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ANALYSIS: The uniqueness of each character in AJ
All the actors in AJ gave powerful performances particularly at the beginning of the series, thus the many praise worthy comments from many viewers.
Sadly, towards the end many of the actors' roles were reduced, particularly important ones such as Shekhar, Ranvijay, and Gangiya. The story became very unbalanced, and very messy.
Each character was unique and had different attributes. These are the comments I had written about them earlier, making some additional changes to them, and including two other characters that I had left out.
Thakur Loha Singh:
Rich and powerful upper caste landowner, he was a dominant, domineering, belligerent, heavy handed, loud-mouthed, greedy swine. Quick with his fists and sticks, he was a tyrant, ruling his house with an iron fist. No one was allowed to question him. His decree: "What Loha wants Loha gets." He exuded danger and his menacing presence was enough to make even strong men quake in their shoes. His evil deeds were many. For instance, rich Loha Singh badly wanted an heir to the Loha House. To his utter disappointment, his elder son Ranvijay, in the 10 years of his marriage, had provided him with two grandchildren, twin girls Riddhi and Siddhi, while younger son Shekhar's wife could not have children. According to horoscopes that Loha consulted, it was younger son Shekhar who would provide him with an heir. How was the question. Loha had a shocking plan. He was not above buying girls as a means to get what he wanted eg buying and giving slave girl Laali to son Shekhar to beget an heir for the Loha House. But the Laali that he, Loha purchased ended up as his daughter-in-law who gave him a lot of lip and much trouble for things she believed in. While he despised her for being from a low caste family, it did not stop him from using her for his own ends. Loha also had great contempt for the women folk, treating them with utter disdain, and in his words, only existing to serve man and his purpose. For example, he used his own daughter Ratna, fixing her marriage to a minister's son Mukul to get contracts, which ended in tragedy with both of them getting killed. He mentally and physically abused his wife, his sons, and the servants. He poisoned son Shekhar, in order to get Laali to do as he wanted - to beget an heir for him from Shekhar. He conspired with his conniving and manipulative servant Gangiya to get rid of Laali after the child was born. He constantly used his elder son Ranvijay to do his dirty work. But Loha was also a bit of a hero, saving his son Shekhar several times, and somewhat of a comedian who drew lots of laughs with his sarcastic, cynical and scornful quips directed at everyone. Thus Loha was a villain😡 - 80 %; a comedian😆 12 %; a hero😛 8 %. Despite his villainous role, Loha mesmerized viewers with his powerful performance, drawing a legion of fans that rivaled that of lead character Laali.
Shekhar:
An independent thinker, he often stood up strongly for what he believed in. Despite his father's tyranny and oppression, Shekhar remained steadfast in his beliefs, often doing what he thought was right, even if it meant going against his despotic father, his whole family and even the society (such as marrying servant girl Laali and making her his second wife.) His first wife, the very beautiful but self-centered Siddheshwari could not bear him any children. But his father Loha wanted an heir which he did not as yet have. According to horoscopes that his father consulted, it was Shekhar who would bear the Loha House an heir, thus Loha's shocking plan to use slave girl Laali for this task, and forcing her onto Shekhar. But Shekhar had such a steely resolve even father Loha could not break or even bend. He refused to succumb to his father's outrageous machinations. (In the end, it was Shekhar who was the real loha.) Still, he was a kind, considerate, thoughtful and a selfless young man, even to servant girl Laali who was forced onto him to beget an heir. He later falls in love with Laali, leaves wife Siddheshwari and runs away with her to Nepal where he eventually marries her. But because he did not divorce Siddheshwari, Laali was always seen as his mistress. He continued to face an uphill battle to have Laali accepted as his wife by a society that does not recognize polygamy. Towards the end of the show it was revealed that Siddy had died, thus making Laali his legal wife. He played three major roles in the serial: Initially, as a sad, lonely, depressed young man, seemingly with no future, later turning into a confident young man, and towards the end, played the role of a mentally challenged man after losing his love and soulmate, Laali.😃👏👏. Sadly, towards the end of the serial, his role was greatly reduced, weakening his character, and causing an imbalance in the structure of the story.
