Namah Lakshmi Narayan
Namah Lakshmi Narayan "(previously Namah)" is an Indian-television mythological series that premiered on 23 September 2019 on Star Plus. Produced by Ved Raj under Shoonya Square Productions, it stars Savi Thakur, Vikas Manaktala and Yukti Kapoor. Initially it was titled "Namah" which focused on the friendship of Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva. In October 2019, it was renamed as "Namah Lakshmi Narayan" which focused on Lord Vishnu and his wife Lakshmi. 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. Production and release. It was originally planned as a weekend program but was later made as a weekday program shortly before the broadcast. Approximately, ₹30 lakhs are spent per episode for production of this series. Also, 20 VFX agencies were brought in for this series. Speaking about his training for his role as Shiva, Vikkas 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. In order to increase the ratings of the show, makers introduced many changes in the storyline owing to which actors Vikkas Manaktala, Chhavi Pandey and Sara Khan quit  the show. Manaktala and Pandey were replaced by Tarun Khanna and Rachana Parulkar. 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 Vikkas. We  decided to rope in Tarun, as has played Shiva earlier and wanted someone who will be instantly accepted by the audience.” In October 2019, the series was renamed from "Namah" to "Namah Lakshmi Narayan", the new iteration focusing mainly on Lord Vishnu and Lord Lakshmi and sidelining the story of Lord Shiva.