#Review: Pooja Sharma STEALS The Show From an Otherwise Unimpressive Backdrop in 'Mahakaali'

Some impressive performances but several glitches

Published: Monday,Jul 24, 2017 20:45 PM GMT-06:00

Tanzim Pardiwalla

In a time where Mythological shows are barely maintaining their TRP ratings, Colors brings its latest offering, Mahakali: Anth Hi Aarambh Hai. Perhaps its deliberate or just good timing, but the channel couldn't have chosen a more relevant subject for the current times. The Pooja Sharmaa starrer is all about Naari Shakti and the hidden motifs in mythology that prompt glance in retrospective.

We watched the first two episodes and here's what we thought of the show-

The story so far...

Mahakali doesn't beat around the bush. The show gets right into addressing it's core concept and begins with Parvati having a vision of a female warrior destroying an army of asurs. Disturbed by the vision she confides in Nandi (the holy gate-guardian) and approaches Shankar Mahadev. On Kailash Parvat, we are introduced to Lord Shiva (Sourabh Raaj Jain). Here, we have Lord Indra enter with his soldiers as they seek respite from Shumbh and Nishumbh, the asurs who have captured his kingdom.

There's loud sounds of a war raging near the mountain and Shiva asks Parvati to command the invaders to return since its her duty as a warden of his abode. Here it's interesting to note that Shiv eggs her on saying "isn't a woman devoid of any power?". Parvati hesitantly asks Chund and Mund(soldiers of Nishumbh and Shumbh) to leave the place since its a place for devotees and not warriors and they immediately drop their argument and leave. They report back to their masters and we are given a glimpse into their liar-

Here the asur Shumbh is shown a vision of Parvati and is smitten by her. He sends a messenger back to Kailash Parvat to strike a bargain. In the meantime, Parvati is in search for the warrior in her vision to end the war. She approaches Lord Vishnu (Kanan Malhotra), where the latter and his wife tell her that the warrior she seeks is probably very close to her and she assumes its Goddess Lakshmi. Note: She assures Lakshmi that power doesn't come from position or being someone's wife, its your individual shine that makes you powerful. Parvati is constantly aware of her being mortal as she encourages the goddess for finding the warrior in her not realizing it applies to herself.

Back in Kailash Parvat, an unarmed messenger from the Asurs arrives, who tells Parvati that they only want peace at the cost of a sacrifice as women are born just to sacrifice for men and her mortal sacrifice will keep all Gods safe. He proposes that she leave Kailash and marry Shumbh as for DevLok's throne, sacrificing a mere woman isn't a big deal. Parvati lashes back and we see an assertive streak. When she goes to Mahadev with this new grievance he doesn't react angrily but says its time for him to go in meditation stating that "a battle won with help is called a sympathy call, you need to fight your battles, i don't want my wife to be helpless".

Frustrated by this response she appeals to Goddess Lakshmi again. This time an asur is sent to drag Parvati to Shumbh's palace. In her quest to find the female warrior the goddesses agree that it must be Narsimhi Devi (lioness form) and a war begins with the asur's arrival. In this war the demons openly challenge the feminine position calling them sacrificial lambs and beings who should be confined to the bedroom and the kitchen. Here, when Parvati's near ones are attacked and the transformation begins. She takes on the form of Goddess Kaali, while Shiva worries if her power will be too strong to be controlled even by him.

The Good-

Pooja Sharma's performance is commendable, she shows all the traits Parvati is heralded for in mythology and does full justice to her character. Her antagonists instigate her at every step and the plot constantly moves head questioning feminine strength and then giving us all the right answers to those questions. What we like is how the same actress portrays a non-assertive and an assertive character at the same time.

With the makeup and effects, the actress completely transforms, which makes it fun to watch. We were particularly moved by the scene where she addresses the other female goddesses (with Falaq Naaz and Nikita Sharma playing Goddess Saraswati and Lakshmi) and tells them she represents the anger and courage within them. Born of the rage of the "abla naari" Kaali becomes an apt representation of power.

Another element we enjoyed is the dialogues, mainly the riddles and metaphors- "for the arrow to fly, the bow has to be set aside just the way a man must step aside to let the woman take over" and "janm Hota hai aur mrityu Hoti hai" stressing on the female verbs and using clever wordplay to counter Chand and Mund's claim that women come after men.

The Bad-

The most looming problem is how the CGI quality declines steadily with time. We see a lot of sloppiness in terms of effects. The settings and the manner in which the supernatural powers are shown on screen looks mostly unrealistic. We won't spoil much, but there is a scene where she slays demons and while she's at it, drinks the blood that spills and leaps right into her mouth.

Another problem we can think of is, how often the dialogues spell out precisely what the scene is about. Given that an Indian audience knows most the age-old tales, the makers shouldn't have gone around stating the obvious. We don't hate it, we just wish the makers wouldn't handle the audience with kid gloves and give us mytho-fiction that retains intrigue.

