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Tenali Rama (TV series)

Tenali Rama is an Indian Hindi-language historical comedy drama based on the life of the legendary Telugu poet Tenali Ramakrishna, one of the Ashtadiggajas at the court of Vijayanagara emperor Krishnadevaraya (C.E. 1509–1529), who is often cited as the greatest Vijayanagara emperor.[1][2]

The series premiered on Sony SAB on 11 July 2017 and concluded on 13 November 2020.[3]

It was revived in October 2024 and the second season premiered on 16 December 2024.

Series overview

SeasonEpisodesOriginally released
First releasedLast released
1804July 11, 2017 (2017-07-11)November 13, 2020 (2020-11-13)
2106December 16, 2024 (2024-12-16)TBA

Cast

Main

  • Krishna Bharadwaj as
    • Pandit Tenali "Rama" Ramakrishna: Lakshmi Amma's son; Sharada's husband; Gundappa's friend; Bhaskara's father. The legendary poet, chief advisor and one of the Ashtadiggaja in Krishnadevraya's court. He is exceptionally intelligent, witty, loyal, dutiful, important and a famous courtier who always solves the problems of Vijayanagar.[4] (2017-2019; 2020, 2024-present)
    • Sudama: A doppelganger of Rama who tried to kill Krishnadevraya but was later sent to prison. (2018)
    • Bhaskara Sharma: Ramakrishna and Sharada's son; Lakshmi Amma's grandson; Kanta's childhood friend; Amrapali's love interest. He is a lookalike of his father. When he returned from Gurukul after 20 years, he found that Vijayanagar had totally changed. The law and order had collapsed. He then pretends to be his father, Ramakrishna, to give justice to people in Vijayanagar. (2019-2020)
      • Pratyaksh Panwar as Child Bhaskara. (2019)
      • Ayaan as Baby Bhaskara.(2018–2019)
  • Pankaj Berry as
    • Tathacharya: Krishnadevraya's father figure; Varunmala's husband; Saudamini's love interest; Ananta Lakshmi's brother; Amrapali's foster father. The royal priest of Vijayanagar. He is cunning, opportunistic, greedy, hypocritical and Rama's rival. He doesn't want Krishnadevraya to favour and applaud Rama and is always jealous of Rama's achievements. Over the years, he becomes fond of Rama and repents. He becomes a just and wise man. (2017-2020) He turns to his cunning, opportunistic, greedy, hypocritical self following Rama's banishment from the royal court. (2024-present)
    • Venkanna: A hardworking washerman who was a lookalike of Tathacharya. Rama uses his addiction of betting to prove himself innocent to the king. (2025)
  • Manav Gohil as
    • Maharaja Krishnadevaraya: Queen Chinna Devi and Queen Tirumalamba's husband; Achyutadevaraya's elder brother. A notable emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire. He is a just, courageous, wise and far-sighted king who loves his people populace immensely. (2017-2019)
      • Tarun Khanna replaced Gohil as Maharaja Krishnadevaraya: He came after 20 years of exile into the Vijayanagara Empire and was shocked by the problems faced by the people of the Empire. He rebuilds the Golden Era of the Vijayanagara Empire after the reign of Balakumaran and Sulakshana Devi. (2020)
      • Aditya Redij replaced Khanna as Maharaja Krishnadevraya: He banishes Rama from the royal court and faces a looming threat to the Kingdom's security. (2024-present)
    • Hari Om: A woodcutter who is a lookalike of the king. The king called him to Vijayanagar to test his courtiers. (2017)
  • Jiten Mukhi as Mahamantri Timmarasu: Krishnadevraya's Chief Minister and father figure; Rama's friend. He is an Honest, Loyal and Hardworking minister and one of the few characters who knew about Tathacharya's greed and selfishness. He always supported and helped Rama. (2017–2019)
    • Amit Pachori replaced Mukhi as Mahamantri Timmarasu: He is believed to have strength of 10 bulls and is known as Heart of Vijayanagar. (2024-present)
  • Sumit Kaul as Girgit Raj: He is cunning and versatile, known for his ability to disguise himself and deceive others. (2024-present)
  • Pavitra Punia as Laila: Sultanet assain and a Vishkanya. (2025)

