Namah Lakshmi Narayan
{{Short description|Indian historical television series}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox television
| image =
| caption =
| genre = historical
| creator =
| writer =
| director = Vaibhav Vanshraj Singh
Lyrics
Niraj Prabhakar
| starring = {{ubl|Savi Thakur|Yukti Kapoor|Vikkas Manaktala}}
| theme_music_composer = Puneet Dixit
| opentheme =
| composer = Puneet Dixit
| country = India
| language = Hindi
| num_seasons = 1
| num_episodes = 65
| list_episodes =
| producer = Ved Raj
| camera = Multi camera
| runtime = 22 minutes
| company = Shoonya Square Productions
| network = {{ubl|StarPlus|Hotstar}}
| first_aired = {{Start date|df=y|2019|09|23}}
| last_aired = {{End date|df=yes|2019|12|20}}{{cite web|url=https://news.abplive.com/entertainment/television/after-yeh-hai-mohabbaetin-star-plus-namah-confirmed-to-go-off-air-on-december-20-1118382|title=After 'Yeh Hai Mohabbatein', Another Star Plus Show Confirmed To Go Off-Air!|last=|first=|date=|website=ABP News|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}
| alt_name = Namah Mahalakshmi
}}
Namah Lakshmi Narayan (previously Namah) is an Indian historical television series that premiered on 23 September 2019 on Star Plus.{{cite web|url=https://www.abplive.in/television/ek-bhram-sarvagun-sampanna-not-raaz-mahal-namah-to-replace-shrenu-parikh-zain-imams-show-on-star-plus-1056844|title=NOT Raaz Mahal But Namah To REPLACE Ek Bhram Sarvagun Sampanna On Star Plus?|last=|first=|date=|website=Abp Live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}} Produced by Ved Raj under Shoonya Square Productions, it stars Savi Thakur, Vikkas Manaktala and Yukti Kapoor.{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tv/news/hindi/vikkas-manaktala-to-play-lord-shiva-in-namah/articleshow/70342258.cms|title=Vikkas Manaktala to play Lord Shiva in 'Namah' - Times of India|website=The Times of India|language=en|access-date=2019-09-20}}{{cite web|url=https://www.mid-day.com/articles/savi-thakur-on-playing-lord-vishnu-in-namah-its-like-a-dream-come-true/21723167|title=Savi Thakur On Playing Lord Vishnu In Namah: It's Like A Dream Come True|last=|first=|date=|website=Mid Day|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}
Initially it was titled Namah which focused on the friendship of Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva.{{cite web|url=https://www.timesnownews.com/videos/zoom/telly-talk/namah-star-cast-vikas-manaktala-and-savi-thakur-on-their-character-story-and-more-exclusive/42501|title=Namah star cast Vikas Manaktala and Savi Thakur on their character, story, and more {{!}} Exclusive|last=|first=|date=|website=Times Now News|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}} In October 2019, it was renamed as Namah Lakshmi Narayan which focused on Lord Vishnu and his wife Lakshmi.{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tv/news/hindi/hemant-kumar-choudhary-to-play-lord-brahma-in-namah/articleshow/71822425.cms|title=Hemant Kumar Choudhary to play Lord Brahma in 'Namah'|last=|first=|date=|website=Times Of India|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}
Plot
Namah initially focused on the relationship between Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva, two main deities of Hindu mythology and how their friendship is tested in Kali Yuga.
Later, it focused mainly on Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi and their eternal tale based on Vishnu Purana.
Cast
=Main=
- Savi Thakur as
- Vishnu/Hari: Lakshmi's husband and Parvati's brother
- Matsya: 1st Dashavatar of Vishnu
- Kurma: 2nd Dashavatar of Vishnu
- Varaha: 3rd Dashavatar of Vishnu
- Yukti Kapoor in dual roles as
- Lakshmi/Matrikas/Shri/Ashta Lakshmi: Vishnu's wife
- Alakshmi: Lakshmi's sister
- Vikkas Manaktala/Tarun Khanna as Shiva/Mahadev/Virabhadra/Dattatreya: Parvati's husband; Kartikeya, Ashokasundari and Ganesha's father
- Chhavi Pandey/Rachana Parulkar as Parvati/Adi Parashakti/Shakti/Sati/Durga/Yogmaya/ Gauri: Vishnu's sister; Mahadev's wife; Kartikeya, Ashokasundari and Ganesha's mother
=Recurring=
- Sushant Marya as Varuna{{Cite web | title=Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai actor Sushant Marya roped in for Star Plus’ Namah {{!}} IWMBuzz | url=https://www.iwmbuzz.com/television/news/yeh-rishta-kya-kehlata-hai-actor-sushant-marya-roped-star-plus-namah/2019/09/25 | access-date=2025-05-10 | website=www.iwmbuzz.com}}
- Hemant Choudhary as Brahma: Narrator
- Raviz Thakur as Kali
- Sara Khan as kali's wife Mrityu
- Zalak Desai as Saraswati
- Aaditya Bajpayee as Vasuki
- Siddharth Vasudev as Mahishasur
- Puneet Raj as Chandra
- Sachin Chauhan as Shani
- Shivendra Om Saainiyol as Nandi
- Shyam Mashalkar as Narada
- Samriddhi Yadav as Srishti
- Arjun Singh Dalal as Devraj Indra
- Vikas Singh as Bhringi
- Ayan Kapoor as Agni
- Kajal Jain as Mohini
- Amit Behl as Daksha
- Rahul Ranaa as Bali
- Nadeem Ahmad Khan as Surya
- Abhishek Singh as Pawan
- Shivani Gupta as Varuni
- Payal Gupta as Neela
- Anand Dev as Himavan
- Shilpa Kataria Singh as Maina
- Gaurav Bakshi as Garuda
- Sharma Sanjeev Kumar as Samudra
- Aanjaali Rana as Vela
- Deepak Dutta as Manu
- Hemant Bharati as Madhu
- Ravi Chhabra as Kaitabha
Production
=Development=
It was originally planned as a weekend program but was later made as a weekday program shortly before the broadcast.{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tv/news/hindi/namah-to-go-off-air-on-december-20/articleshow/72330876.cms|title=Namah to go off air on December 20|last=|first=|date=3 December 2019|website=Times Of India|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=3 December 2019}}
Approximately, ₹30 lakhs are spent per episode for production of this series. Also, 20 VFX agencies were brought in for this series.{{cite web|url=https://www.abplive.in/television/star-plus-namah-spends-rs-30-lakhs-per-episode-only-on-vfx-1070772|title=Star Plus' 'Namah' Spends WHOPPING Amount On VFX; Read On To Know!|last=|first=|date=|website=Abp Live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}
In October 2019, the series was renamed from Namah to Namah Lakshmi Narayan, the new iteration focusing mainly on Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi and sidelining the story of Lord Shiva.
Speaking about the introduction of changes in the show, Ved Raj said, "We tried to blend mythology with fantasy, which hasn't managed to strike a chord with the audience. Also, mythological shows mostly focus on just one God, but in our show, we tried to highlight the bond and friendship between Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu. We have reworked the storyline and are focusing on Lord Vishnu (played by Savi Thakur). The track of Shiva will be reduced considerably, hence the decision to release Vikas. We decided to rope in Tarun, as has played Shiva earlier and wanted someone who will be instantly accepted by the audience".
=Casting=
Speaking about his training for his role as Shiva, Vikas Manaktala said, "Martial arts training and working out in the gym helped me get the desired physique for the role. To play Shiva, your expressions and attitude have to be calm. That was really difficult for me. I started meditating and that helped me get the right expressions for the role. Realized that maintaining a calm and composed demeanor on screen was the bigger challenge. To play Shiva, your expressions and attitude have to be calm. That was really difficult for me. I started meditating and that helped me get the right expressions for the role".{{cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=From intense physical training to meditation: Actors' guide to portraying Shiva |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tv/news/hindi/from-intense-physical-training-to-meditation-actors-guide-to-portraying-shiva/articleshow/74224828.cms |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date= |website=The Times of India}}
In order to increase the ratings of the show, makers introduced many changes in the storyline owing to which actors Vikas Manaktala, Chhavi Pandey and Sara Khan quit the show.{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/vikkas-manaktala-exits-tarun-khanna-to-now-play-shiva-in-namah/articleshow/71662829.cms|title=Vikkas Manaktala exits, Tarun Khanna to now play Shiva in Namah|last=|first=|date=|website=Times of India|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}{{cite web|url=https://www.abplive.in/videos/have-actress-chhavi-pandey-and-sara-khan-left-show-namah-1095015|title=Have actress Chhavi Pandey and Sara Khan left show 'Namah'?|last=|first=|date=|website=Abp Live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}} Manaktala and Pandey were replaced by Tarun Khanna and Rachana Parulkar.{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tv/news/hindi/rachana-parulkar-is-the-new-parvati-after-chhavi-pandey-quits-show/articleshow/71718221.cms|title=Rachana Parulkar is the new Parvati after Chhavi Pandey quits show|last=|first=|date=|website=Times of India|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}
References
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