The mystery of Halicarnassus

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sashashyam

@sashashyam

Sparkler

+ 3

Posted: 7 years ago

Folks,

Siddharth Kumar Tewary's notion of Macedonian battle tactics is for Alexander & Co. to give a spirited imitation of a farmer scything down the wheat crop in his field, with some kicks thrown in as a variation😉.

We have not yet been shown the famous and almost invulnerable Macedonian phalanx - a solid, impenetrable wall of serried shields - or the formations equipped with the feared 18 foot lance, the sarissa, that was one of Philip's most valuable contributions for strengthening his superb military machine, the Macedonian army that Alexander inherited.

Then there are bits that defy credibility, like this one at the battle of the Granicus. Though the sequence, when Alexander's general (hs name seems to upset the IF software, which reduces is to cl***s) saves Alexander's life by cutting off the arm of his assailant, is apparently historically accurate - what was unbelievable was the way in which Alexander, a superb warrior, was shown sitting paralysed on the ground, simply waiting for the assailant to strike. He does not roll sideways and try to get away, which is what any shrewd fighter would have done. It was ridiculous. 😡

Bamni is no Alexander, but he too behaves in an identical manner when Ambhiraj is about to decapitate him, staring up at him paralysed, like a bird hypnotised by a snake. So I suspect this is Siddharth Kumar Tewary's standard operating procedure!😆

All this apart, what I want now is to seek your views on just one point. How did Alexander notch up a victory against what was perhaps the best fortified city of the Persian empire, Halicarnassus. almost as if he had pulled it out of thin air?

I am of course talking about the campaign as shown in the serial, not what actually happened. The latter was a prolonged and very hard fought siege stretching over months, where at one point it was the Macedonian veterans of Philip's campaigns who resumed an active role in the fighting and saved the day, or rather the night, for the impetuous Alexander.

In apna serial, things are of course very different. Alexander proposes his bargain: Ada showing him the way to enter the fortress of Halicarnassus and he restoring her lost prestige and power. Ada hands him a smooth piece of rock, and says: The water that has turned a pointed rock into this smooth pebble, think what it can do to the walls of a city!

Alexander has a flashback to the cascading waterfalls outside the walls of the fortress. His face lights up, and he announces that after his victory, he would return with the crown of the kingdom of Caria (for Ada). Then he sashays out in a slo mo take that would rival Puru's habitual glides!😉

Next, we see him striding through the corridors of the captured fortress, with the dead among the defenders lining the walls and the staircases. He then proceeds to lead Queen Ada to address her loyal populace.

This leaves a huge script hole. HOW did Alexander use the force of the waterfall to conquer the fortress? Remember that he and his men are across the river, not next to the walls. Nor is there any indication of a secret passage from where he is to the interior of the fortified city. It is all like tilism. or magic, only even on fantasy stories, the magic is shown in operation. Here there is not even that.

If only a fraction of the time wasted on Hasti's ugly Peeping Tom scene last Friday had been devoted to even a voice over explaining how Alexander won at Halicarnassus, the script would not have ended up showing such contempt for the viewers.😡

Chalo chhodo! Let us try and fill the gap by ourselves. What do you think could have been a plausible scenario in which Alexander takes Ada's hint and uses water power to conquer Halicarnassus? I would be really interested in your ideas, for frankly I can think of nothing!

Shyamala Aunty

Edited by sashashyam - 7 years ago

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siyarati

@siyarati

Inactive

Posted: 7 years ago

Even I can't think anything. I don't know why the makers hadn't shown it clearly?? They are paying attention to stupid things like puru laachi romance, hasti peeping for vishkanya etc.. But didn't they find it imp to show how Alex won hallicarnicys..

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GumnaamHaiKoii

@GumnaamHaiKoii

Stunner

+ 26

Posted: 7 years ago

I guess Alexander sat by river side prayed to their River/Water god like Lord Ram did to build Setu as in he is "Zeus ka beta"

Then pleased by his prayers River god sent his magic waves to clash with wall n it melted away.

Edited by Radiant_Eyes_ - 7 years ago

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sashashyam

@sashashyam

Sparkler

+ 3

Posted: 7 years ago

You, my dear Ujjwalnayan, have a truly wicked sense of humour. 👏 I loved your scenario!

Incidentally, I have responded at some length to your comments on my post in the Best Alexander thread. Do take a look at that.

I am duly impressed by your punctilious pressing of the Like button!😉

Shyamala Aunty

QUOTE=Radiant_Eyes_]I guess Alexander sat by river side prayed to their River/Water god like Lord Ram did to build Setu as in he is "Zeus ka beta"

Then pleased by his prayers River god sent his magic waves to clash with wall n it melted away.