Recurring

  • Priyamvada Kant as Sharada: Rama's wife; Lakshmi Amma's daughter-in-law; Bhaskara's mother; Govind's elder sister. A naive but kind-hearted lady. She has a catchphrase "Uthalo" (trans. Pick Up). (2017–2018) (2024-present)
    • Niya Sharma replaced Kant as Sharada (2018–2019)
    • Aasiya Kazi replaced Sharma as Sharada (2019–2020)
  • Nimisha Vakharia as Lakshmi Amma: Rama's mother; Sharada's mother-in-law; Bhaskara's grandmother. After becoming a widow, she took a vow of silence for life and uses sign language which can only be understood by Sharada. (2017–2019; 2020) (2024-present)
  • Krish Parekh as Gundappa: Rama's brother-like-friend. He left his parents in Tenali to become successful in life by living with Rama in Vijayanagar. (2017-2019)
    • Aman Mishra as Adult Gundappa: He helped Bhaskara against Kaikala and other enemies. (2019–2020)
  • Sonia Sharma as Maharani Chinna Devi: Krishnadevraya's first wife. She was a former royal dancer whom Krishnadevaraya marries and was crowned as Vijaynagar's senior queen. (2017–2019; 2020) (2024-present)
  • Priyanka Singh as Maharani Tirumalamba: Krishnadevraya's second wife. She was the princess of Srirangapatana who marries to Krishnadevraya and was crowned as Vijaynagar's junior queen. (2017–2019; 2020) (2024-present)
  • Sohit Soni as Manicharya: Tathacharya's Disciple and Dhanicharya's friend. He always silent insults Tathacharya along with Dhani. (2017–2020) (2024-present)
  • Sanjay Mangnani as Dhanicharya: Tathacharya's Disciple and Manicharya's friend. He always silent insults Tathacharya along with Mani. (2017–2020) (2024-present)
  • Shreya Patel as Padmavati: eldest among chatur chaar, her parents were abducted by girgat raj and started living with rama's family.(2024-present)
  • Aria Sakaria as Lachamma: her life was in danger when she was exposed to poisionus gas from gajashastra made by girgit raj and later was saved by rama and tathacharya by bringing Rakht Pushp. (2024-present)
  • Jitendra Pathak as Nagar Kotwal: He was an accomplice of Tathacharya but later left his side. His real name is probably Sarvapalli as mentioned in a subtitle of a season 1 episode. (2017–2019) (2024-present)
  • Neha Chauhan as Varunmala: Tathacharya's wife. She is dedicated to her husband and she always thought him as a divine person who is blessed by the God. (2017–2019) (2024-present)
  • Heer Chopra as Saudamini: Royal Dancer in Krishnadevraya's court; Tathacharya's love interest. (2017–2019; 2020; 2025)
  • Trishaan Shah as Vachaspati (2024- present)
  • Afnaf Khatri as Balabhadra (2024- present)
  • Nishi Singh as Pushpavalli: Kotwal's wife and a plump woman. (2017–2018)
  • Tejal Adivarekar: relaced Nishi singh as Pushpavalli. (2025)
  • Rishina Kandhari as Goddess Laxmi. Also portrayed, Navadurga, Kaali and Saraswati. (2018–2019; 2020)
  • Chahat Pandey as Ananta Lakshmi: Tathacharya's younger sister; Govind's love interest. (2018)
  • Meghan Jadhav as Govind: Sharda's younger brother; Ananta Lakshmi's love interest. (2018)
  • Shakti Anand as Maharaja Balakumaran: Tirumalamba's cousin brother; Sulakshana Devi's husband; Kaikala's maternal nephew; Swami's adopted father. He was made King by royal priest, Tathacharya after Krishnadevaraya's exile. Later, He was exiled from Vijayanagar by his own wife and Kaikala. (2019–2020)
  • Neetha Shetty as Maharani Sulakshana Devi: Balakumaran's wife; Swami's adopted mother. She was Kaikala's partner and was cunning like him. When Krishnadevaraya returned, She was exiled from Vijayanagar to find her husband. (2019–2020)
  • Manul Chudasama as Princess Amrapali: Kaikala's daughter; Pralayankar's sister; Tathacharya's adopted daughter; Bhaskara's love interest. Upon finding out about her father and brother's deeds, she went to the forest to perform Tapasya to repent for their sins. (2019–2020)
  • Dhruvi Jani as Kanta: Bhaskara's childhood best friend. She admires Bhaskara and supports him. (2019–2020)
    • Mahi Soni as Child Kanta (2019)
  • Pradeep Kabra as Senapati Nakush: Kaikala's accomplice who was killed by Kaikala when he was trying to save himself. (2019–2020)
  • Ajay Chaudhary as Mahamathya Pralayankar: Kaikala's son; Amrapali's brother; Charulata's husband. He is cunning, just like his father, but he was unmasked by Rama and declared a traitor. (2020)
  • Deeksha Sonalkar as Mandakini: Royal dancer in Balakumaran's court. (2020)
  • Cheshta Mehta as Charulata: Sulakshana Devi's sister; Pralyankar's wife. (2020)
  • Ketan Karande as Bharkam: Sulakshana Devi's cousin (2020)
    • Vishwajeet Pradhan as Mahamatya Kaikala: Maharaja Balakumar's maternal uncle; Pralayankar and Amrapali's father; Vijayanagar's High Minister; Nakush's master. A sly, merciless, evil official. He came to run the kingdom of Vijayanagar after his nephew Balakumara was crowned king. (2019-2020)
  • Behazaad Khan as Salamat Khan: Army chief of Bahamani sultanate. Enemy of Vijaynagar and Krishnadevaraya. He joined hands with Girgit Raj against Vijaynagar. He also unleashes Vishkanya to kill Krishnadevaraya. (2024-present)
  • Ram Awana as