The Verdict-

Mahakali gives away way too much too soon. Within the first 10 mins we hear Sourabh Raaj Jain mouthing "anth hi aarambh hai". They spell everything out for you and two episodes already look like the end of a saga. Considering the run time we wonder how long the makers can keep it up. We like how Pooja Sharma goes from Parvati's Gauri avatar to Kaali and owns it along with the attention given to some props and detailed motifs in costumes. But, the sloppy shots of battle fields, blurred edges and settings that looked like they were made in a hurry take a lot away from that praise. Also, can the series survive riding on the shoulders of its impressive female protagonist? Only time will tell.

Ratings: **(2/5)

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Sourabh Raaj Jain

Kanan Malhotra

Falaq Naaz

Nikita Sharma

Pooja Sharmaa

Mahakali: Anth Hi Aarambh Hai

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Comments (26)

harshjakheliya @harshjakheliya

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I want to meet you.
Please come to mate me I am free on Saturday and Sunday and you are my the second actress and I have one surprise for you.
Thankyou

5 years ago

mahiya. @mahiya.

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Sourabh Raaj Jain is rocking as Shiva, he is at his best in this show

6 years ago

2 Reply

Yuvis.cupcake @Yuvis.cupcake

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The writer is not even a writer she is a fangirl...who wrote review out of frustration..LOL poor IF..grow up U r an old forum now..dont loose ur dignity

6 years ago

3 Reply

vani of srj @Srj_vani

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Dear India Forum don't drink and write .plz first check your fact .saurabh raaj jain and pooja sharma amazed me by there brilliant performance.plz don't write any review when you don't want to write because we are not forcing you to do so.

6 years ago

4 Reply

Rebalove @Rebalove

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India Forums. Rather than under rating any show, you must check the facts properly. Sourabh's entry was not on Kailash parvat where all the devas come to ask for help! His entry was with the beautiful tandav that he did. Looks like you just switched on the channel late poor writer. Dammit at least correct your facts before writing anything! Sourabh Raaj Jain and Pooja Sharma has done amazing job as Shiva and Parvati. They are awesome in their roles. The only thing which needs to improve is editing. Rest all is perfect

6 years ago

4 Reply

Magadh_sundari @Magadh_sundari

+ 2 ⋮

Yeah India forums kindly check your own facts and then speak, like few times back you published about break up of GurBina, which was fake they are great couple, you published wrong facts about SRJ, and then afterward you had to correct it, don't turn pathetic day by day , yes u shud atleast tag actors correctly before passing you biased opinions.

6 years ago

4 Reply

RadhikaBr. @RadhikaBr.

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Before writing fake reviews on shows, kindly check other websites and portals who have given awesome reviews to the show. Sick India forums, before judging other shows so fast kindly check and correct your own fact, and learn to tag correct actors in your articles. The actor who played Vishnu is Kanan Malhotra and not Karan Malhotra. Dont prove your blindness everywhere Indiaforums and writers.

6 years ago

4 Reply

Magadh_sundari @Magadh_sundari

+ 2 ⋮

Indiaforums has been famous for giving worst reviews ever, like u praised so many shows like Chandrakanta of colors which is a pathetic drama, u praise so many saas bahu dramas, you totally overlooked the good aspects of the show, which are Sourabh and Pooja. Sourabh got to know that he is playing Shiva just 10-15 days earlier and in this time he did immensely well, you totally overlooked his tandav, he didn't use body doubles like other actors. Sourabh and Pooja are awesome in the show. Sourabh is doing a lot of hard work, so dont under rate and pre judge the show stupid India forums. Earlier too, you posted some bad comments on SRJ and then got afraid and deleted it..so kindly grow up you silly portal. Writers of IF are really biased MUST SAY!

6 years ago

4 Reply

RisingPhoenix @RisingPhoenix

+ 3 ⋮

Thanks IF for an unbiased review.
Those 2 stars should be credited to Pooja. She has done a great job as MahaKaali.
Srj's dialogue delivery is same as it was for his roles as Krishna/Vishnu.
The vfx team is horrible

Let alone good screen effects, they forgot to edit out these original portions of the sets.
The costumes and set design is also bad.
Also Ma Parvati's character being portrayed as ignorant of her shakti is unacceptable
I don't know for how long will Pooja's brilliance save the show. The creative team needs to work really hard.

6 years ago

4 Reply

ltelidevara @ltelidevara

+ 8 ⋮

The best thing about the otherwise lukewarm show is Puja and her performance. The worst thing however is casting of SRJ as Mahadev. He hardly looks like Shiv and his lines made me feel I am hearing Vishnu or Krishna. The script is bad since unnecessarily Parvati is made to look human while in reality she is Adisakti by then,Distorting mythology became a habit for SIDT and his writer Utkarsh Nathani. Before I recover from Surya Putr another attack awaited me with Mahakali

6 years ago

7 Reply