The week rolled in with a brand new show on Colors TV, Shani! He is the most dreaded God in the pantheon. Although highly feared, his legend is not known to many. ‘Shani’ is an attempt at unraveling the mystery of this Planet God.

One of the strong points of the show is the cast of the show. Meet  them here…

Kartikeya Malviye as Shani

Shani, the giver of justice, is the son of Surya Dev and Chhaya. He is different from the regular children. What one says at the end of a conversation, he says right in the beginning. He’s direct to the level that he sounds curt at times. It’s almost guaranteed that his responses will take anyone by surprise. His social skills leave much to be desired. But as he has no desire for approval, he’s untouched by what people think of him.

As a child however, he has one soft spot, his mother. His obedience towards her is complete and he feels supremely protective of her. Even at his birth, when the infant Shani sees his mother being mistreated by her husband, the newborn baby eclipses the sun.

Salil Ankola as Surya Dev

Surya Dev aka Sun God is the giver of light, knowledge and life. His magnificence is supreme. His benevolence does not differentiate when spreading his light and it is the blessing that fills the life of everyone.

However, the light when harsh can burn and so can the giver of light. Surya Dev demands and assumes perfection around him. His ego is his weakness. And he never forgives his own son Shani for what he had done at the time of his birth, eclipsing his father, the Sun God himself.

His pride can overpower his wisdom and can cloud his judgment. And to move these clouds, often an eclipse is needed, literally as well as figuratively. 

The fracture between him and his son Shani, in so many ways, creates a symbolic emotional spine of the show.

Juhi Parmar as Sangya and Chhaya

Sangya

The name Sangya literally means the noun, the one who articulates the Sun God. And this is exactly the role she has played with him, lovingly and sincerely. Her two children Yam and Yami are her life.

But she has a secret. The beautiful Sangya burns a little every time she nears the Sun her husband. To receive the gift of being able to absorb his heat, she leaves to do Tapasya, without telling her husband. She takes the biggest risk of her life by leaving behind her clone, her ‘Chhaya’ to look after her children.

But one day when she finds out that in her absence her clone has given birth to another son, we see the fire within the wife of the fiery Sun.

Chhaya

The shadow protects us from the burning sun. And in so many ways, that is the essence of what Chhaya does between Surya and Shani. She is the quintessential mother, not only to Shani, but also Yam and Yami, the children of Sangya.

Being a clone, she comes into the world with only basic understanding of life. But as time passes, she demonstrates how her heart is much larger than her creator Sangya, the heart of a mother. Although she takes care of Yam and Yami all the time she always feels that it’s Shani who needs her protection. She always does her best to protect Shani, first from her husband’s wrath, and then from Indra’s greed.

She lives her life fulfilling her duties as a mother and she dies protecting her child.

Devash Ahuja as Yam

Yam is the self- righteous son of Surya. His sole purpose is to have the approval of his father and he burdens himself with the reminder of being the son of Surya Dev. Naturally, the existence of a second son, Shani, does not please him. However, he fiercely loves his twin sister Yami and is protective of her.

He believes in honesty and believes in speaking the truth. A dishonest person in his eyes is a sinner. Once Shani is shown to be his brother, Yam’s ‘I go by the rule-book’ attitude always clashes with the raw approach of Shani. He always holds Shani responsible for the insults his father hears. His relationship and often, competition with Shani is a recurring theme moving forward in the show.

Drisha Kalyani as Yami

Yami (later Yamuna) is the river of positivity. And from her childhood, we see that her personality is full of zest for life. In fact, the saying goes that if Yami is not positive in a situation, then perhaps there’s no hope there.

Her mischievous nature often gets her into trouble. She is fundamentally a river, and her mind too is free flowing just like a river.

A hyper-curious girl, she likes to keep it simple. She is very naive but intelligent and can be skillful when it comes to convincing someone.

Praneet Sharma as Kaakol

Kaakol is Shani's ‘Vahan’. He is a chubby dark boy who is originally a raven. He is abandoned by his family as they consider him to be a bad omen. He is also forced to believe that misfortune follows him wherever he goes.

He is very devoted to Shani who had saved his life from a demon. He is a fun loving character and playful. He is very silly and notorious. He gets inquisitive and anxious at times on seeing something unexpected. He always sees Shani as God and as he grows up, his innocent Bhakti often melts our heart.

Tune in to Shani, every Mon- Sat at 7PM!