Cameo

  • Barkha Sengupta as Goddess Kaali[5] (2017,2024-25)
  • Amit Sinha as Mathuradas, a singer.
  • Rajesh Puri as Ramleela's Trainer.
  • Anand Goradia as Bheeshan Babu, alias Ghungroo, Bahmani's assassin.
  • Rajesh Dubey as Occultist Achambha ( 2025 )
  • Rajesh Khera as Samsuddin Zafar Khan, Kalikutta's sultan.
  • Debina Bonnerjee as Mohini
  • Nirbhay Wadhwa as Dhuaandhar Durjan, a wrestler.
  • Vikas Verma as Marques de Pompador, The Portuguese magician.
  • Omkar Das Manikpuri as Aghori Baba Danyebanye, alias Futlubin Pimpin, Bahmani's commander and Ghungroo's elder brother.
  • Ajay Sharma as Shambhuya, a pirate.
  • Raja Chaudhary as Dimdima
  • Mahesh Raja as Lakhanna
  • Aliraza Namdar as Matrubhasha Gupt
  • Abhishek Rawat as Kalluri Dinkar
  • Raman Thukral as Child Tenali Rama
  • Bikramjeet Kanwarpal as King Dhananjay Mudriya
  • Amit Dolawat as Bala
  • Reema Vohra as Charulata
  • Minissha Lamba as Chandrakala, a Vishkanya.[6]
  • Monica Castelino as Kalavati
  • Tarakesh Chauhan as Acharya Chakrapani
  • Raju Pandit as King Dharmapala
  • Madhura Naik as Queen Munmun
  • Shahbaz Khan as Babur
  • Rupali Bhosale as Maya, Mohini's sister.
  • Sooraj Thapar as Gajpati Pratap Rudra Dev, Orissa's King.
  • Haelyn Shastri as Varlaxmi, a friend and neighbour of Sharada.
  • Urvashi S Sharma / Poonam Rajput as Princess Jaganmohini, Gajpati Pratap Rudra Dev's Daughter.
  • Piyali Munshi as Bhajani Devi / Sajani
  • Deepak Qazir as Annacharya, Tathacharya's elder brother.
  • Bhavesh Balchandani / Amit Mistry as Birbal
  • Bhupinder Singh as Shaitan
  • Saud Mansuri as Yudhveer
  • Aishwarya Raj Bhakuni as Sugandha, King Krishnadeva Raya's assumed sister Bhanumati's niece.
  • Athar Siddiqui as Chandrelu
  • Mehmood Junior as Mullah Naseruddin
  • Shoaib Ali as Kamaal-e-Mustafa, the Prince of Tehran.
  • Vijay Baldani as Siddhsen
  • Ssumier S Pasricha as Sheikh Chilli
  • Kajal Jain as Chitrangada
  • Kapil Arya as Achyuta Deva raaya
  • Hridyansh Shekhawat as Somu / Krodh
  • Heena Rajput as Timmarasu's wife.
  • Jahaan Arora as a Magician.
  • Patrali Chattopdhyay as Hanchhi, Chinese businesswoman.
  • Pratima Rasaily as Khashi, Chinese businesswoman.
  • Puneet Vashisht as Daku
  • Rati Pandey as Princess Devyani[7]
  • Bhavin Bhanushali as Mirza Liyaqat Ali, Humayun's son.
  • Iqbal Azad as Humayun
  • Manish Bishla as King Durjan
  • Naveen Pandita as Akbar
  • Nimesh Soni as Vaidya Gopal krishnan
  • Satyajit Gaonkar as King of Him Dong[8]
  • Pradeep Gurang as King of Him Dong assistant.[8]
  • Nirisha Basnett as King of Him Dong advisor and secretary.[8]
  • Krutika Desai as Radha, the fraud Devi Maa.
  • Riney Aryaa as Rukmani
  • Sailesh Gulabani as Vengdu Swami, a magician with hypnotizing skills and Tathacharya's friend.[9]
  • Vinay Rohrra as Abdullah, the storyteller.[10]
  • Visha Vira as Abdullah's wife.[11]
  • Rajesh Dubey as Achambha tribhuti, (s2)
  • Priya Shinde as Rajkumaari Vasudha (s2)

