MAHABHARATA REVISITED
TV channels in India have caught on to the fact that mythological serials will attract viewers. NDTV Imagine has a daily dose of Ramayan while 9X Hindi entertainment channel is showing its daily version of Mahabharat called "Kahani Hamaray Mahabharat Ki".
How do the new versions of the serials compare with the older ones ? To begin with, I feel that the comparison is unfair. The older versions were telecast when there was only one national channel. The audience then had little choice to compare the serials with. To me, Sunday mornings were initially reserved for Arun Govil in Ramayana and then Mukesh Khanna in Mahabharat. The acting is not remarkable in either version, to be honest !
As a story, I prefer the Mahabharat among the two epics. Ramayana is purely "linear", with the story moving like the flow of a river. One incident leads to the rest : King Dasharath killing Shravana accidentally, Rama's promise to his father, the abduction of Sita, etc. The Mahabharat, on the other hand, has a "converging" kind of structure. Events like Devavrata's vow to remain unwed, the birth of Shikandhi, a youthful Kunti's folly of experimenting with a divine boon ; all have their own place and importance in the story. A thousand disparate events culminate in the 18 day war of Kurukshetra.
Agatha Christie has specified in a less popular story "Towards Zero Hour", the idea that various small incidents, events and traits all contribute towards a climax. In her story, it is a physical deformity of a murderer that a future victim notices, which leads to an unusual murder. Looked purely as a story, Mahabharat shows this same characteristic in a superb way. That is what interested me when I watched the serial first and also when I read the Amar Chitra Katha series of 60 comics on the epic.
Beginning with such a powerful story has its own disadvantages, I suppose : what should the director concentrate on ?Should it be Arjun and his skill in archery ? Should it be the story of Krishna ? What I would like to see is the tale told from Karn's view point ! This is a compelling character in the story. Anyway, the first television show chose Bheeshm as the focal point for the story : Mukesh Khanna was good, clothed in pure white. Of course, Nitish Bharadwaj's Krishna in the same serial also has a key role, but then that is expected !
The other unique thing about the first Mahabharat serial was its usage of the sutradhar or the narrator. The choice of the sutradhar was also a brilliant one. Harish Bhimani's voice was never as prominent as when he became the voice of "Samay" or time in the serial ! Since Samay himself was the narrator, the serial could easily span different locations and "fast forward" time gaps. The shadowy silhouette of Samay that we saw usually in the beginning of the story personified the abstract concept of time.
Ekta Kapoor's Mahabharat, on the other hand appears to give a larger focus to the story itself. I don't know who the director of "Kahani hamare Mahabharat ki" is. The serial is typically called Ekta Kapoor's Mahabharat ! The focus is on the story (so far) and it helps that the narrator is Vyasa himself. He is able to convey emotions during the major events of the tale. When there is a need to stand back from the story itself, the director shows us Vyasa telling the tale to his amanuensis, Ganesha. I feel that this is a promising touch. There are also more special effects : the appearance of Ganga transforming from a liquid presence during a fight between Devavrat and his father Santanu is par for the course. I see that the quality of special effects in Ramayan has also improved.
What I also like in this version is the way the character of Duryodhan evolves : he is shown as an obedient son who happily offers Yudhistir his place initially. He starts life as Suyodhan, which was new to me. The name translates as "Good warrior" and the young lad initially lives up to his name. However, gradually, Shakuni drives a wedge between the cousins, convincing Suyodhan that his cousins are out to destroy him. In one of the episodes, Suyodhana finally announces that he will use any means possible to get his rights and he transforms to Duryodhan. Though the "one day" transformation itself is improbable, I find the idea of Shakuni brainwashing his nephew more probable. Given the fact (in the story) that Suyodhan's parents were both literally unseeing, Shakuni could have played an important role in moulding his character.
The serial is not as garish as the first version. There are more scenes of the palaces in the night, befitting an environment of intrigue. The costumes are also toned down (comparatively speaking !). I don't like the fact that the young cousins look far older than what they should have been : the Mahabharat story suggests that the young children were playful and Bhim often got the better of Duryodhan in those fights. In the serial, the young lads look like adults ! I also don't like the fact that Kunti sings a lullaby to Suyodhan in the "good old days", which is meant to show the love and affection that existed. I feel that was totally unnecessary. Did the director feel that this was a Hindi movie rather than a serial ?!
All in all, the new version of Mahabharat has its merits. I hope that the battlefield scenes are more realistic than the first one. Even if they aren't, I won't mind though ! What I would like is the drama of an apocalyptic war to come out .... and yes, a lesser dose of histrionics in the emotional scenes would also be a nice touch. Is the director listening ?!
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NOTE:
I had originally written this blog in another site. Since that site is no longer accessible, I am uploading it in this blog at http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/ using the same date as the original blog dates.
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===== COMMON TEXT FOR ALL BLOGS =====
++++++ BEGINS ++++++
When I created my first blog, I thought I was
being clever by being "anonymous" and let my
opinions speak for themselves (see the archive !)
Imagine my embarrassment when I saw my name
displayed ! So now, while I still retain the blog
name as "Anonymous Expressions", I will only
request you to ignore my name and concentrate on
my opinions instead !
ALL COPYRIGHTS AND TRADEMARKS ARE ACKNOWLEDGED
AS THE PROPERTIES OF THEIR OWNERS.
The opinions expressed in the Weblogs are my
personal opinions. Please tell me if you spot any
factual mistakes or don't like the way I have
expressed a view. If I can see your point, I will
correct the mistake. You can email me at
kiran.suma@gmail.com.
