Posted:
As I have occasionally said (on different forums), I don't mind creative liberties, as long as they don't contradict the original story. E.g. in this serial, when they showed private moments b/w Shiva & Sati after their marriage, even though it's not a part of the story, I didn't mind them showing that. It's something that could conceivably have been glossed over by the original authors as being trivial, but inserted by the CVs for lending a few touching scenes here & there.
However, when major events - be it Daksha's yagna earlier, or the incineration of Kama last night - are distorted, it creates a very unpleasant effect. The thing to realize about these mytho serials is that unlike other serials, where the story can be twisted for the sake of TRPs, there is a mixed viewership here. While there may be those who want to see the chemistry b/w Mohit and Mouni/Sonarika, even in the event that that wasn't there, if the story being shown was true to the scriptures, at least the religious minded would watch it, even if Mohit/Mouni/Sonarika fans might switch channels. But when that story itself gets distorted, the base of the viewership - the mytho viewers - leave in droves, and even among the fans of the actors, if what's shown doesn't seem palatable, they too start leaving in droves.
When there was the uproar here about whether Mouni or Sonarika should play Parvati, it was rightly pointed out to Mouni fans that Sati & Parvati were 2 completely different people, and so the same actress playing both of them would be inappropriate. The PH did the right thing in biting the bullet and replacing Mouni. (Incidentally, if she's still available, she could be used to portray Ma Durga later, but point remains - she can't be the same person playing Parvati) But they then beg the question as to why did they need to rush her introduction?
In fact, many have observed that this serial would have been better had it really been about Mahadev himself, and not just his love life. All the great things that Mahadev did have only been shown in flashback mode (should we thank the gods for small mercies?) But really, the serial could have shown in detail the original creation of the universe - the creations of Vishnu & Brahma. Then they could have gone into the origin of Daksha, and the various stories associated w/ Shiva b4 his marriage to Sati.
Demons like Vritra - it's arguable whether they even belonged in this serial. Tarakasura did his tapas in the interim b/w Sati's death & Parvati's birth, and thatis' why he asked that he'd be killed by Shiva's son - he was pretty confident that Mahadev would never marry. Honestly, I don't even like it when the demons are vilified - they too played a very exact role in the story, and the crimes they did were worthy of the punishments they received, and don't need to be blown out of proportion to justify the punishments to the average viewer.
But please, can the serial give first importance to what's in the Puranas, and then introduce their romantic touches to the couples?
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