Laali:
A spirited, gutsy, courageous young girl of a low caste family, she is the main character in the story, with the storylines following her trials and tribulations, first as a poor, uneducated girl living in abject poverty in Koyna village, then sold as a slave into the Loha House. Laali had an indomitable spirit, always looking at the positive side of things, and not letting the many difficulties, and crisis that comes her way, to dampen her spirits. While she is uneducated, she is clever and smart, and matured beyond her years, her experiences stemming largely from life's hard knocks. Small in stature, she is depicted as a fighter, taking on the many challenges and working to overcome them. She becomes a servant of Loha's younger son Shekhar with her main task being to beget an heir for the Loha House. The master-servant relationship eventually turns into love. Shekhar takes her away to Nepal where he marries her, making her his second wife. However, because Shekhar was not divorced from his first wife, Laali was always seen as his mistress. She bears him and the Loha House a son, the heir to Loha's fortunes. Laali's standing in the society continued to rise. From the days that she could not enter temples patronized by upper caste people because of her low caste status, to her being sold as a slave, and becoming a servant in the Loha House, she rises to become the village sarpanch (leader). Throughout the story, Laali is seen as a doer, and had a habit of jumping feet first into any trouble or problem that came up without thinking what the consequences were going to be. She took on everyone's problems on her shoulders and was always on the quest to solve them. Her nemesis were Loha (who hated her, and who only wanted an heir from her, and then have her kicked out), Gangiya, the head servant, and Loha's son Ranvijay. The latter two plotted to kill her or have her maligned in any way possible, so that she does not produce the next heir. Laali was the ultimate self-sacrificing Indian woman, who gives up her happiness for others, almost a goddess or a saint. She always worked alone (all she needed was a super hero suit - maybe a cat woman suit!).😆😃
Ranvijay:
Loha's older son is a greedy man, a drunkard, a skirt chaser, and a spendthrift. He had no love for his first wife, Nandini or his two daughters (Riddhi and Siddhi) or any member of his house including brother Shekhar whom he tried to kill on several occasions; or his mother, who he tried to poison; his second wife Rekha who he tried to drown; Laali who he tried to have buried alive, and Jamuni, his mistress, who he passed on to the minister for a one night stand. He had no love for his father either but always obeyed his orders, and assisted him in his many nefarious deeds in the hopes of getting his hands on Loha's money and properties. The only person coming into his way was Shekhar, who by producing an heir, became the claimant for the next Thakur title, thus RV's continuous efforts to get him out of the way permanently. He kept servant girl Jamuni as his mistress, while married to second wife Rekha. Jamuni is now pregnant with his child. Despite his faults, he also saved Shekhar on two occasions: once dragging him out of a burning shed, and second time saving him from his father who was beating him black and blue with a thick stick.😈 😃👏As the show draws to its conclusion, Ranvijay has turned over a new leaf, given up drinking and married Jamuni.
Sumitra:
A downtrodden, quiet, dignified and very gentle woman, she was a victim of domestic abuse, being dominated completely by her husband, who mentally abused her for years. A considerate woman, she was the first person in the Loha House who was kind to poor, low caste, slave girl, Laali, helping her when no one else did. But often she could not help Laali as she wanted to because of her overbearing, domineering husband and also because as a wife, her first duty was to her husband and not a servant girl. This took precedent in her decisions when it came to whether she should obey her husband, or listen to her conscience and help the servant girl. In this, her decisions automatically favored her husband. She loved her younger son, Shekhar, who was like her in so many ways, and who greatly loved her in return. He however, could not understand why his mother never stood her ground with his father. But as she said to the angry Shekhar one day: "I have no strength to stand up to your father." Later she drew strength from Laali, and finally managed to stand up to her husband thus ending the cycle of abuse.👏
Gangiya:
The hunchbacked servant, and troublemaker in the Loha house. She was a manipulative, cunning and conniving woman who had once wanted to become Loha's wife but was spurned because she was of the servant class. This turned her into a bitter woman bent on revenge. She used everyone including Ranvijay and Siddheshwari (Shekhar's first wife) to turn everyone against each other in the house. She snooped on everyone, listened behind doors to private conversations (and pretended to be sweeping when she was caught), regularly stole Loha's liquor and drank it. She plotted and schemed to bring about the downfall of the Loha House. She made several attempts to kill Laali and her mistress Sumitra. She even used her daughter Jamuni in her schemes, forcing her on Loha's elder son Ranvijay. She used Jamuni to set fire to the Loha House bringing mayhem to the entire family, and causing the deaths of RV's first wife Nandini and his young daughter, Siddhi. Gangiya had hoped that Jamuni would somehow lure Ranvijay and bear him an heir, thus raising her status and possibly becoming the mistress of the Loha House. Instead, Jamuni became RV's mistress. RV has now married Jamuni, making her his third wife, after divorcing Rekha and she is now pregnant with his child. Gangiya's character was the most colorful in the serial. She has learned her lesson, and has now turned white with the serial ending soon. 😆😆😆
Siddheswari:
She was the lovely but dimwitted wife of Loha's second son, Shekhar, who was more interested in her jewelery, beautiful saris, painting her nails and looking pretty, than in caring for her husband. Siddheshwari, who came from a very rich Thakur family, liked being married to the handsome son of Loha, but had no love for him. Her self-centredness and her narcissistic behavior gradually saw them growing apart. Eventually, she lost her husband's love to low caste servant girl Laali, but continued to believe that she could win her husband back with her loveliness. She never realized that all her husband wanted was love and caring which she never gave him. Siddheshwari liked looking pretty and hated to mess up her hair, and her clothes. As she lost her husband, she was lured and then used by Ranvijay and Gangiya to plot against the rest of family, and is finally thrown out of the house for trying to poison her mother-in-law, Sumitra. Sukriti Khandpal who acted as Siddheshwari gave one of the finer performances in the serial, and which lost a lot of viewers after she left.
