A snake is a very powerful and dangerous animal, but something more dangerous and powerful than a snake is a girl in a snake avatar. Portraying girl as Icchadhari naagin (a female snake who can take the form of anything according to her wishes) is becoming a popular trend of many TV series.
Television industry has seen a lot of shows based on the concept of Naagin and one common factor in all such shows is portrayal of a beautiful actress in a Naagin avatar. A lot of actresses have stepped in the shoes of character of a Naagin and some have also got massive popularity due to their roles. As Anita Hassanandani, gets set to join the list of television’s Naagin, we take a look at 11 others who have also portrayed snake woman.
11. Varsha Usgaonkar
One of the very first actresses to portray herself in naagin avatar was Varsha Usgaonkar. She played the role of Satyavati in one of the most popular television of the 90s series Chandrakanta. It was partly based on Devaki Nandan Khatri’s novel of the same name. The show, which ran between 1994 and 1996 on Doordarshan, saw Varsha as a snake-queen. She was also among the most popular actresses in Marathi cinema during the 1990s.
10. Dimpy Mahajan
The wife of Rahul Mahajan made her television debut with the naagin avatar. Dimply Mahajan played the role of an ‘Icchadhari Naagin’ in the TV show Kahani Chandrakanta Ki. In the show, she was seen plotting a revenge against a dacoit. The show premiered on June 6, 2011 on Sahara One.
9. Shweta Tiwari
Well, she can be called one of the most beautiful actresses to play a role of naagin. Shweta Tiwari also showcased herself as a Naagin in series Naaginn – Waadon Ki Agniparikshaa. The former Bigg winner played the role of sale Queen named Surmaya. The series aired worldwide on Zee TV since 11 October 2007.
8. Sayantani Ghosh
Well, series Naaginn – Waadon Ki Agniparikshaa did not have only one character as naagin. Sayantani Ghosh also played a snake’s character in the series. She was very popular for her portrayal of Amrita on the show, who is apparently a Naagin. Amrita transforms herself into a woman to take revenge from the Singh family, which had killed her parents (king and queen of the Naag or snake community) to get the valuable Naagmani (snake gem).
7. Richa Mukherjee
Nagarjuna-Ek Yoddha was an Indian Hindi fantasy fiction drama television series, which premiered on 30 May 2016. In the show, actress Richa Mukherjee played the character of Urmi, who is from Naag lok. The show had links with mythology. According to Mahabharata, Arjun marries Nagakanya Ulupi (half maiden-half serpent), the daughter of Kouravya, the king of serpents. Ulupi goes on to save Arjun from the curse of Vasus after restoring his life. The series also had mentions of Naag, Naagins, Naagmani, Naag Lok, Naag Dev and all things snake.
6. Rishina Kandhari
Rishina Kandhari was also part of Nagarjuna-Ek Yoddha in a naagin avatar. She played a character named Naagmaya. Her character in the series was one who protects the Naaglok. She was a guardian angel of the male lead’s character. In the Naagin avatar, she also possessed power to foresee the future.
5. Sara Khan
Sara Khan played the role of naagin in one of the most popular daily soap of all time, Sasural Simar Ka. She played the role of an Icchhadhari Naagin named Maya in the show from 2014 to 2015. In the show, female lead character Roli (Avika Gor) meets with an accident and sustains injuries on her face. Taking advantage of the situation, the naagin aka Maya enters the house as Roli and ends up kidnapping Roli’s husband, Siddharth (Manish Raisinghan).
4. Priyal Gor
All Naagins are not evil and dangerous, one fine example is Ichhapyaari Naagin. The show showcased Priyal Gor as ‘Iccha’, who is a Naagin seeking to change the perception of humans towards snakes. The Hindi-language romantic fantasy series premiered on 27 September 2016 on SAB TV. The show was set in a land called ‘Naagistan’, where many Ichhadhaari Naags and Naagins live. They are nice and some hardly get vicious.
3. Karishma Tanna
The tall and glamorous actress of TV industry is set to star as a Naagin in the third installment of the hit series Naagin, a product of Ekta Kappor’s Balaji production. Her look for the show was recently shared by Ekta Kapoor on social media sites. Her look showed an all-black costume, bold silver jewelry and a face done heavily with make-up. Interesting, this is not a first experience of Karishma in naagin avatar. She had previously acted as Maskini in Nagarjuna- Ek Yoddha, where she was portrayed as a naagin.
2. Adaa Khan
Adaa Khan came in Naagin avatar in a supporting role in the popular series of Naagin. Adaa had a supporting role to Mouni Roy in the show. She was seen as Shesha, the sister of main lead Shivanya. She also played Takshika in the show, who is an Icchadhari Naagin. The show received high TRP and ended in June 2016.The show also returned for a second season in October 2016 and Khan was again cast as the main antagonist in the show, the season ended in June 2017.
1. Mouni Roy
Mouni Roy can be considered as the most popular and most charming actress to be perceived in the role of Naagin. She played the role of Shivanya opposite Arjun Bijlani in the Ekta Kapoor’s show Naagin. Mouni also played a double role in Season 2 of Naagin. She became very much popular among the audience due to her role in the show. Mouni became so popular in the Naagin avatar that viewers requested Ekta Kapoor to keep her in the third installment of Naagin too.