Originally posted by: karkuzhali
My dear Shyamala,
Your review of the episode has your usual standard, unique and covering all points.
I happened to watch a few portions of this episode, from some site. I liked the way they have introduced his hand and the face , after a symbolic leap ..That gave me the idea to generate (?) the horoscope of our reel Chandragupta , when he showed his face ( head) exactly at 8:48:37..😆😉
I have given my few comments in red.
Yours
Saraswathi akka.
* * * *
Even Saraswathi Akka, who is possibly thinking of a photo of Chandra in that saffron costume for The Album..
Yes I am waiting to get one!😆 See, I knew that!😆
Rampant nepotism: I got an unpleasant shock when the gigantic Chetan Hansraj, aka Malayaketu, hove into view without warning, Chandra's sword at his neck in a lightning defensive move. Does Ektahave to thrust this chap down the gullets of the viewers in every historical of hers? I only hope she does not have Ashwini Kalsekar and Lavina Tandon too waiting in the wings, ready to bounce into this show at the first opportunity. That would be really too much! Now I suppose we shall have to endure this Malayaketu for God knows how many dozens of episodes. He looks far too old to be any kind of shishya, despite all the efforts of the Balaji makeup department, with a clean shave and what is undoubtedly the application of a lot of face cream, face powder and the rest of the works.
Plus the punishment for his misbehavior is ridiculously light - one missed meal?. That too is dodged, thanks to the pathetic disciplinary follow up system in this ashram. At the very least, he should have been made to run 10 kos, with a large backpack.😆 And why is this chap allowed to wear silk and zari clothes and jewellery, instead of the regular saffron outfit of the other students?
@maroon: This Chetan was supposed to be of the same age as Jalal in JA , but he looked much much older than Jalal with his hair already starting to go grey . And we were forced to see him again as Adham Khan's son as well, with heavy make up costing a fortune to the PH. Perhaps Chetan is one of the financiers of the Balaji Productions!😉
You know, Akka, you might not be far off the mark with your last supposition, though I doubt if he is so well heeled😉. I met him in Montreal in around April 2006, when I had gone there to address a community function. He did not look so gigantic then. Now he should be a full foot taller than my 5'4". I used to deliver the first 2/3 paras on my speeches in Montreal in French, to please the locals, and he could not understand any of it. I had to translate the gist o f it for him when I met him. He was a pleasant and well spoken young man. Now he looks much coarser, poor chap.
The face, framed by an abundance of wavy curls, looked more like the head of one of the statues in the Athens Museum than anything Indian. And unexpectedly young. He could have been eighteen instead of the twenty four he is supposed to be.
Yes.. like Michaelangelo's David!
He is a truly beautiful creation, is he not, this David? Have you seen pictures of Bernini's David, Akka? Do look that up. In contrast to the nobility of this face, that one looks predatory.
A unique equation: Chandragupta's whole body language throughout that segment is superbly fine-tuned. When he is addressing Chanakya, his eyes are lowered out of respect for his guru, and the voice, though firm, is never raised. He takes the slap without flinching and without protest. When he disagrees with the guru, this too is done with all possible respect, eyes still lowered.
But he is totally matter of fact in his recital of how things happened, neither striving for effect nor trying to convince Chanakya. It is clear that he is sure of how Chanakya will receive what he has to say. What all this shows is the unique relationship the two of them share, a relationship of complete mutual faith and trust, but not one of equality, which is how it should be.
What is new? All these are "Jujubee" for him !
I have a question Shyamala . When he leaves the house, the boy's concern is only about his mother, and how to free her from the clutches of his father. He wants to go to Patliputra to earn money for the purpose . Does he have that amount of patriotism in him as to understand the implication of "Chanakya se milkar ek naya Bharat ko nirmaan karne ka karthavya"? May be I am wrong in not correctly understanding the dialogues or sequences in these 2 episodes..
Akka, let me repeat what I wrote to Shailaja somewhere earlier. I don't think the kid understands what patriotism is, the "righteous insanity of deshbhakti", as Ankita puts it so well.
As for the rest, I do not think Chandra needed to be convinced re: Nand or indeed about anything else. He sees himself as having been bought by Chanakya, and thus as belonging to his guru, body and soul. So the question of his having an independent opinion or will does not arise. That is the rationale for his total samarpan right at the beginning. Chanakya too makes it clear to Chandra that he expects total obedience from his shishya. Later this kind of obligatory obedience gets a solid overlay of tremendous respect and loyalty towards Chanakya, which cements the earlier samarpan on to an unbreakable foundation. You can see it in tonight's episode, in the sequence in the rain, when Chanakya sends Chandra off to Magadh to spy out the lie of the land.