Jamuni:
Gangiya's daughter, Jamuni is the same age as Laali, and is very sweet, very cute and quite dumb. She had grown up in the Loha House, but viewers were never told who her father was. She was one of Laali's first friends in the Loha House, helping her often, and even going against her manipulative mother to do so. She is forced onto Loha's elder married son Ranvijay by her mother Gangiya, who hoped that somehow her daughter would get pregnant, and provide the heir Loha wanted so much, and then she, Gangiya would rule the roost in the Loha house. Because of her very strong influence on her daughter, Gangiya slowly turns Jamuni against Laali. She uses Jamuni to set fire to the Loha House, killing RV's wife and daughter. Jamuni later becomes RV's mistress, remaining with him for seven years. But Jamuni is horrified one day, when on his father's orders, Ranvijay forces her to have a one night stand with the minister. Laali saves her, and the two become firm friends again. Jamuni later gets pregnant with RV's child, who now has turned into a good boy. She finally gets her wish when he marries her, making her his third wife.
All the actors in AJ gave powerful performances particularly at the beginning of the series, thus the many praise worthy comments from many viewers.
Sadly, towards the end many of the actors' roles were reduced, particularly important ones such as Shekhar, Ranvijay, and Gangiya. The story became very unbalanced, and very messy.
Each character was unique and had different attributes. These are the comments I had written about them earlier, making some additional changes to them, and including two other characters that I had left out.
Thakur Loha Singh:
Rich and powerful upper caste landowner, he was a dominant, domineering, belligerent, heavy handed, loud-mouthed, greedy swine. Quick with his fists and sticks, he was a tyrant, ruling his house with an iron fist. No one was allowed to question him. His decree: "What Loha wants Loha gets." He exuded danger and his menacing presence was enough to make even strong men quake in their shoes. His evil deeds were many. For instance, rich Loha Singh badly wanted an heir to the Loha House. To his utter disappointment, his elder son Ranvijay, in the 10 years of his marriage, had provided him with two grandchildren, twin girls Riddhi and Siddhi, while younger son Shekhar's wife could not have children. According to horoscopes that Loha consulted, it was younger son Shekhar who would provide him with an heir. How was the question. Loha had a shocking plan. He was not above buying girls as a means to get what he wanted eg buying and giving slave girl Laali to son Shekhar to beget an heir for the Loha House. But the Laali that he, Loha purchased ended up as his daughter-in-law who gave him a lot of lip and much trouble for things she believed in. While he despised her for being from a low caste family, it did not stop him from using her for his own ends. Loha also had great contempt for the women folk, treating them with utter disdain, and in his words, only existing to serve man and his purpose. For example, he used his own daughter Ratna, fixing her marriage to a minister's son Mukul to get contracts, which ended in tragedy with both of them getting killed. He mentally and physically abused his wife, his sons, and the servants. He poisoned son Shekhar, in order to get Laali to do as he wanted - to beget an heir for him from Shekhar. He conspired with his conniving and manipulative servant Gangiya to get rid of Laali after the child was born. He constantly used his elder son Ranvijay to do his dirty work. But Loha was also a bit of a hero, saving his son Shekhar several times, and somewhat of a comedian who drew lots of laughs with his sarcastic, cynical and scornful quips directed at everyone. Thus Loha was a villain😡 - 80 %; a comedian😆 12 %; a hero😛 8 %. Despite his villainous role, Loha mesmerized viewers with his powerful performance, drawing a legion of fans that rivaled that of lead character Laali.
