Mahabharat Episode Discussion Thread #1 - Page 103

Originally posted by: Jairamji

Great episode today! Good to see that it was not too much Arjun centric but equal importance was given to others.

wow that's great

Episode was strictly ok.Half of it was revision of Amba and Bheeshm incident for those who may not remember.But i liked the powerful entry of shikhandini cant wait to see her in action next week.Next week seems exciting though

episode was okay one...I feel they wasted a lot of time in showing shikhandi's entry😆..bt still story moved.. i liked Aham today as what he portrayed only thru his eyes... not a single dialogue bt still it told so much of what karna was goin thru...👍🏼. however i cudnt decipher what kunti was thinkin ..may be she needs to work on such scenes a lil or perhaps director had no clue of what to make her think..😕...finally we have one more kaurav name today..Vikarna..i was thinkin probably they will only use two ..monday looks interesting as war part comes... I hope story pace will return to normal...waise i also loved lil nok jhok of bheem n nakul..it was cute...😳

Shikandis entry was a bit too overdone even though I don't doubt her capability as an actress to put a strong performanxe for her part.
The director is guilty of investing in too much detailing of the characters which has had a negative effect as it spoils the subtlety and power of more modest depictions, this is where Bhishma is good in his undertoning, and ability to let expression arrive naturallly. Subversively, enormous focusing on characters expressions as they react to things is rather artificially conceived, for instead of adding character it only destroys it by revealing in excess and consequently leaving no space for reflection. I just hope that amid all these extraneous scenes they won't skip any true events as according to Vyas work, if these imagined scenerios are being given so much import, then they ought to double it when it comes to the actual events rather than merely skim its surface in order to cram in unnecessary dreamt up scenerios like Subhadra n Arjuna, or Bheema breaking Duryodhana statue, it just seems unrelated to the main strand, and doesn't build character at all in my view. Conversational moments are far more interesting and there doesn't seem to be much of it that's partly why relations haven't been properly established between certain characters.
I am pleased to see the effort to add authenticity by making the actors ride horses.

Originally posted by: -Srushti-

Vrish, I think the CVs are picking up the basic characteristics...Drupad was no calm and balanced person...he did insult Drona for the land he was asking...(Not absolving Drona ofcourse) ...they are highlighting the one characterisitcs that is available to them since Vyasa's MB doesnot describe the characters..it only narrates...

One thing which I like about the show is that there is scope for growth in all the characters of the Pandavas. They all have lots to learn throughout the course of the story. Good, that they did not start off by showing all of them to be the models of virtuousness.

The precap showed Drupad's Chakravyuh.

Originally posted by: ashwi_d

You are quite right. They are highlighting those traits in the personalities in the characters, which an average person might notice if he/she just skimmed the Mahabharata on its surface. But, in my opinion, highlighting these traits to the extent that they completely define the characters and make them one dimensional is not good film making/ TV show making. A good story/narrative shows us the personalities of its characters through the deeds that they commit. And we, as a thinking, reflecting audience, are supposed to draw our own interpretations about their character traits.

Thus when it comes to Bheem, if I just take this show into account, I am supposed to have an impression that he is strong, yet immature and dim. Yes, these are the traits which one may associate Bheem with, but they should not be his sole identifying characteristics. He would hardly have been a great warrior had he only possessed great physical strength and no brains. Being brash, impulsive, hot headed does not completely translate into being frivolous. I hope that they show better character development in future episodes.

i agree regarding Bheem's characterization.Yes he was found of food but why do 90% of his dialogues relate to only food he was so much more than a foddie.He was a fierce warrior.But till now they havent given Bheem much screen space to establish his character .I hope during and after lakshagarah when he kills various demons they establish him as a feirce warrior or it wont be fair to a great charcater like him

the beauty of MB is tht its characters are not perfectly positive or negative. the good ones have a shade of bad and the bad ones have a shade of good. even Krishna used tactics to help pandavas which to some people seems wrong. MB is unlike Ramayana where Ram is the epitome of virtue and Ravan symbolises evil (though he too had some good traits bt they are mostly ignored).

I have to say that inspite of specific qualms one has about this show, overall as a whole you do appreciate the general effort that has gone into its making. Also you feel as a viewer part of an exclusive family, that's what the characters have grown to be like, that at weekends you find yourself missing watching them. It also sits superior, on a higher realm to the mundane mind-numbing fictional soaps that dominate Indian tv, the fact that many of these unheard of actors who haven't thus far accumulated any stardom thankfully(!) as they are new, adds to that sense of fascination, infact a feeling of possessiveness enters my being and dread to associate them to reality and society as we know it, to think that these very actors may be perceived any other way or serve any other cultural purpose than what is ascribed to them by their Dwarpa-yug verging on kalyug roles, even if they were to intersperse into the domain of the common everyday trivial tv show, live functions/events, and worse still soul-killing bollywood, all of these commercial greedy, publicity mad, fame desperate, shallow n valueless places at worst, it would rupture the treasured image we build of them based on their respective roles. I wonder whether anyone else shares my opinions, I can't bear to put these persons into any other context, I feel jealousy creep in to think that others outside the MB circle might have unrelated n irrelevant projects for them that will prise them away
They are representative of historical figures of another age and to see them reduced to playing other minor roles is somewhat depressing.
Mahabharata contains the most extraordinary and intriguing personalities of time that makes you feel respect for these fortunate actors who currently essay such timeless, honourable, glory-worthy and to some degree, idealistic and humble roles at best compared to our world today where we celebrate and even worship the most unworthy of beings in the form of tv, film stars n other forms of crass entertainment.