Ek Tha Raja Ek Thi Rani (English: Once There was a King and Queen) is an Indian television period drama that aired on Zee TV on 27 July 2015. The show initially focused on the love story of Rani Gayatri (Drashti Dhami) and Ranaji (Siddhant Karnick) (Season 1). However, due to the deaths of their characters, the show focused on Rani (Eisha Singh), their daughter, and their son-in law, Raja (Sartaj Gill). However, the character of Rani also died, and her lookalike was introduced as Naina (also led by Eisha Singh). But again the main characters were killed (Raja and Naina died). But the show retained its main lead as it was shown that Raja and Rani had re-taken births as Raj and Rani, respectively. The show went off air on 4 July 2017. The show previously took a seven-year leap, followed by a 12-year leap, followed by a four-month leap, followed by a ten-year leap, and ended by a several years leap, after which these characters died in a car accident, leaving behind their daughter.
Plot Season 1 Ek Tha Raja Ek Thi Rani is set in the 1940s. In 1945, Ranaji returned to Ameerkot after six years of fighting the war against the British. Gayatri is the daughter of a rich zamindar, but she is considered Manglik (inauspicious by birth). On the other hand, Rana Indravadhan Singh (Ranaji) is the king of Amerkot who has been traumatised after his first wife, Rani Sulakshana death. Ranaji's mother, Rajmata Priyamvada, has a debt to pay to Gayatri's father, so she offers Ranaji's hand in marriage instead. Unwillingly, Ranaji marries Gayatri.
After marriage, Ranaji and Gayatri slowly form a bond. However, challenges are presented by family members like Badi Rani Maa, a woman pretending to be Sulakshana, Avdhesh, Rageshowri and so on.
Due to Badi Rani Maa and Rageshowri, Ranaji marries Rageshowri and loses his memory, and forgets Gayatri. Gayatri is thrown off a cliff by Badi Rani Maa. She is then saved by Lukhan and then disguises as Savitri to help Ranaji (King Rana) regain his memory. On the other hand, Lakshyaraj, Chandravadan's son, discovers that Gayatri is alive. He tells Badi Rani Maa this truth before he dies due to a spear passing through his chest during a performance at the festival of colours. Badi Rani Maa later confirms and realizes it is true. She tries to bring Ranaji and Savatri together in order to expose Savatri as Gayatri to King Rana (Ranaji). On the day she wants to real the truth about Badi Rani Maa and Rageshwari to King Rana, Badi Rani Maa poses so many threats all to no avail, such as planting a bomb in Gayatri's carriage, and even sending a man to kill the priest who has come to testify against Badi Rani Maa. Everything seemed to be in the favour of Gayatri as the priest's testimony convinces Ranaji, until Badi Rani Maa exposes Savatri's real face in front of every one by pouring water on her. King Rana becomes angry again, and sends Gayatri and Rajmata to the dungeon. Later he meets Gayatri to tell him the truth. They then decide to redo everything on the cliff again. Badi Rani Maa tries to convince Ranaji to just kill Rajmata and Gayatri, as it is how politics is played. But she fails in her attempt. On the hill, Badi Rani Maa has once again already exchanged the fake bullets with real ones. This time Ranaji decides to shoot Gayatri. As Gayatri is shot by Ranaji, he begins to experience a trauma. Badi Rani Maa begins to laugh and jubilate on the hill that Gayatri is finally dead. But Gayatri finally gets up and so does Ranaji. King Rana reveals to Badi Rani Maa that he switched the bullets again after she put real bullets. Badi Rani Maa then calls her goons to kill Ranaji. She reveals that she suspected something could happen so she came prepared. But Rajmata intervenes the scene with her own guards who arrest Badi Rani Maa's goons. Badi Rani Maa then removes a big gun from clothes and points it at King Rana's face. All hope seems to be lost until Swarnalekha and Lukhan throw a stick at Badi Rani Maa's head, knocking her out. Badi Rani Maa and Rageshwari are sent to the dungeon. Happiness returns to the inhabitants of the palace as Lukhan and Swarna (Lakshyaraj's wife) are getting married. But with the help of her son, Kunwar Chandravadan, The vengeful Badi Rani Maa comes to grace the occasion with a jungle man named Kaal. Kaal kills Ranaji during a faceoff. He also throws a knife at Swarnalekha (Swarna). As he tries to kill Gayatri by Badi Rani Maa's orders, Lukhan saves Gayatri and they escape along with Rajmata from the palace. Later Swarna wakes up to find dead bodies everywhere including King Rana. Badi Rani Maa imprisons Swarna until she gives birth to Lukhan's child.
Gayatri steals Ranaji's body from his burial conducted by the deceitful Badi Rani Maa. She then gives him a proper burial among the loyal men of Ameerkot. She then rescues her mother from Badi Rani Maa, who wishes to use her mother to get to Gayatri by threatening to hang the mother if Gayatri does not come in front of her.
9 months later Gayatri gives birth to a baby girl. During these nine months, the women were trained by Rajmata to fight, since King Kaal had decreed that any pregnant woman should be killed in search of Gayatri. After giving birth to her child, she goes to the palace with her baby, Rajmata, Lukhan and her army to fight Badi Rani Maa and Kaal. Meanwhile, Kaal becomes the king of Ameerkot, supported by Queen grandmother (Badi Rani Maa) since she had a dream when Kaal threatened her to become the king of Ameerkot.Meanwhile, her son Kunwar Chandravadan was expecting to be the king. While Gayatri triumphs in finishing Kaal off and reclaiming the throne of Ameerkot, Badi Rani Maa goes to beg Gayatri, but Gayatri does not believe her. She kicks her away. When the Queen grandmother regains consciousness, she tries to kill Gayatri's baby who is tied to her (Gayatri's) back, but stabs Gayatri instead. But before Gayatri falls down, she also leaves Badi Rani Maa with a gift. She renders her handicapped by cutting one of her hands with a sword. Kaal finishes off Gayatri and she dies, while Rajmata and the baby escape. Ranaji and Gayatri reunite in heaven.