Production

Regarding the series Tenali Rama, Neeraj Vyas, Senior EVP & Head, Channel SAB and MAX cluster of channels, said, "India has a compelling tradition of both written and oral folklore. Our epics are treasures that teach life lessons via stories. Tenali Rama was a legendary poet of the 15th century. He is immortal, his wit being admired even in today's times. With Tenali Rama's adaptation on SAB, we intend to offer a restored and renewed version of this classic chronicle."[12]

Casting

Krishna Bharadwaj was chosen to play the titular role of Tenali Rama and went bald for it. Speaking on how he got the role, he said,

"I have been waiting for something good to come my way. When I received a call for Tenali Rama, I was shocked to be informed that I would have to go bald. But then I decided to give it a try, and it all fell into places. I feel there has been a divine force blessing me for I have managed to sink my teeth into the character so well. I did not do any research nor read about it but I can assure I am doing a good job, even though I do not consider myself so capable. As for the baldness, the first day, I was really upset but now I see Tenali in the mirror and not Krishna, and that takes away the blues."[13]

It was reported in June 2017 that Manav Gohil had been cast to play the pivotal role of Krishnadevaraya. Gohil, who worked with SAB TV on Yam Hain Hum, where he played the titular role, said, "This time it's Krishnadevaraya, a very powerful king that I am portraying. It's a comedy show and I am looking forward to working with a new set of people. The show is "Tenali Rama" and I am so ready to get rolling with this one."[14]

Veteran actor Pankaj Berry was cast to play the series' antagonist and Tenali Rama's foe frenemy, Tathacharya, who is the royal priest in the court of Emperor Krishnadevaraya, and always creates trouble for Tenali Rama with the help of his fellow disciples, Dhani and Mani. Berry said, "I am very excited to play Tathacharya. It is a very different kind of challenging role, there are different layers to the character even though it's a negative character."[15] It was reported in July 2017 that Sonia Sharma and Priyanka Singh had been cast to play the roles of Krishnadevaraya's wives, Chinna Devi and Tirumalamba, respectively.[16]

Revival

In October 2024, It was announced that a sequel to Tenali Rama was in development. On 30 October 2024, first promo was released of Tenali Rama's sequel on the occasion of Diwali. It confirmed that Pankaj Berry, Sohit Soni and Sanjay Mangani would reprise their roles as Tattacharya, Mani and Dhani respectively. It premiered on Sony Sab on 16 December 2024.[17][18]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Recipient Result
2017 Indian Television Academy Awards Best Actor in a Negative Role Pankaj Berry Nominated
2018 Best Children's Program Tenali Rama[19] Won
Best Actress in a Comic Role Nimisha Vakharia Nominated
2019 Best Actor in a Supporting Role Manav Gohil Nominated
Indian Telly Awards Best Actor in a Comic Role Pankaj Berry Nominated

Historical inaccuracies

The series portrays Chinna Devi as Krishnadevaraya's senior wife and chief queen and Tirumalamba as his junior wife.[16] This is inaccurate. Tirumalamba (also known as Tirumala Devi) was actually Krishnadevaraya's senior wife and his chief queen or patta mahishi.[20][21] She was the princess of Srirangapattana and Krishnadevaraya had married her most probably in 1498, long before his accession to the throne in 1509.[22] Chinna Devi was actually a Royal Dancer whom Krishnadevaraya had married immediately after birth of his first daughter in 1502.[20]