Quote

GumnaamHaiKoii

@GumnaamHaiKoii

Stunner

+ 26

Posted: 7 years ago

Originally posted by: sashashyam
You, my dear Ujjwalnayan, have a truly wicked sense of humour. 👏 I loved your scenario!

Ujjwalnayan 🤣 You can Call me Sakshi if you like.

Incidentally, I have responded at some length to your comments on my post in the Best Alexander thread. Do take a look at that.

O.K. 😳 Will go back n check.

I am duly impressed by your punctilious pressing of the Like button!😉

Your posts are worthy of them 😳 I love em'

Shyamala Aunty

Quote

LostTraveller

@LostTraveller

Rocker

+ 5

Posted: 7 years ago

Hello Aunty!! I hope you are keeping in good health.

I am so happy I found your post while browsing here. Porus is the only serial I watch on Tv at the moment( otherwise I stick to news and discovery).Its entertaining, dramatic, visually appealing minus the rote of saas-bahu drama that I abhor and yes its allegedly 😆 a historical! ( Note - that fact certainly doesnt make me believe in its association to real history at all 🥱)

Yet, yet, it has a male lead who is not a MCP but a real compassionate hero who uses his grey matter as frequently as he listens to his heart - a balance I happen to like as it reminds me of the nature of Arjuna of old!!! It has female lead who is not a crying doormat but a true action heroine with sass who can use her brains and looks out for her hero whenever the lad is in distress! Plus point - She looks like a small cute tinkerbell in front of her goliath lover and knows when to be hard and when to be soft. Me likes that.

Most important the show has a lead pair that are not invested in denigrating each other but supporting and protecting each other - they have a healthy rota of competition than keeps things interesting but in all situations they stand united and complimentary to each other. Me likes that A LOT. A refreshing change from the usual battle of sexes we see on TV that passes for a love story when it should actually be a war story.😉

Most most importantly, it has a villain/second lead/antihero all roled in one who is terrifying, intelligent, powerful and actually has a real purpose to his life ie conquer the world ( and not just a purpose of terrorizing the leads). Me likes that very very much, indeed.

But, but, the storytellers do tend to go through bouts of dullness between the good parts. We get fabulous coronation scenes and "Yatha raja, tatha praja" philosophies and then we get to feel like uncomfortable voyuers sitting beside Peeping Tom Hasti figuratively. Last friday's bathing scene was just too euhhh. Seriously, I get that a Vishkanya is supposed to be a seductive and lethal assassin but I did not need to see her bathing in between glimpses of our leads romancing. Eughh! A sillhoutted shadow of her bathing would probably have sufficed for our sexually and romantically deprived future paurava general, Hasti. The guy doesnt need much to get going I think. 😆

Okay coming to the walled city - did our dashing conqueror order his men to block the openings on the wall from where the waters were coming out? And thus washed away his enemies in the waters that built up inside? Hmm, confirmation pending from the CVs. 😆

Atleast Puru the Sailor hasnt reached Persia in a day and is taking his sweet time on his love boat. Some logic to the entire yatra to faras retained. Although the repetition of his "Main aa raha hoon, XYZ" and "Main tumhe kahin nahin jaane dunga" do make me question his vocabulary at times. For a prince with the gab of a practised statesman who can move even his enemy (Takshashila), he seems to lose his tongue when faced by two things - a teasing Laachi who is near and an oblivious enemy who is far away. 😆

Anyways, I like the show as much as any show can be liked these days. The contrasting journeys of Alex and Puru do make it more interesting. Alex wants Power for One, Puru wants Unity for All - Alex makes war, Puru makes love (thank god not literally!) - Alex thrives on ambition and politics, Puru thrives on duty and honour - Alex is utterly nondramatic and pragmatic - Puru is utterly dramatic and emotional etc etc

I could go on as you know my blabbering tendecies but I shall stop here today.

Again I repeat, I am so happy to see you here!

Take care. Love, Ankita.

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sashashyam

@sashashyam

Sparkler

+ 3

Posted: 7 years ago

My dear Avantika,

It is lovely that you have turned up here, and that we are getting together after a very long time. I am afraid I have become an old crock, at the rehamokaram of my rheumatoid arthritis, and there is no way I can be as active anywhere as I used to be in the old days. There are days, at times weeks, when I cannot type at all, and sometimes, like this weekend, things improve for a few days, and I can post in the IF and do other typing work.

I am not a frequent writer in this forum, my last post being of April 6. The forum itself is surprisingly small for such a major historical when you compare it with those for Jodha Akbar, which was mammoth, or even Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat. I don't know why. So the membership and the readership are correspondingly small.

