Disclaimer - I have read the novel many times and am a huge fan. As excited as I was about the series, it was never going to live up to the the source for me.
First the positives, no expense appears to have been spared in production. The costumes, locations, cast and music is top notch. I was listing after saeeda bai's shararas! Tabu was excellent, and Ishan Khattar a revelation. Tanya Maniktala grew on me and Danesh (as the hottie Kabir) was perfectly cast. The supporting cast was excellent! The music was lovely, and the 1,300 page story well adapted.
The negatives - the dialogue in English was so jarring. Every time one of the characters slipped into Hindi/Urdu or Bangla my heart sang out. I understand that the series was written for an English audience but how could they get it so wrong. The odd and inconsistent accents, the very very weird language. Urgh!!! Some of the acting was also very off putting. The actor playing Rupa Mehra was shrill and OTT as was Kulbhushan Kharbanda in his minuscule role (and I won't even mention the actor who played his wife). It was so out of sync with the understated performances of the rest of the cast.
First the positives, no expense appears to have been spared in production. The costumes, locations, cast and music is top notch. I was listing after saeeda bai's shararas! Tabu was excellent, and Ishan Khattar a revelation. Tanya Maniktala grew on me and Danesh (as the hottie Kabir) was perfectly cast. The supporting cast was excellent! The music was lovely, and the 1,300 page story well adapted.
The negatives - the dialogue in English was so jarring. Every time one of the characters slipped into Hindi/Urdu or Bangla my heart sang out. I understand that the series was written for an English audience but how could they get it so wrong. The odd and inconsistent accents, the very very weird language. Urgh!!! Some of the acting was also very off putting. The actor playing Rupa Mehra was shrill and OTT as was Kulbhushan Kharbanda in his minuscule role (and I won't even mention the actor who played his wife). It was so out of sync with the understated performances of the rest of the cast.