Shekhar:
An independent thinker, he often stood up strongly for what he believed in. Despite his father's tyranny and oppression, Shekhar remained steadfast in his beliefs, often doing what he thought was right, even if it meant going against his despotic father, his whole family and even the society (such as marrying servant girl Laali and making her his second wife.) His first wife, the very beautiful but self-centered Siddheshwari could not bear him any children. But his father Loha wanted an heir which he did not as yet have. According to horoscopes that his father consulted, it was Shekhar who would bear the Loha House an heir, thus Loha's shocking plan to use slave girl Laali for this task, and forcing her onto Shekhar. But Shekhar had such a steely resolve even father Loha could not break or even bend. He refused to succumb to his father's outrageous machinations. (In the end, it was Shekhar who was the real loha.) Still, he was a kind, considerate, thoughtful and a selfless young man, even to servant girl Laali who was forced onto him to beget an heir. He later falls in love with Laali, leaves wife Siddheshwari and runs away with her to Nepal where he eventually marries her. But because he did not divorce Siddheshwari, Laali was always seen as his mistress. He continued to face an uphill battle to have Laali accepted as his wife by a society that does not recognize polygamy. Towards the end of the show it was revealed that Siddy had died, thus making Laali his legal wife. He played three major roles in the serial: Initially, as a sad, lonely, depressed young man, seemingly with no future, later turning into a confident young man, and towards the end, played the role of a mentally challenged man after losing his love and soulmate, Laali.😃👏👏. Sadly, towards the end of the serial, his role was greatly reduced, weakening his character, and causing an imbalance in the structure of the story.
Laali:
A spirited, gutsy, courageous young girl of a low caste family, she is the main character in the story, with the storylines following her trials and tribulations, first as a poor, uneducated girl living in abject poverty in Koyna village, then sold as a slave into the Loha House. Laali had an indomitable spirit, always looking at the positive side of things, and not letting the many difficulties, and crisis that comes her way, to dampen her spirits. While she is uneducated, she is clever and smart, and matured beyond her years, her experiences stemming largely from life's hard knocks. Small in stature, she is depicted as a fighter, taking on the many challenges and working to overcome them. She becomes a servant of Loha's younger son Shekhar with her main task being to beget an heir for the Loha House. The master-servant relationship eventually turns into love. Shekhar takes her away to Nepal where he marries her, making her his second wife. However, because Shekhar was not divorced from his first wife, Laali was always seen as his mistress. She bears him and the Loha House a son, the heir to Loha's fortunes. Laali's standing in the society continued to rise. From the days that she could not enter temples patronized by upper caste people because of her low caste status, to her being sold as a slave, and becoming a servant in the Loha House, she rises to become the village sarpanch (leader). Throughout the story, Laali is seen as a doer, and had a habit of jumping feet first into any trouble or problem that came up without thinking what the consequences were going to be. She took on everyone's problems on her shoulders and was always on the quest to solve them. Her nemesis were Loha (who hated her, and who only wanted an heir from her, and then have her kicked out), Gangiya, the head servant, and Loha's son Ranvijay. The latter two plotted to kill her or have her maligned in any way possible, so that she does not produce the next heir. Laali was the ultimate self-sacrificing Indian woman, who gives up her happiness for others, almost a goddess or a saint. She always worked alone (all she needed was a super hero suit - maybe a cat woman suit!).😆😃
Ranvijay:
Loha's older son is a greedy man, a drunkard, a skirt chaser, and a spendthrift. He had no love for his first wife, Nandini or his two daughters (Riddhi and Siddhi) or any member of his house including brother Shekhar whom he tried to kill on several occasions; or his mother, who he tried to poison; his second wife Rekha who he tried to drown; Laali who he tried to have buried alive, and Jamuni, his mistress, who he passed on to the minister for a one night stand. He had no love for his father either but always obeyed his orders, and assisted him in his many nefarious deeds in the hopes of getting his hands on Loha's money and properties. The only person coming into his way was Shekhar, who by producing an heir, became the claimant for the next Thakur title, thus RV's continuous efforts to get him out of the way permanently. He kept servant girl Jamuni as his mistress, while married to second wife Rekha. Jamuni is now pregnant with his child. Despite his faults, he also saved Shekhar on two occasions: once dragging him out of a burning shed, and second time saving him from his father who was beating him black and blue with a thick stick.😈 😃👏As the show draws to its conclusion, Ranvijay has turned over a new leaf, given up drinking and married Jamuni.
