Random musings... because they are just that...
Caught up with 10 episodes - yes, I did bear in mind that this is Ekta's serial... I've read all the pluses and the minuses over the past 2 weeks... know many scenes are a poor lift-off from BB... and have no expectations of history from it (never did)...
With that, and an open mind, I binge-watched all 10 episodes last night! And these are what I felt as I sat through the marathon...
1) Motherly Mura & Spicy Avantika
Avantika is such a stunner... she looks better than Nandini does... (Of course, any amount of beauty can never make up for the crimes she committed🤓).
I also love Avantika's style of clothes best. I somehow am not a fan of this Mauryan attire on the women. Not flattering. [So, I guess I have the same question that most of the forum has. Why is a man with a wife like Avantika and a harem-full of beauties, hankering after Mura? For so many years? Yes I read the reasons, but still not convinced...🤔]
Rejection hurts his ego may be or Mura is a royal wife so if he marries her he may gain more approval may be
2) Cartoon Kings
A nice-enough introductory scene for Avantika... a 'meh' scene for Mura... but, what a sad introductory scene for both husbands, kings (If we go by the Hindi word, Emperors actually). If we must take them and their upcoming problems seriously, they shouldn't have been introduced with a mosquito sitting on their lip or with a fruit upon their head.🤔
3) Nasty Naapit
The barber... oh Lord... when he fell off, while acting like a peeping Tom, I feared he was going to do a Saawariya's Ranbir on us...the state of his hand-towel, at most times, as precarious as the condition of Bharatmata's safety! And I don't think I've come across anything as coarse on 8:30 pm TV - where a pregnant woman is being eyed-upon in this fashion!
4) Magnificent Magadh or a modest replica?
I like the CGI projection of the palace itself... looks convincing enough...😊 (Though it cannot replace an actual set - I wish she'd bought one off the Sagars.) And the actual guards are probably a recycled 10 faces... no longer do we have the actual grandeur of the older serials where hundreds of supporting/side actors stood... everything is only special-effects...😔
5) Stumped subjects
With the dialogue delivery of both kings sub-par, I could see why the subjects seemed quite clueless as they were subjected to endless lectures of unity by the two kings! Strangely enough, they had mostly the same expressions when they learnt of their king's demise😆... I'm certain that is because they feared the imminent arrival of another lecture... and lo and behold, that's exactly what happened when Padmanand prakat hua!
6) Tyranny triumphs
The scene where Suryagupt watches the amorous lovers, and everything after that, has to be the most ill-conceived scene in a historical - the disappearing/appearing guards, the peacock delivery ward... nope... if I go on, I'd run out of laptop ink! (Of course, my worries for the Naapit's handtowel were still on, and with even greater depths during the fight sequences!)
Having said that, however artificial their wigs and poor their dialogue deliveries, watching their death did make me cringe. I know that this is how people were punished in the years gone by (and even today, by some bizarre species of sub-humans😡) but, beheading scenes is just not something I can sit through... not even when done poorly. I had to look away. That, followed by a helpless pregnant woman being chased, the abandoned infant etc etc were all quite disturbing too... 8:30 pm. I just hope kids in India are not watching these scenes in hope of being enlightened about history of CGM!
7) Hurrah! Handtowel grew in Height (and width)!
One mercy of this tyrannical king's ascend to the throne... thankfully, Padmanand looks so much better as a king than he did as a barber! And I like his tri-striped semi-bleached beard too... stylish villain😉. (He looks better than Chetan Hansraj! I just realised we have three giants in this show... This dude, Chetan and the oldest Nand son...😲)
8) Chota Chandra
Actually, I found the introductory scene of young Chandra - where he scales the cliff for honey (though directly lifted off Jungle Book) done very well 👏(Understandably, the fire blanket part couldn't be done better). I liked the chap. Very pleasant looking - and had the Tejas required in a young hero. He was quite a scrawny child, which becomes more evident when he lifts the sword, but it fits the fact that he's growing in poverty. I even found his expressions quite convincing in most scenes. As for eye colour - I know according to science, eye colour can change as we grow older so the fact that his eye-colour is different to RT's will have to be attributed to this fact!😉
I particularly like one thing he does (his habit) keeping count of any ill-treatment meted out to him, all sprouting from his father's cruelties. I definitely admired him for taking his father head-on. However, the 'prem' dialogues were OTT. Plus, he did come off as arrogant, in the meeting with Amartya Rakshas. And even more arrogant in his meeting with the king. Surely such an intelligent kid would know more about a king/how to present himself in front of a king. Or maybe it was done to show he was fearless, but there's a difference between fearless and audacious! No?🤔Still he was a winner overall👏!
Chota chandra is cute and good but whys his dada lways hitting him so much, every day i seem him getting hit. does any dad hit kids everyday for money give the poor kid a break
9) Amusing Amartya
Amartya Rakshas sporting a hairstyle like the famous comic-boxer T'? And oh my God... we have a Gollum too! Nevertheless Amartya's 'hatke' character is a welcome relief. But, if Amartya Rakshas has a significant role, I must say he's not a good choice - there is hardly ever any expression on his face and most times I know he's saying his lines is because his lips seem to be moving.🤓
10) Audible-enough Alakshendra?