Rajmata and the baby girl are met by Chandravadan who has orders from his mother, Badi Rani Maa to kill them. He then spares their lives as Rajmata is able to convince him that Queen grandmother (Badi Rani Maa) will never give him the throne. That she has given it to Kaal, an outsider instead of her own son. Rajmata, Lukhan, and the baby girl are in a vehicle to another place. They name the baby girl Rani.
Season 2 7 years later India has gained independence and the British officials have left. Gayatri's and Ranaji's daughter, Rani, grows up under Rajmata's care. She goes to the royal palace to work as a servant and befriends Raja, Jeevan, and Bindu. Raja and Jeevan are Kaal's sons, and Bindu is Swarnalekha and Lakhan's unaware daughter. Kaal has become the King. Badi Rani Maa gives Rani series of tests, such as to come down from a tall point, to play a game of snakes and ladders involving riddles at every ladder, and also the test in which Rani had to give away her salary so that the other servants can get their salary. All these test is because Rani challenged Badi Rani Maa to stop her injustice against the servants of the palace. Meanwhile, Rajmata suffers from tuberculosis. When Badi Rani Maa realizes that she is losing her grip on Raja, she decides to play her old game - being nice in the front to her enemies, while backstabbing them in the back. Raja and Rani are separated during their childhood due to the plans of Badi Rani Maa. Raja is accused of terribly beating Jeevan (Rageshwari's son). Because of this, Kaal sends Raja to a boarding school, where he is maltreated. Rani leaves Amerkot along with Rajmata after the deaths of Lakhan and his love, Swarnalekha, as planned by Badi Rani Maa. She kills Lakhan with a knife and shoots Swarnalekha with a gun, as they are on their way to find Rajmata and Rana and Gayatri's daughter - Rani, who Badi Rani Maa is unaware of her identity. Since Raja is in the hostel, Badi Rani Maa uses the opportunity to turn Raja against Kaal, saying that Kaal doesn't want him to come home. Raja hates his father. He also hates Rani, as he believes that it is because of her he got sent to the boarding school. Badi Rani Maa also tells Bindu to be writing letters to Raja telling him how much she cares for him. She also tells Raja not to allow any girl like Rani to come into his life ever again.
Meanwhile, Rani and Rajmata are in another town. They work in a hospital. Rajmata then becomes seriously ill because the tuberculosis has spread all over her body. She then undergoes operation. She survives it and she lives together with Rani and a nurse from the hospital. Rani wonders when she will get the chance to meet Raja in order to clear up their misunderstanding.
10 years later Raja and Rani meet again in college. This time, when Raja meets Rani, he starts to create trouble for her as he believes that Rani was responsible for sending him to a boarding school. However, they gradually fall in love. On the day of their wedding, Raja finds out that Rani is Ranaji and Gayatri's daughter, and they were murdered by Kaal and Badi Rani Maa, but they marry anyway. Raja imprisons Kaal and Badi Rani Maa dies while trying to kill Rani. Bindu is also arrested. Rani avenges her parents' murders.
Some months later, Nawab Iqbal Khan enters their life bringing a new challenge for Raja and Rani. He accuses Raja of killing his fiancée Zahira. Later it is revealed that Jeevan was the one that killed Zahira. But only Jeeves/Jeevan (Raja's brother) and Shusti (Raja's college friend) knew about this secret, since they were the ones that buried the lady. They lied to Rani that no accident took place. Although Shusti wanted to tell the truth, he was threatened by Jeevan. Iqbal decides to punish Raja by shooting him at a cliff. Raja then falls down the cliff in Rani's presence.
4 months later Raja returns, saved by Bindu. He sees Rani and Iqbal together. It is then revealed that Rani is pretending to love Iqbal to avenge Raja's death, unknowing that Raja is actually alive. Meanwhile, Raja seeks revenge from Rani and Iqbal, disguising himself as Angad, Bindu's husband, but Rani recognizes him. Iqbal continues to plot against them, and Raja starts to hate Rani. Iqbal forces Rani to shoot Raja against her will. As Raja runs away from Iqbal's goons, he survives as he is saved by a don. Raja begins illegal work for the don, in which he harms three police officers. Iqbal takes Rani along with him in his car to see the weak "Raja". They spot Raja near the ocean trying to kill himself with a gun. Rani takes the opportunity to cause an accident as she drags the steering wheel with Iqbal. Iqbal dies in the accident and Rani dies in a hospital. Raja falls in bad company and becomes associated with criminals, still believing Rani deceived him and unaware that she is dead.
10 years later Raja is now a don in Mumbai and starts to live with Laila, the daughter of another don. Naina, Rani's look-a-like, is a junior artist in films and lives with her mother and sister. Raja thinks that Naina is Rani and starts to hate her. On the other hand, Vijay, a police officer, likes Naina. Raja learns that Rani is dead and that Naina is her look-alike but still dislikes her as she reminds him of Rani.
Gradually, his attitude towards Naina normalizes and a love triangle develops. On the day of his wedding to Laila, Raja calls it off. Laila blames Naina. Naina encounters Rani's spirit that helps her prove to Raja that Rani was innocent and sacrificed herself to avenge him. Vijay tries to rape Naina and breaks her legs. Laila uses this to try and defame Naina but Raja marries Naina to protect her. Laila attacks Naina on several occasions but finally dies, as she is eaten by crocodiles in the water - a trap which she had set for Naina.