++++++ ENDS ++++++
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
TV channels in India have caught on to the fact that mythological serials will attract viewers. NDTV Imagine has a daily dose of Ramayan while 9X Hindi entertainment channel is showing its daily version of Mahabharat called "Kahani Hamaray Mahabharat Ki".
How do the new versions of the serials compare with the older ones ? To begin with, I feel that the comparison is unfair. The older versions were telecast when there was only one national channel. The audience then had little choice to compare the serials with. To me, Sunday mornings were initially reserved for Arun Govil in Ramayana and then Mukesh Khanna in Mahabharat. The acting is not remarkable in either version, to be honest !
As a story, I prefer the Mahabharat among the two epics. Ramayana is purely "linear", with the story moving like the flow of a river. One incident leads to the rest : King Dasharath killing Shravana accidentally, Rama's promise to his father, the abduction of Sita, etc. The Mahabharat, on the other hand, has a "converging" kind of structure. Events like Devavrata's vow to remain unwed, the birth of Shikandhi, a youthful Kunti's folly of experimenting with a divine boon ; all have their own place and importance in the story. A thousand disparate events culminate in the 18 day war of Kurukshetra.
Agatha Christie has specified in a less popular story "Towards Zero Hour", the idea that various small incidents, events and traits all contribute towards a climax. In her story, it is a physical deformity of a murderer that a future victim notices, which leads to an unusual murder. Looked purely as a story, Mahabharat shows this same characteristic in a superb way. That is what interested me when I watched the serial first and also when I read the Amar Chitra Katha series of 60 comics on the epic.
Beginning with such a powerful story has its own disadvantages, I suppose : what should the director concentrate on ?Should it be Arjun and his skill in archery ? Should it be the story of Krishna ? What I would like to see is the tale told from Karn's view point ! This is a compelling character in the story. Anyway, the first television show chose Bheeshm as the focal point for the story : Mukesh Khanna was good, clothed in pure white. Of course, Nitish Bharadwaj's Krishna in the same serial also has a key role, but then that is expected !
The other unique thing about the first Mahabharat serial was its usage of the sutradhar or the narrator. The choice of the sutradhar was also a brilliant one. Harish Bhimani's voice was never as prominent as when he became the voice of "Samay" or time in the serial ! Since Samay himself was the narrator, the serial could easily span different locations and "fast forward" time gaps. The shadowy silhouette of Samay that we saw usually in the beginning of the story personified the abstract concept of time.
Ekta Kapoor's Mahabharat, on the other hand appears to give a larger focus to the story itself. I don't know who the director of "Kahani hamare Mahabharat ki" is. The serial is typically called Ekta Kapoor's Mahabharat ! The focus is on the story (so far) and it helps that the narrator is Vyasa himself. He is able to convey emotions during the major events of the tale. When there is a need to stand back from the story itself, the director shows us Vyasa telling the tale to his amanuensis, Ganesha. I feel that this is a promising touch. There are also more special effects : the appearance of Ganga transforming from a liquid presence during a fight between Devavrat and his father Santanu is par for the course. I see that the quality of special effects in Ramayan has also improved.
What I also like in this version is the way the character of Duryodhan evolves : he is shown as an obedient son who happily offers Yudhistir his place initially. He starts life as Suyodhan, which was new to me. The name translates as "Good warrior" and the young lad initially lives up to his name. However, gradually, Shakuni drives a wedge between the cousins, convincing Suyodhan that his cousins are out to destroy him. In one of the episodes, Suyodhana finally announces that he will use any means possible to get his rights and he transforms to Duryodhan. Though the "one day" transformation itself is improbable, I find the idea of Shakuni brainwashing his nephew more probable. Given the fact (in the story) that Suyodhan's parents were both literally unseeing, Shakuni could have played an important role in moulding his character.
The serial is not as garish as the first version. There are more scenes of the palaces in the night, befitting an environment of intrigue. The costumes are also toned down (comparatively speaking !). I don't like the fact that the young cousins look far older than what they should have been : the Mahabharat story suggests that the young children were playful and Bhim often got the better of Duryodhan in those fights. In the serial, the young lads look like adults ! I also don't like the fact that Kunti sings a lullaby to Suyodhan in the "good old days", which is meant to show the love and affection that existed. I feel that was totally unnecessary. Did the director feel that this was a Hindi movie rather than a serial ?!
All in all, the new version of Mahabharat has its merits. I hope that the battlefield scenes are more realistic than the first one. Even if they aren't, I won't mind though ! What I would like is the drama of an apocalyptic war to come out .... and yes, a lesser dose of histrionics in the emotional scenes would also be a nice touch. Is the director listening ?!
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
NOTE:
I had originally written this blog in another site. Since that site is no longer accessible, I am uploading it in this blog at http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/ using the same date as the original blog dates.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
===== COMMON TEXT FOR ALL BLOGS =====
++++++ BEGINS ++++++
When I created my first blog, I thought I was
being clever by being "anonymous" and let my
opinions speak for themselves (see the archive !)
Imagine my embarrassment when I saw my name
displayed ! So now, while I still retain the blog
name as "Anonymous Expressions", I will only
request you to ignore my name and concentrate on
my opinions instead !
ALL COPYRIGHTS AND TRADEMARKS ARE ACKNOWLEDGED
AS THE PROPERTIES OF THEIR OWNERS.
The opinions expressed in the Weblogs are my
personal opinions. Please tell me if you spot any
factual mistakes or don't like the way I have
expressed a view. If I can see your point, I will
correct the mistake. You can email me at
kiran.suma@gmail.com.
++++++ ENDS ++++++
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
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