''Unch Majha Zoka'' () is an Indian television series directed by Viren Pradhan and was aired on Zee Marathi. The series premiered on 5 March 2012 from Monday to Saturday at 8 pm by replacing ''Ekach Hya Janmi Janu''.

Summary

It is a dramatization of the story of how the child Yamuna was given at age 11 in an arranged marriage to

Mahadev Govind Ranade Mahadev Govind Ranade (18 January 1842 – 16 January 1901), popularly referred to as Justice Ranade, was an Indian scholar, social reformer, judge and author. He was one of the founding members of the Indian National Congress party and owned ...

and then proceeded to defy society's expectation to become the social activist Ramabai Ranade. It is set during the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

in 1870s India.

Cast

Main

Spruha Joshi Spruha Joshi (born 13 October 1989) is an Indian television, film, and theatre actress, the television anchor who works in the Marathi film and television industry. She is also a poet and lyricist for films. Early life and education Spruha Joshi ...

as Ramabai Ranade, Mahadevrao's wife and Govindrao's daughter-in-law ** Tejashree Walawalkar as maiden Yamuna Annasaheb Kurlekar and Young Ramabai Ranade * Vikram Gaikwad as

aka Madhavrao, Ramabai's husband, Govindrao's eldest son *

Sharad Ponkshe Sharad Ponkshe is an Indian actor and writer, mainly working in Hindi and Marathi cinema. He is a speaker and an actor in Marathi film, theater and television. Career Ponkshe started his career in the year 1988 and worked in multiple fields incl ...

as Govindrao (Bhausaheb) Ranade, Mahadevrao, Durga Akka, Nilkantha (Aaba) and Shripad's (Baba) father, Ramabai's father-in-law, Gopikabai and Mai's husband *

Shailesh Datar Shailesh Datar (Shailesh Dattar) is an Indian film, television and stage actor, who started in Marathi theatre and television. He is best known for playing role of sage Narada in the mythological TV series '' Devon Ke Dev...Mahadev'' (2012). Pr ...

as Annasaheb Kurlekar, Umabai's husband, Gopal, Daji, Keshav and Ramabai's father, Saraswatibai and Mahadevrao's father-in-law *

Kavita Lad Kavita Lad-Medhekar is an Indian actress, known for her work in Marathi Theatre, Television and Films. She is best known for her daily soap opera roles in ''Char Divas Sasuche'', '' Unch Maaza Zoka'', ''Radha Hi Bawari'' and ''Radha Prem Rangi R ...

as Umabai Annasaheb Kurlekar, Annasaheb's wife, Gopal, Daji, Keshav and Ramabai's mother, Saraswatibai and Mahadevrao's mother-in-law * Rugvedi Pradhan as Mai Ranade, Govindrao's second wife, Ramabai's step mother-in-law, Mahadevrao and Durga Akka's step mother, Nilkantha (Aaba) and Shripad's (Baba) biological mother

Recurring

* Sharmishtha Raut as Tai Kaku, Mahadevrao's widowed paternal aunt * Sanyogita Bhave as Subhadra Kaku *

Mitali Mayekar Mitali Mayekar (born: 11 September 1996) is an Indian Marathi television and film actress. At the age of 13, She debut in the acting industry with Irrfan Khan's movie ''Billu'' in 2009. Personal life Mitali was in a romantic relationship wit ...

as Ahilyabai, Moru Mama's third wife * Saurabh Gokhale as Gopal Annasaheb Kurlekar, Ramabai's eldest brother, Saraswatibai's husband * Pournima Talwalkar as Gopikabai Govindrao Ranade; Mahadevrao and Durga Akka's biological mother; Govindrao's first wife * Amol Bavdekar as Moru Mama; Mahadevrao's step maternal uncle (Mama), Mai's brother * Atul Kasva as Pandu Kaka, Ranades' househelper *

Shilpa Tulaskar Shilpa Tulaskar (born 10 March 1977) is an Indian actress who has acted in Marathi films and Hindi television shows. She recently portrayed the role of Rajnandini in Zee Marathi's drama '' Tula Pahate Re'' and also the character of Sujata, mo ...

as Rukminibai Joshi, Ramabai's maternal aunt (Maushi), Umabai's elder sister *

Neena Kulkarni Neena Kulkarni (''neena'' Joshi) is an Indian actress. She began her acting career in the 1970s on the Marathi professional stage and Hindi experimental stage, along with fashion shows and modelling simultaneously. She met Pt Satyadev Dubey, h ...

as Aaji, Mai's mother, Govindrao's second mother-in-law * Akshata Kulkarni as Kashibai Kanetkar * Chaitrali Gupte as Annapoornabai Ramkrushna Bhandarkar *