Sumitra:
A downtrodden, quiet, dignified and very gentle woman, she was a victim of domestic abuse, being dominated completely by her husband, who mentally abused her for years. A considerate woman, she was the first person in the Loha House who was kind to poor, low caste, slave girl, Laali, helping her when no one else did. But often she could not help Laali as she wanted to because of her overbearing, domineering husband and also because as a wife, her first duty was to her husband and not a servant girl. This took precedent in her decisions when it came to whether she should obey her husband, or listen to her conscience and help the servant girl. In this, her decisions automatically favored her husband. She loved her younger son, Shekhar, who was like her in so many ways, and who greatly loved her in return. He however, could not understand why his mother never stood her ground with his father. But as she said to the angry Shekhar one day: "I have no strength to stand up to your father." Later she drew strength from Laali, and finally managed to stand up to her husband thus ending the cycle of abuse.👏
Gangiya:
The hunchbacked servant, and troublemaker in the Loha house. She was a manipulative, cunning and conniving woman who had once wanted to become Loha's wife but was spurned because she was of the servant class. This turned her into a bitter woman bent on revenge. She used everyone including Ranvijay and Siddheshwari (Shekhar's first wife) to turn everyone against each other in the house. She snooped on everyone, listened behind doors to private conversations (and pretended to be sweeping when she was caught), regularly stole Loha's liquor and drank it. She plotted and schemed to bring about the downfall of the Loha House. She made several attempts to kill Laali and her mistress Sumitra. She even used her daughter Jamuni in her schemes, forcing her on Loha's elder son Ranvijay. She used Jamuni to set fire to the Loha House bringing mayhem to the entire family, and causing the deaths of RV's first wife Nandini and his young daughter, Siddhi. Gangiya had hoped that Jamuni would somehow lure Ranvijay and bear him an heir, thus raising her status and possibly becoming the mistress of the Loha House. Instead, Jamuni became RV's mistress. RV has now married Jamuni, making her his third wife, after divorcing Rekha and she is now pregnant with his child. Gangiya's character was the most colorful in the serial. She has learned her lesson, and has now turned white with the serial ending soon. 😆😆😆
Siddheswari:
She was the lovely but dimwitted wife of Loha's second son, Shekhar, who was more interested in her jewelery, beautiful saris, painting her nails and looking pretty, than in caring for her husband. Siddheshwari, who came from a very rich Thakur family, liked being married to the handsome son of Loha, but had no love for him. Her self-centredness and her narcissistic behavior gradually saw them growing apart. Eventually, she lost her husband's love to low caste servant girl Laali, but continued to believe that she could win her husband back with her loveliness. She never realized that all her husband wanted was love and caring which she never gave him. Siddheshwari liked looking pretty and hated to mess up her hair, and her clothes. As she lost her husband, she was lured and then used by Ranvijay and Gangiya to plot against the rest of family, and is finally thrown out of the house for trying to poison her mother-in-law, Sumitra. Sukriti Khandpal who acted as Siddheshwari gave one of the finer performances in the serial, and which lost a lot of viewers after she left.
Jamuni:
Gangiya's daughter, Jamuni is the same age as Laali, and is very sweet, very cute and quite dumb. She had grown up in the Loha House, but viewers were never told who her father was. She was one of Laali's first friends in the Loha House, helping her often, and even going against her manipulative mother to do so. She is forced onto Loha's elder married son Ranvijay by her mother Gangiya, who hoped that somehow her daughter would get pregnant, and provide the heir Loha wanted so much, and then she, Gangiya would rule the roost in the Loha house. Because of her very strong influence on her daughter, Gangiya slowly turns Jamuni against Laali. She uses Jamuni to set fire to the Loha House, killing RV's wife and daughter. Jamuni later becomes RV's mistress, remaining with him for seven years. But Jamuni is horrified one day, when on his father's orders, Ranvijay forces her to have a one night stand with the minister. Laali saves her, and the two become firm friends again. Jamuni later gets pregnant with RV's child, who now has turned into a good boy. She finally gets her wish when he marries her, making her his third wife.
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