Mahabharat Analysis and Debate - Page 4

The latest pics of Deepika we have.

Originally posted by: Gauri_3

C'mon now, don't be mean😆 Radha was older to Krishna. Keeping that in mind - the girl suits her role. But yeah, they could have chosen someone prettier.

Talking of K's gals --- I did not like Channa Ruparel as Rukmani. I wish that role has gone to someone who was a stunner.

Here are some RadheKrishna scenes for those who want to see Swapnil as Krishna in action:

So, LJ, you didn't answer: why is Bobby Bedi's version included in the poll considering it was shelved? 😕

On topic: I have to say that all the adaptations have major flaws and not quite satisfactory but the BRC version is the one I prefer most. Of course there were many changes and omissions in the tale. The adaptation was far from an accurate one. Still, I was impressed by the script. Despite the alterations, it was well-written and flowed nicely. The Mahabharat is a complex piece of work and Dr. Rahi Masoom Reza demonstrated quite a remarkable grasp of the material. Condensing such a gargantuan epic into a tv show and still making it work is a remarkable achievement. It was very interesting to see how he adapted the basic story to reflect modern issues such as democracy.

It was sad though, that the serial left the epic incomplete. It was quite disappointing to see that they made 94 episodes plus 45 more episodes in the sequel and still did not finish it. The same is true of Ramanand Sagar's version: not only did they leave out 5 of Krishna's 8 principal wives (along with other details and many changes) but the serial came to an abrupt end with the story incomplete.

And Nitish Bharadwaj was the best Krishna ever. Swapnil was decent as the young Krishna but S. D, Banerjee was quite boring IMO. Nitish's version also gets brownie points for actually using make-up to have a darker appearance.

I think the idea of using dialogue between Ganga and Krishna to narrate the story in Sanjay Khan's version was interesting. It was something different at least. I just wish he had spent more time on the story.

KHMK was a daily soap. 😆 Though I liked Ronit as Bhishma.

For those interested in the BRC version, I recommend a critique of Dr. Reza's script by Dr. Pradip Bhattacharya. There is a 10 volume reproduction of the BRC Mahabharat script and Vol 10 includes The Mahabharata TV Film Script--A Long Critique by Dr. Bhattacharya. It is a fascinating study of the script. The various changes are analysed in detail. Please read it if you get the chance. 😊

@Emptiness: I found some of Peter Brook's approach/ideas to be more interesting than the execution itself. Using an international cast was an interesting decision. I think Mallika Sarabhai did a pretty good job as Draupadi. Casting the same actor to play both Ganesh and Krishna was a nice touch. The main problem was the over-simplification of the issues in the epic (e.g. simply saying "the ways of Dharma are too subtle" does NOT do justice to the source material).



All said and done, I am still waiting for an adaptation that is more accurate, faithful and complete. Adapting the text for modern issues is interesting no doubt but I would really like a more faithful version.

Krishna promises Shishupala's mom that he, Krishna, would pardon 100 mistakes of Shishupala before deciding to kill him.

As you know, Shishupala gets his head cut off by krishna during Yudhistir's Rajasuya yagna.

I always thought it's odd that most of Shishupala's mistakes were just him "running his mouth". IMO, they were insults, yes, but do not deserve capital punishment.

My favorites:
#1 Nitish Bharadwaj (Krishna)
#2 Mukesh Khanna (Bhishma)

I also liked these actors a lot though not necessarily in this order:
Feroz Arjun Khan (Arjun)
Puneet Issar (Duryodhan)
Rupa Ganguly (Draupadi)
Girja Shankar - (Dhritarastra)
Renuka Israni (Gandhari)
Pankaj Dheer (Karn)
Virendra Razdan (Vidur)
Gufi Paintal (Shakuni)
Mayur (Abhimanyu)

Rest were OK. I can't think of anybody who were bad or unbearable.

And, Sharat Saxena as Keechak made a fantastic special appearance.

^ Ditto. I also liked Raj Babbar (Bharat) and Surendra Pal (Dronacharya).

Originally posted by: Mister.K.

Feroz "Arjun" Khan. He even changed his name to Arjun.

I liked his acting a lot. To me, he was very good. Especially towards the end.

I also found him very good. I think he quit acting after working in a few films. He became a Narayana bhakt. One of my friends saw him at a Lakshmi Narayana Satsang with some Guru !

His son is also an actor and has worked with SRK (K3G)and Nitish Bharadwaj (Vishnu Purana)

Whats the name of the actor who played Ved Vyasa ? He was also very good !