The new mega show Swayamsidha, featuring actors Biswa Basu Biswas and Ashni Das in the lead roles, is an onscreen adaption of eminent Bengali writer Manilal Bandyopadhyay’s noted literary work of the same name.

Swayamsidha is one of the most popular works of Manilal Bandyopadhyay, which has been successful in going beyond linguistic barriers. "It had been earlier adapted into Bengali, Hindi, Marathi and Telegu films. For the first time, Aakash Aath is going to present the story of Chandi and Gobindo on the television screen. For this mega show, we have been very particular about the selection of the lead artistes as without them Gobindo’s innocence and Chandi’s strength will remain shadowed,” said Priyanka Surana Bardia, director, Aakash Aath.

Swayamsidha narrates the journey of a young girl, Chandi (Ashni Das) who fights against all the injustice prevailing in the then British-dominated society as well as within her own domestic domain. Chandi transcends all boundaries to bring equal rights for the women of her village to education and live dignified lives. After being married to Gobindo (Biswa Basu Biswas), son of the landlord Hari Narayan (Debnath Chattopadhyay), Chandi discovers that Gobindo is a special child. His mental and physical inabilities are not decided by destiny rather it is a result of a conspiracy smoothly knitted by Gobindo’s stepmother and her brother. Chandi, gradually with her dedication and bravery protects Gobindo from all the torment and starts freeing him from the undeserved plight. In the end she not only totally liberates her better half from the clutches of the evil but also brings him back to being a normal and respectful human being.

“Bringing shows inspired by literature and history is a unique concept and such television programs have a separate audience base. In Swayamsidha, playing the character of Gobindo is equally an honour and a challenge for me as previously on the big screen the viewers have witnessed Ranjit Mallick in the same role. It is undoubtedly a daunting task to finely portray such a different onscreen character,” said Biswa Basu Biswas.

“Playing the character of Chandi is a dream come true. For this role, I had to learn and practice wrestling and stick fight, which was indeed challenging. Altogether, every shoot day is a new learning experience for me,” said Ashni Das.

Swayamsidha, which airs on Aakash Aath from Monday to Saturday at 7pm, is directed by Anindya Sarkar. The script is written by Souvik Mitra and Rakesh Ghosh has penned the dialogues.