Posted:
Re: the hockey thing - various depictions have shown Krishna playing a similar game before the Kaaliya Naag incident, so idk about Treta Yug but the game is in fact believed to have existed in ancient India. According to this website, that's where it originated: http://www.indiaonline.in/about/sports/Traditional-Sports.html Either way, IMO that's a very minor thing and I wouldn't credit or discredit a show based on that - nope, I do that when they show me more Manthara than Ram More of my thoughts on the actual episode later.
Re: the possibility of constricting the show to 60-something episodes, and the comparisons to earlier versions of the show with respect to length and pace - a) as others have said, I also appreciate that it's a weekly, and the fact that they have an actual timeframe in mind so we won't get weeks of fluff in between. b) I highly doubt that removing the transition scenes (like Angad's song whilst walking into Ravan's palace which was less than 3 minutes long) or the 'flowery' dialogues (which could be termed as such only with reference to their erudite vocabulary, not their duration since that is roughly the same as it has been in subsequent versions) from the original would affect the overall episode count. IMO it can't even be termed as dragging, since it never filled an entire episode and was often an effort to expose viewers to the verses of the RCM and other such traditional poetry - not pulled out of you know where. I do, however, understand that those efforts would be in vain with today's audience since it seems that their attention spans can only last through extended sequences if they consist of romantic fluff or lovers' angst :/ If anything could be eliminated to save a whole episode worth of footage, it would probably be the cheesy close-ups of teary eyes and flaring nostrils during crying scenes that were so typical of the 80s 😆 Unfortunately, those things are still a common sight in contemporary mythos and current Indian telly in general, and this new Ramayan is not song-less, either - so doesn't look like they're going to save time in either of those ways. The makers have stated that they want to base the series exclusively on the RCM, and I personally don't think that the entirety of it can be covered in fewer episodes than RSR. If anything, I'd agree with Vrish's point that they'll skim the story when the source material itself includes repetition - fewer sages during Aranya Kand, fewer battles shown from the war (maybe skip over Devantak, Trishira, Narantak, Makraaksh, et al. and show just Kumbhkarn, Indrajit, Atikay, and Ravan), and other similar alterations.
However, the first two episodes haven't shown any signs of such smart economization. If they were thinking that way, RBLS would have reached Gurukul in the premiere itself - no Bhaye Pragat Kripala scene, no visit from the devtas in the form of rishis, no lullaby, and definitely no fictitious insertion of Kaikeyi-Manthara moments at every turn. For that reason alone, I was less optimistic after this weekend's episode than I had been after last week's. Yes, younger viewers require simplified language, but that doesn't mean the story itself needs to be dumbed down for them. Not being taught or exposed to shuddh Hindi doesn't make them stupid. They'll understand subtle hints; the writers need not reiterate that MANTHARA IS BAD in every other scene. Seriously, showing her reactions during the naming ceremony and the lullaby AND giving her two scenes of her own was too damn much for me, and even objectively speaking, it's no way to save time in a show that is already constrained to a certain number of episodes. Other than that,
Re: the possibility of constricting the show to 60-something episodes, and the comparisons to earlier versions of the show with respect to length and pace - a) as others have said, I also appreciate that it's a weekly, and the fact that they have an actual timeframe in mind so we won't get weeks of fluff in between. b) I highly doubt that removing the transition scenes (like Angad's song whilst walking into Ravan's palace which was less than 3 minutes long) or the 'flowery' dialogues (which could be termed as such only with reference to their erudite vocabulary, not their duration since that is roughly the same as it has been in subsequent versions) from the original would affect the overall episode count. IMO it can't even be termed as dragging, since it never filled an entire episode and was often an effort to expose viewers to the verses of the RCM and other such traditional poetry - not pulled out of you know where. I do, however, understand that those efforts would be in vain with today's audience since it seems that their attention spans can only last through extended sequences if they consist of romantic fluff or lovers' angst :/ If anything could be eliminated to save a whole episode worth of footage, it would probably be the cheesy close-ups of teary eyes and flaring nostrils during crying scenes that were so typical of the 80s 😆 Unfortunately, those things are still a common sight in contemporary mythos and current Indian telly in general, and this new Ramayan is not song-less, either - so doesn't look like they're going to save time in either of those ways. The makers have stated that they want to base the series exclusively on the RCM, and I personally don't think that the entirety of it can be covered in fewer episodes than RSR. If anything, I'd agree with Vrish's point that they'll skim the story when the source material itself includes repetition - fewer sages during Aranya Kand, fewer battles shown from the war (maybe skip over Devantak, Trishira, Narantak, Makraaksh, et al. and show just Kumbhkarn, Indrajit, Atikay, and Ravan), and other similar alterations.
However, the first two episodes haven't shown any signs of such smart economization. If they were thinking that way, RBLS would have reached Gurukul in the premiere itself - no Bhaye Pragat Kripala scene, no visit from the devtas in the form of rishis, no lullaby, and definitely no fictitious insertion of Kaikeyi-Manthara moments at every turn. For that reason alone, I was less optimistic after this weekend's episode than I had been after last week's. Yes, younger viewers require simplified language, but that doesn't mean the story itself needs to be dumbed down for them. Not being taught or exposed to shuddh Hindi doesn't make them stupid. They'll understand subtle hints; the writers need not reiterate that MANTHARA IS BAD in every other scene. Seriously, showing her reactions during the naming ceremony and the lullaby AND giving her two scenes of her own was too damn much for me, and even objectively speaking, it's no way to save time in a show that is already constrained to a certain number of episodes. Other than that,
- Kaushalya was a huge plus as she had been last week - very sweet, motherly expressions and clear pronunciation. Didn't like the cookie-cutter characterization of all the moms in the penultimate scene, when they're crying and accusing Dashrath of cruelty for sending their sons to Gurukul at such a young age. Would prefer nuanced writing that subtly differentiates between their three distinct personalities; not too fond of this gender stereotype fueled one-reaction-fits-all approach.
- Toddler Ram was extremely cute; his smile at the end of the Manthara scene *almost* made me forget how pointless it was (at least until the next Manthara scene 😆).
- And Rushiraj was an excellent choice for young Ram; his gentle, steady dialogue delivery was perfect for the character and made it easy for me to overlook the absence of a more chronologically consistent hairdo.
That's about all for this week unless anyone mentions anything that reminds me of any other initial reactions to the episode. Here's hoping that next week's episode brings with it an adult Ram who's at least as good as Rushiraj was, that we see more of him than Manthara, and that he at least sets out on his journey with Vishwamitra by the end of the episode.
PS - off-topic, but Kal and Vrish, both your sigboxes are pretty precious right now... simultaneous head-chopping and a parallel between Halkat Jawani & Disney?! Y'all win all the awards 🤣
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