# Raj Babbar's Serial On Maharaja Ranjit Singh To Debut On TV



## spnadmin (Apr 29, 2010)

*Raj Babbar's Serial on Maharaja Ranjit Singh to Debut on TV *

India Journal - South Asian News for Southern California

After wait of five years, Bollywood actor-director and Congress  MP Raj Babbar’s mega serial on great ruler, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, is  finally ready for its debut on the small screen.

“I started this project in 2004-05, but I had to face financial  constraints along the way. Before Doordarshan (DD), I had also  approached some private channels, but they were somewhat hesitant  thinking that it was going to cater to a niche market. However, later  on, DD and my production reached an agreement on terms and conditions  and now the serial will be aired from next week,” Babbar.

“If the public response is encouraging enough, we will make more  episodes of the serial,” he said, adding that he had got inspiration to  make this serial while making a film on Shaheed Udham Singh.

Babbar said that the series will cover in detail various aspects on the  life and time of the Maharaja, also known as Sher-e-Punjab. Advice from  noted Sikh scholars was also taken including from Shiromani Gurdwara  Prabandhak Committee, he added.

“The serial begins with the tormented period when Nadir Shah raided  India in 1739...it will also cover the period from 1792, when the  Maharaja’s father Maha Singh anointed him as the ruler. The  Sher-e-Punjab died in 1839 ruling a vast kingdom that stretched from  Sutlej to Kabul and from Ladakh to Sindh (vast stretches of undivided  pre-partion Punjab; Kashmir and Afghanistan),” Babbar said.

The 57-year-old actor would be playing the character when he attains the  age of 35 in the series while two different actors would be playing his  younger version of the great ruler. 

Asked what facet of the Sikh ruler’s life fascinated him the most,  Babbar said, “He was a committed secularist, liberal, merciful,  judicious, compassionate ruler, who succeeded in establishing a kingdom  without any distinction of religion, caste, color and creed. His  advisers and generals included people drawn from different religions  including Sikhs, Muslims, Hindus and Christians”.� Babbar said that he  had earlier wanted to make a film for international audiences after the  great ruler and named it ‘Lord of the five Rivers—Maharaja Ranjit Singh’  but the project had to be shelved because the person with whom he had  partnered had a change of thought.


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## ballym (Apr 30, 2010)

No no , how can he make serial on a sikh?


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## kds1980 (Apr 30, 2010)

At present making a serial about history is nothing less than a disaster.The last serial on Indian history Prithviraj chauhan became a success Only when they started showing fantacy version prithviraj's teenage stories.As soon the real story began about ghori invading the serial fall absolutely flat.May be Maharaja Ranjit singh's serial could change it


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## spnadmin (Apr 30, 2010)

LOL Kanwardeep Singh ji

You have nailed it. I am just posting.


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