Odia Serial ‘Manini’ Crosses 1000 Episodes

Odia Serial ‘Manini’ Crosses 1000 Episodes

Matching Ollywood step for step, the television industry in the state too has been growing. Not only that, it has set new benchmarks in the process. Odia television serials are gradually becoming a part and parcel of every household, needless to mention staple entertainment for housewives.

Standing tall as a testimony to its growing popularity, Odia TV serial ‘Manini’, running on Zee Sarthak TV, recently completed 1000 episodes. The entire cast and crew of the serial, which is produced by ‘Sai Sidharth Entertainment’ came together to celebrate this success along with some ex-actors of the serial.Talking to MCL on this special occasion, Pradyumna Lenka, the owner of ‘Sai Sidharth Entertainment’ said, “The serial has been gone through many ups and downs, but it has found a place in the hearts of viewers and that is the reason we are celebrating 1000 episodes. This serial is all about our lives and the problems we encounter on a daily basis. Unlike other serials, we have tried keeping it as realistic as possible and also maintained a TRP of 9.3 so far. I want to congratulate the entire cast and crew of the serial and also the channel. We want to assure our audience that we will continue with the good work in future too. I am hopeful that we can continue with another 1000 episodes with the love and blessings of our lovely audience.”

Director Gauri Shankar Das also expressed his gratitude to all the viewers and congratulated all the actors for the success of the serial.Here’s a look at some of the important twists and turns in the serial over the last four years.

When Manini Became A Mental Patient

There was a time in the serial where Manini had an accident, which led to her memory loss and she ended up as a mental patient. The character had to behave very childish during that time and actress Upasana Mohanty took the acting to another level and won everyone’s heart.

When ‘Manini’ Was Replaced

This was the toughest phase for the serial since the protagonist, Upasana, had to quit the serial, due to some personal health issues after completing more than 500 episodes successfully. She had played the part so well that even today people remember her as ‘Manini’. The makers were in a dilemma but they decided to take a risk and continue the serial by fast forwarding the story line by five years.  That was when Manini’s daughter ‘Mani’ (played by child actor Nishita Priyadarshini) was introduced, and Upasana was replaced by actress Sweeti Patnaik. Surprisingly, the TRPs increased than before in just one week. Talking to MCL, Sweeti said, “Initially I was a little bit afraid of the role, because it was for the first time that I was replacing someone. And, it was a challenge too since for the last 500 episodes, people had seen Upasana donning the role and had a particular image of the character in mind. But I am thankful to the audiences for appreciated my acting and giving me so much love. That’s the reason we have reached this position today.”When ‘Arjun’ Turned The Tables

Initially, the character ‘Sidharth’ played by actor Jayjeet Das was portrayed as a positive role. But when well-known actor Aswini Kumar Bramha joined the serial in a negative character, ‘Arjun’, the makers suddenly decided to do a role reversal keeping the audience taste in mind and so Arjun became a positive character while Sidharth turned into the bad guy. Audience love Sidharth’s negative acting even more!

Sharing his experience in the show, actor Aswini told MCL, “I am very happy for being a part of this serial. I had joined as a supporting actor but later became the lead and I am thankful to my viewers for giving me so much love.”

When Sonali Ojha Became ‘Phoola Aai’ When one of the funniest characters of the serial, ‘Phoola Aai’, which was being played by one of the most popular actors of television industry, Mamuni Mishra was replaced by Sonali Ojha, that was another turning point for the serial. Thankfully, audience accepted her as well and Sonali too managed to win the hearts of her viewers.