Mitali was in a romantic relationship wit ...
as Ahilyabai, Moru Mama's third wife
* Saurabh Gokhale as Gopal Annasaheb Kurlekar, Ramabai's eldest brother, Saraswatibai's husband
* Pournima Talwalkar as Gopikabai Govindrao Ranade; Mahadevrao and Durga Akka's biological mother; Govindrao's first wife
* Amol Bavdekar as Moru Mama; Mahadevrao's step maternal uncle (Mama), Mai's brother
* Atul Kasva as Pandu Kaka, Ranades' househelper
*
Shilpa Tulaskar
Shilpa Tulaskar (born 10 March 1977) is an Indian actress who has acted in Marathi films and Hindi television shows.
She recently portrayed the role of Rajnandini in Zee Marathi's drama ''Tula Pahate Re'' and also the character of Sujata, moth ...
as Rukminibai Joshi, Ramabai's maternal aunt (Maushi), Umabai's elder sister
*
Neena Kulkarni
Neena Kulkarni (''neena'' Joshi) is an Indian actress. She began her acting career in the 1970s on the Marathi professional stage and Hindi experimental stage, along with fashion shows and modelling simultaneously. She met Pt Satyadev Dubey, h ...
as Aaji, Mai's mother, Govindrao's second mother-in-law
* Akshata Kulkarni as Kashibai Kanetkar
* Chaitrali Gupte as Annapoornabai Ramkrushna Bhandarkar
*
Nayana Apte Joshi
Nayana Apte Joshi (born 1950-) is an Indian singer-actress who worked in Marathi, Hindi and Gujarati Movies and stage plays.
Early years
She was taught classical music by her mother Shanta Apte, Indirabai Kelkar and Yashwant Bua Joshi. She got ...
as Sakhartai; Tai Kaku's mother
* Nilpari Khanvalkar as Durga Akka (Durgabai Fadnavis), Mahadevrao's real sister, Govindrao and Gopikabai's daughter (widowed at an early age)
* Sushil Bhosale as Nilkantha (Aaba) Govindrao Ranade, Govindrao and Mai's first son, Mahadevrao's step-brother
* Ashish Joshi as Shripad (Baba) Govindrao Ranade, Govindrao and Mai's second son, Mahadevrao's step-brother
* Niranjan Kulkarni as Damodar Abhyankar, Bayo's second husband
* Nandita Dhuri-Patkar as Girijabai Ketkar
*
Amol Kolhe as
Mahatma Jyotiba Phule
Jyotirao Govindrao Phule, also known as Mahatma Jyotiba Phule (11 April 1827 – 28 November 1890) was an Indian social activist, thinker, anti-caste social reformer and writer from Maharashtra. His work extended to many fields, including erad ...
*
Suzanne Bernert as Miss Hertford
*
Shweta Shinde
Shweta Shinde is an Indian actress and producer, known for Lagira Zhala Ji
''Lagira Zhala Ji'' is an Indian Marathi television drama. It premiered on 1 May 2017 and stopped on 22 June 2019. It was produced by Shweta Shinde for Vajra Produc ...
as Special appearance
* Anil Gawas as Sakha Kaka
*
Suruchi Adarkar
Suruchi Adarkar (born 25 April 1988) is an Indian Marathi actress who has featured in Marathi television serials. She started her career with an ad play ''Avagha Rang Ekachi Zhala''. She known for her portrayal in Zee Marathi's ''Ka Re Durava ...
as Muktabai Sathe (a widow guised as a married woman)
* Akshaya Bhingarde as Saraswatibai Gopal Kurlekar, Gopal's wife, Ramabai's elder sister-in-law
* Madhavi Soman as Bhagirathibai, Annasaheb's widowed sister, Umabai's sister-in-law, Ramabai's paternal aunt(Aatya)
* Ujwala Jog as Yashodabai Dandekar, Mahadevrao's first mother-in-law
* Sharad Bhutadiya as Vitthal Ranade (Vithu Kaka), Govindrao's Cousin, Subhadra Kaku's husband, Mahadevrao's uncle
* Mrunal Jadhav as Sakhu Damodar, Mahadevrao and Ramabai's neighbour in Nashik.
Production
The story is based in the late 19th century
Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
. The sets for the show, presenting the houses and interiors resembling that era are constructed at
Film City Film City may refer to
* Film City, Mumbai
* Noida Film City
* Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad
* Prayag Film City
The Prayag Film City, also known as the Midnapore Film City or Chandrakona Film City or Bengal film city is an i ...
,
Goregaon. Erected on 30-50 thousand square feet area, the set is mainly designed per descriptions of Ranade Wada as written by
Ramabai Ranade
Ramabai Ranade (25 January 1862 – 25 January 1924) was an Indian social worker and one of the first women's rights activists in the early 20th century. At the age of 11, she was married to Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade, who was a distinguishe ...
in her biography ''Majhya Aayushyatlya Aathvani''. Santosh Futane has designed the sets based on these descriptions and then making them shooting-friendly. The makeup rooms also have the old look from outside but are equipped with modern facilities from inside. The
Theatrical property
A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...
of old utensils, lamps, machines have been collected from various cities including rural areas like
Padgha
Padgha is a village, 6 km from Navsari Station. It had the largest lake in the entire Gujarat, though it has now dried up. Padgha is mentioned in the book '' Maximum City - Lost & Found'' by Suketu Mehta
Suketu Mehta is the New York-based ...
, Wada and
Mokhada
Mokhada is a census town in Jawhar subdivision of Palghar district
Palghar District (Marathi pronunciation: aːlɡʱəɾ is a district in the state of Maharashtra in Konkan Division.
On 1 Aug 2014, the State government of Maharashtra a ...
.
Special episode
1 hour
* 9 September 2012
2 hours
* 14 July 2013 (Last episode)
Awards
References
External links
*
* {{Cite web , url = http://zeemarathi.com/Zee_Serial.aspx?zsid=601 , title = Unch Majha Zoka , archive-date = 2014-04-23 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140423185317/http://zeemarathi.com/Zee_Archives.aspx?zhid=601 , access-date = 2022-11-30 , url-status = live
Marathi-language television shows
Zee Marathi original programming
2012 Indian television series debuts
2013 Indian television series endings