And our Poor Alakshendra who clearly isn't used to speaking in the kind of dramatic decibels required for our Indian audience, was straining himself hoarse (with the added issues of the language barrier😆)
11) BGM - I Love the background score they're using for CGM... stolen from BB or not, I love it.❤️ It's royal and it reflects bravado. The westernised la la la' for Nandini doesn't suit the serial... it really takes away from the gravity of the scene. On one hand we have a lady being stoned, and then suddenly la la la... really?🤔
12) Chatur Chanakya
I am quite impressed by Chanakya - glad I didn't watch his earlier serial. Glad I haven't watched the other more 'impressive' Chanakyas. Hence, I have no complaints. He reminds me of the Amar Chitra Katha portrayals of the savant that I've grown up seeing. (Btw, I don't know if anyone noticed - one of Chanakya's disciples - he looks very very smart. Ahem... he should get a bigger role!😉)
chankya is good and he and chandra roock as guru shishya. i guess in history this was best guru- shishya jodi brains and brawns
13) On to the infamous boar scene - The actual boar wasn't as bad as the dude jumping on the invisible trampoline and landing with his leg gently on top like the boar was Ahalya and he Lord Ram! Hey Ram!😳
14) Amongst all of this mish-mash, if there was one scene I genuinely loved, it was the moment Chanakya stepped in to save Chandra... such a soothing moment it was👏 ... almost fatherly...
15) Prem & Ghrina
The scriptwriters have come up with the most random links to 'prem and ghrina'. Like the shooting of an arrow that happened because she followed her heart? I don't think most archers would agree with that theory!🤔
Back to JA - Jalal did not have heart Chandragupta does not like love as it gives pain. Why do all royal couple start with hate cannot they be normal couple?
16) Training
Just as I was enjoying the parallel training that Nandini underwent with priya dad and CGM with priya Guruji... just as I'd begun enjoying the whole stone-stepping-on-water theories - VOILA - CGM already mastered the vidya the very next moment. And grew up too. I can understand the entire analogy of him stepping-stones/ crossing-hurdles/ CGM growing up... but that monumental scene could have been devoted more than 45 seconds... No?🤔
17) Hero maara entry, dil mein bhaji ghanti... wait WHAT?
RT's entry... I had waited with bated breath for this. But, oh my... what in God's name was that?😲 Thankfully, I watched that scene alone...
By this point, I realised there are fewer scenes where CGM actually walks on the ground like us normal humans and more time that he's spent mid-air!
The entry was too soon as per me another week of chotta chandra would be good
18) The Gurukul - the boys - the gangs - the jokes about girls, I mean princesses - CGM's oath that he'd never like a girl - the bhojhan scene - all of that, in parts, reminded me of his serial PRC. Those who've watched that serial would know why. Not that it wasn't a pleasure to watch such scenes again though...😳
19) Nandini - They're basically portraying Nandini's character diametrically opposite to Chandra's character. That's fine. And SBP seems to be a very good actress. Very expressive. But she looks best when she's quiet and contemplative. Not jumping around. She's in her twenties and acting young-at-heart does not necessarily mean acting kiddish. Her clothes are not flattering either... why doesn't she wear the sort of skirts that her mother wears?😔
20) Heroine's Sakhis - This Bhabhi is seriously annoying... she's the wife of the prince & the most capable' warrior in this kingdom😡? The couple of other girls?? Friends?? Bhabhis?? At least they behave better!
21) Tip tip barsaa paani!
Rain scene has always spelt chemistry😉... and it's not different here... the rain scene between CGM and Chanakya was the best scene so far... I loved it. It was well taken (note CVs no special effects here, *gasp* CGM is standing on ground and nothing excessive... yet it was the most impactful)👏
22) Chandra Nandini
Down to the one thing I guess most of us have been expecting -since we cannot expect history or logic - well, at least romance? Chemistry? Hmmm most of my marks would go to the scene where he sees her dressed as a Behroopiya. There was an expression of RT that really got me smiling... drew me in... it was a 'knowing' smile - a smile that said 'I have a plan... but who's this? Looks suspicious!' Those 10-15 seconds had SO MUCH more going for it than the entire OTT sword fighting! (CVs note - again no excessive dramatization here - just simple dialogues!)
Nandini looks even better warrior than chandra, look at her leap in front omg. Did girls have so much warrior skills in those times? Nandini is tough fight for chandra in battle
23)Superman vs superwoman
Back we are to some more stunts... for everything else that these two hold such contradictory views about, one thing that they do synchronise, that they carry out in perfect harmony, is their gravity defying swordsmanship! Reminds me of the movie Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd... where a husband and wife are both superheroes but they don't know it...
This is Batman chandra and Catwoman nandini - did you not see how she bite him like a cat on hand 😆
24) And despite being warned, the scene where Chandra boasts (blurts) everything to a daasi is *insert head-on-wall emoticon*
25) The swayamwar scene was very good just to watch. Especially Padmanand Vs CGM. And Especially especially especially Nissandeh. Oh la la... our hero's attitude - 'Pakde gaye tho kyaa, ishtyle se haar maano!'Liked the Mura-CGM mini reunion too - amma sentiment... has to be there, pulls the TRPs you see?😉
And in all of this, the scenes that make the MOST sense is where Chandra uses Chanakya Neethi! Like the hold-your-breath scene. After all, it's the original formula CVs - original kickass stuff - tried and tested over centuries!😉
26) After a good 2 episodes, I left on a low note😔! 5 soldiers were all a Samrat could spare to chase his laadli princess' kidnapper? The brothers were just standing there, curling their fists like idiots of the first, second, third... and ninth orders! Even a couple of amateur archers - who should've been - stationed in vantage point of a palace's walls would've taken him down in seconds.
And as soon as CGM starts flying, I'm now left waiting for him to land - like one would wait for an aircraft that's forced to needlessly hover around till it's given the go-ahead by the air traffic controller! The biting-slapping is meant to be push-pull violent chemistry🤔? FSOG-ish signs of a tumultuous relationship? Only, it should have been taken more tastefully!
Bigg Boss 19
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain
