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Hatim, a low-budget epic about an Arab prince, captivated Indian audiences in the early 2000s

December 5, 2021
Bharat Times

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New Delhi: If you grew up in India in the late 90s or 2000s, you will surely remember the epic adventure TV series HatimWhich aired on Star Plus. Every weekend thousands of families across the country were glued to their screens to watch this fantasy drama.

The Hatim al-Tai saga, based on the legend of a sixth-century Arab prince, has been adapted several times for television and the big screen. but something about rendering of the story Clicked.

“I still remember watching it every weekend with my grandpa. We used to get super excited when an episode started. It’s one of my fondest memories of him”, Nilaksh Miglani, a 23 year-old artist and content moderator at business services firm Concentricx India.

The story of this saga directed by Amrit and Shakti Sagar revolves around Prince Hatim of Yemen, played by the then popular actor. Rahil Azmi,

The protagonist sets off on a prototype mission to save the love of his life and, in doing so, saves the world. Hatim must travel through dangerous lands, fight demons and find answers to the seven most important questions to free the world from adversary Dajjal.

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What made it special?

The show aired at a time when there was no high-speed internet and the possibilities offered by CGI were still unknown to the eyes of the Indian audience. Television was the only source of entertainment, and for the most part dominated mother-in-law The concept, which happened like wildfire.

A heavy dose of CGI complemented the storytelling style. While it may sound strange today, to people watching it in the early 2000s, it was something they had never seen before on television. It was fun, absorbing and pleasing to the eye like never before in a show.

Hatim It was also wildly different from the mundane daily soaps and offered an escape into the realm of fiction. In just 47 episodes, the show was able to exceed the expectations of the audience and established itself as a favourite.

The actors almost created an aura of believability, despite the breakdown of CGI as a complement to the storytelling.

Rahil Azam adapted Hatim’s character to perfection, and came across as a prince devoted to the people. The role brought him immense popularity, and Azam became a familiar face in almost all households with cable television sets.

The character of Hobo the Elf, played by Kiku Sharda, a cowardly but witty companion of Hatim, brought much-needed comic relief to the show. The kids started dressing up like them both in fancy dress competitions and in school plays, and it really became a dude cop show—just one with magic and mysticism instead of cops.

Score

The score encapsulated the theme of the show and provided a sense of thrill and suspenseful drama to the audience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRRsOrAeRQ4

In addition, much thought went into the direction of the music and sounds. For example, each verb has a special and distinct numeral. Whether our hero is chasing someone, the hobo is scared of a bee, or the villainous Dajjal is making an evil plan. Thoughtful sound effects were applied to fit the tone of the direction, which became one of the most widely recognized features of the show.

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ratings

The show clocked exceptional number of performances at that time and garnered decent TRPs at every turn. Hatim But one of the most highly rated Indian shows imdb With a score of 8.6.

Its success became a milestone in the Indian television industry. Even now, there are posts and petitions on social media demanding to make the show available on the OTT platform.

Similarities with shows from the West

Many viewers drew parallels between this low-budget venture and the many epic fantasy productions largely made in the West with big budgets, such as Harry Potter’s quest to destroy all seven Horcruxes, or even that story and cinematography too The Lord of the Rings,

After its success, the producers jumped on the bandwagon and created several fantasy adventures, but none came close. Hatim, It was not only a financial blockbuster success, but the amount of praise it received from the audience was immeasurable.

(Edited by Rohan Manoj)

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