Nayana Apte Joshi Nayana Apte Joshi (born 1950-) is an Indian singer-actress who worked in Marathi, Hindi and Gujarati Movies and stage plays. Early years She was taught classical music by her mother Shanta Apte, Indirabai Kelkar and Yashwant Bua Joshi. She got ...

as Sakhartai; Tai Kaku's mother * Nilpari Khanvalkar as Durga Akka (Durgabai Fadnavis), Mahadevrao's real sister, Govindrao and Gopikabai's daughter (widowed at an early age) * Sushil Bhosale as Nilkantha (Aaba) Govindrao Ranade, Govindrao and Mai's first son, Mahadevrao's step-brother * Ashish Joshi as Shripad (Baba) Govindrao Ranade, Govindrao and Mai's second son, Mahadevrao's step-brother * Niranjan Kulkarni as Damodar Abhyankar, Bayo's second husband * Nandita Dhuri-Patkar as Girijabai Ketkar *

Amol Kolhe Amol Ramsing Kolhe is an Indian actor turned politician who is the current Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from Shirur and member of the Nationalist Congress Party. Early life Kolhe was born in the town of Narayangaon in Pune district. ...

Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jyotirao Govindrao Phule, also known as Mahatma Jyotiba Phule (11 April 1827 – 28 November 1890) was an Indian social activist, thinker, anti-caste social reformer and writer from Maharashtra. His work extended to many fields, including erad ...

Suzanne Bernert Suzanne Bernert (born 26 September), is a German-born Indian actress living in India who works primarily in Indian films in various languages. She has acted in '' Ramdhanu - The Rainbow'', '' Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.'' and television serials ...

as Miss Hertford *

Shweta Shinde Shweta Shinde is an Indian actress and producer, known for Lagira Zhala Ji ''Lagira Zhala Ji'' is an Indian Marathi television drama. It premiered on 1 May 2017 and stopped on 22 June 2019. It was produced by Shweta Shinde for Vajra Produc ...

as Special appearance * Anil Gawas as Sakha Kaka *

Suruchi Adarkar Suruchi Adarkar (born 25 April 1988) is an Indian Marathi actress who has featured in Marathi television serials. She started her career with an ad play ''Avagha Rang Ekachi Zhala''. She known for her portrayal in Zee Marathi's ''Ka Re Durava ...

as Muktabai Sathe (a widow guised as a married woman) * Akshaya Bhingarde as Saraswatibai Gopal Kurlekar, Gopal's wife, Ramabai's elder sister-in-law * Madhavi Soman as Bhagirathibai, Annasaheb's widowed sister, Umabai's sister-in-law, Ramabai's paternal aunt(Aatya) * Ujwala Jog as Yashodabai Dandekar, Mahadevrao's first mother-in-law * Sharad Bhutadiya as Vitthal Ranade (Vithu Kaka), Govindrao's Cousin, Subhadra Kaku's husband, Mahadevrao's uncle * Mrunal Jadhav as Sakhu Damodar, Mahadevrao and Ramabai's neighbour in Nashik.

Production

The story is based in the late 19th century

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...

. The sets for the show, presenting the houses and interiors resembling that era are constructed at

Film City Film City may refer to * Film City, Mumbai * Noida Film City * Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad * Prayag Film City The Prayag Film City, also known as the Midnapore Film City or Chandrakona Film City or Bengal film city is an i ...

Goregaon Goregaon ( �oːɾeɡaːʋ is a suburb of Mumbai city, in the Mumbai Suburban district of India. It has a railway station on the Mumbai suburban railway on the Western Line. An extension of the Harbour Line was completed in 2018 because of ...

. Erected on 30-50 thousand square feet area, the set is mainly designed per descriptions of Ranade Wada as written by Ramabai Ranade in her biography ''Majhya Aayushyatlya Aathvani''. Santosh Futane has designed the sets based on these descriptions and then making them shooting-friendly. The makeup rooms also have the old look from outside but are equipped with modern facilities from inside. The

Theatrical property A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...

of old utensils, lamps, machines have been collected from various cities including rural areas like Padgha, Wada and

Mokhada Mokhada is a census town in Jawhar subdivision of Palghar district Palghar District (Marathi pronunciation: aːlɡʱəɾ is a district in the state of Maharashtra in Konkan Division. On 1 Aug 2014, the State government of Maharashtra a ...

Special episode

1 hour

* 9 September 2012

2 hours

* 14 July 2013 (Last episode)

Awards

References

External links

* * {{Cite web , url = http://zeemarathi.com/Zee_Serial.aspx?zsid=601 , title = Unch Majha Zoka , archive-date = 2014-04-23 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140423185317/http://zeemarathi.com/Zee_Archives.aspx?zhid=601 , access-date = 2022-11-30 , url-status = live Marathi-language television shows Zee Marathi original programming 2012 Indian television series debuts 2013 Indian television series endings