Jul 21, 2008 07:32 PM
10502 Views
What is here may be found else where, what is not here will not be found anywhere - Ved Vyasa.
Ever since BR Chopra's Mahabharata aired on the small screen, I have been eager to know who would attempt to capture the bold story once again. Even though BR Chopra's version of Mahabharata lacked in technology and graphical effects, it was hardly felt due to the extremely good performance of the characters.
follow up a couple of decades later, and Ekta's Mahabharata (or Kahani hamare Mahabharata KI) falls flat on its face. Maybe Ekta should have paid more attention to telling the story right instead of wasting time and money on the title.
Any remake comes under comparison from the predecessor, whether its a son to a Father, politician to an earlier politician or even a friend to an earlier friend.
BR Chopra's Mahabharata caught its share of flak from its predecessor, Ved Vyasa's Mahabharata. I love the story, I am ever thankful to BRC for telling it the way he did.
Ekta has shown once again that there is very little imagination in her small world. Maybe it is the director's fault but I would hold Ekta responsible for creating this mess in the next generation's mind that is called Mahabharata. Please shed aside the theatrics and focus on the story. It is with great responsibility that anybody should dwell on telling a story because it is the story and the underlying moral(s) that shapes the minds of the coming generations. And this is not even in the league of a well made nautanki.
I liked that this story started with the event that shook the foundations of Hastinapur and I would commend Ekta for that. For once something was said right. "Ye mere sharir se vastra nahin hastinapur ke sharir se kavach utara gaya hai". - Draupadi shrieks out after the event.
Before you speak you should always think about the meaning of what you speak.
Saving Draupadi's respect by sending the Sudarshan chakra? Are you nuts? Sudarshan chakra is indicative of destructive power of the almighty. Then, nobody was even aware of something helping Draupadi at that time. It is only when Dusshasan felt something fishy that the single piece of clothing was never ending. Yes Draupadi was wearing a single piece of clothing before the ritual bath unlike the whorish red dress conjured up by the perversive mind of the designer here.
Secondly, what is the problem with color? Are the designer's color blind? Everyone is shown wearing black. Pandav, Hastinapur citizens, palace servants, everybody. This is not some private army but a city. If the designers knew at all, that black is considered the most inauspicious color in the vedic palette. Maybe they wanted viewers to focus on Draupadi and Duryodhana but that was a real cheap shot.
I must say that the first episode was my most horrible nightmare come true. Weak shrieky dialogue delivery by one of the most powerful woman in the history of Bharatvarsh was too hard to digest.
Past that one episode, I could live with the weak portrayals in the following episodes but at least the story is on track (mostly).
Please spare the SOAP style theatrics and give the actors a chance to show their performance. Also, please stick to the story. This is not something from your imagination and the smallest details have some meaning behind them.
Even with this, I would recommend that peopel watch this train wreck rather that the Saas Bahu crap churned out by BT. I hope that watching this would at least push them towards the true story and that is what the whole idea is about.