Reception

Shweta Keshri of India Today gave the series a positive review, praising Krishna Bharadwaj's portrayal of Tenali Rama, the VFX and special effects of the series, the colourful sets and comic content which "can easily lure viewers to the show and takes you back to the 16th century."[23]

Broadcast

Tenali Rama was dubbed and aired in Tamil[24] on Zee Tamil under the title Thenali Raaman. Later, it was dubbed and aired in Telugu on Zee Telugu as Vikata Kavi Thenali Ramakrishna.[25] It was also dubbed in Malayalam and aired on Zee Keralam as Thenaali Raman.[26]

See also

References

  1. ^ Raychaudhuri, edited by Tapan; Habib, Irfan (1981). The Cambridge economic history of India (1. publ. ed.). Cambridge [Eng.]: Cambridge University Press. p. 106. ISBN 9780521226929. {{cite book}}: |first1= has generic name (help)
  2. ^ Rao, P. Raghunanda (1989). Indian heritage and culture (1st ed.). New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Private Unlimited. p. 38. ISBN 9788120709300.
  3. ^ Maheshwari, Neha (6 October 2020). "'Tenali Rama' to go off air on November". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 10 November 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  4. ^ TNN (11 August 2017). "Tenali Rama is trapped between the two wives of King KrishnadevrayaIndia".
  5. ^ "Barkha Bisht turns Goddess Kali in 'Tenali Rama'". The Times of India. 2 June 2017. Archived from the original on 25 September 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Bollywood actress Minissha Lamba enters Tenali Rama as Vishkanya". Indian Television Dot Com. 20 February 2018. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  7. ^ "Rati Pandey joins the cast of Tenali Rama". The Times of India. 9 October 2019. Archived from the original on 9 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  8. ^ a b c "Nirisha Basnett, Pradeep Gurang and Satyajeet Gaonkar to enter Tenali Rama". Archived from the original on 25 September 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  9. ^ "Sailesh Gulabani to enter SAB TV's Tenali Rama". Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  10. ^ "Vinay Rohrra and Visha Vira roped in for SAB TV's Tenali Rama". Archived from the original on 14 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Reference was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ TNN (11 July 2017). "Tenali Rama tales come alive on television". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  13. ^ Farzeen, Sana (4 July 2017). "TV show Tenali Rama earnings will bail me out of debts: Actor Krishna Bhardwaj". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  14. ^ IANS (20 June 2017). "Manav Gohil excited for 'Tenali Rama'". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 24 August 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  15. ^ Team, Tellychakkar (23 June 2017). "Veteran actor Pankaj Berry joins SAB TV's Tenali Rama". Tellychakkar.com. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  16. ^ a b TNN (19 July 2017). "Actress Priyanka Singh and Sonia Sharma plays the role of Krishnadevraya's wives in Tenali Rama". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  17. ^ "WATCH: TV show Tenali Rama to premiere this December; Krishna Bharadwaj says 'I'm thrilled to bring him back'". The Times of India. 7 November 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  18. ^ "Historical entertainer Tenali Rama launches on Sony SAB this December". PINKVILLA. 7 November 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  19. ^ "Tenali Rama : Best Children's Show". India Today. 12 December 2018. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  20. ^ a b Jackson, William J. (2016). "7". Vijayanagara Voices: Exploring South Indian History and Hindu Literature. Routledge. ISBN 9781317001928.
  21. ^ Verghese, Anila (2001). Hampi. Delhi: Oxford University Press. p. 15. ISBN 9780195654332.
  22. ^ Life and Achievements of Sri Krishnadevaraya. Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Karnataka. 2010. p. 27.
  23. ^ Keshri, Shweta (12 July 2017). "Tenali Rama review: 5 things we loved about this historic comedy". Archived from the original on 14 July 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  24. ^ "Zee Tamil to launch a new historical fiction Tenali Raman". Best Media Info.
  25. ^ "Zee Telugu brings Thenali Ramakrishna and his witty antics every weeknight". Adgully.com. 19 January 2018. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  26. ^ "Tennali Raman to go on air from April 6". Times Of India. 7 April 2020. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.