The TRPs too are mediocre at best, never crossing 1 after the initial episode, which got 1.3. Chandra Nandini, which rapidly sank to a pathetic show, got 1.6 at its nadir, and over 2 in its salad days. Ashoka and Maharana Pratap too did very much better than Porus. I don't know why this is so either. It must be that the main leads don't jell with the viewers, as young Siddharth as Ashoka and Faisal Khan as Kunwar Pratap did. Jodha Akbar of course was a major success.

I have written only three posts in this forum before this small one, and they are all mostly about Alexander, who is the sole reason I watch Porus without missing a single episode. If you have the time and the inclination, you can look them up. They are:

1) A hatchet job on Alexander?

Posted: 28 March 2018 at 5:38am | IP Logged

http://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=4971282&PID=146627900&#p146627900

2) Alexander: a redemption & Porus: a heedless martyr

Posted: 02 April 2018 at 3:58am | IP Logged

http://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=4972894&PID=146685857&#p146685857

3)Alexander: Deliberate distortions

Posted: 06 April 2018 at 3:17am | IP Logged

http://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=4974463&PID=146738949&#p146738949

I loved your enthusiastic dissertation on Puru and Laachi, but my dear, I am afraid that with all the will in the world, I cannot share your enthusiasm. Laachi, yes, I like her a lot, especially her smiling eyes, though I am strongly tempted to throw her into a washing machine to brighten up her dingy costume. 😉

But Puru, an emphatic NO! I cannot stand the chap, with his endless slo mo walk, his Patanjali shampooed hair, waving in even slower mo and captured with loving closeups, his entirely predictable expressions, which number about half a dozen, his trademark aphorisms, especially Puru koyi kaam adhura nahin chhodta, his in your face mahaanta, his endless bhashans about his mathrubhoomi. The Samson take off with the pillar was the pits!😡

Plus he gets over 80% of the telecast time while Alexander is fobbed off with 20% or less. So they have plenty of time for hammy scenes for Puru, with standard issue lines, with Darius, his mother, his father, and so on, for vishkanyas, and anything else that catches their fancy, while there is not even a voice over to explain what happened at Halicarnassus.😡

His love scenes with Laachi, and not just the one on Friday, which was most off putting, bore me. I don't know why, but I cannot sense the slightest spark between them, and when they were hanging around that pillar sensing each other, I wanted to laugh. I am sure it is all my fault, not being able to appreciate the pair, but there it is. Not that you have to bother about my fuddy duddy views !

It is on Alexander and Rohit that we are totally of one mind. I am pasting below my take on him in the Best Alexander the Great thread. I am sure you will share my views.

Posted: 03 May 2018 at 2:39am | IP Logged

I agree completely with you. The choice of this boy is a remarkable casting coup, and it is one of the very few clever things the producers have done.

Alexander the Great was a superstar not only of his time but down the millennia. Neither of the other two military geniuses of the last 3 millennia, Julius Caesar and Napoleon, came anywhere close to Alexander in sheer charisma and lasting fame. I wanted to name my son after him, but had to compromise by settling on Sasha - the Russian dimunitive for Alexander- as his pet name.

To revert, Rohit has the presence which is vital for a successful Alexander. Now presence is either there or not there, it cannot be taught or acquired. His Alexander looks every inch a very young world conqueror: the insouciance of youth, the effortless dominance, the unshakeable confidence, the innate shrewdness, the subtle grasp of human psychology. Plus he is very handsome - which too Alexander was, judging from the statues and busts - and he has the sleek grace of a panther when he moves.

I have not yet seen a single scene where Rohit failed to convey what was intended. The very best sequence, which drew him into hitherto uncharted territory, was after the blow up with Philip in the open court, which leaves Alexander crushed and deeply distressed at his naivete in trusting such a man. His face, as he walks to his mother's rooms. was a study in conflicting emotions, and he pulled it off to perfection. Again, when he was caressing the hair of the comatose Philip, the tenderness in his face was remarkable.

I was not surprised, but dismayed to see that whereas Puru's departure scene was as prolonged as the bidaayee of a dulhan from her maika, 😆Alexander's very hard fought siege and victory at Halicarnassus did not merit even a voice over narration as to how it was achieved. There was the round pebble that Ada hands him with a mysterious comment, and then there was Alexander striding thru the corridors of the palace while the dead lined the walls and the stairs. Nothing in between. I have not yet watched the whole of the Wednesday episode, maybe there is some summary clarification. But the treatment was unacceptably skimpy.

All in all, the equality in the montage notwithstanding, it is still 80% or more Puru and 20% or less Alexander. And the determined campaign to paint Alexander as kroor aur nirmam is well and thriving. A great pity.

Shyamala Aunty

PS: Corpses do not bleed, for once someone is dead, the heart stops pumping the blood around. So a river cannot remain red with blood because of the corpses floating in it. But of course the director, who has such a cavalier attitude to history, can hardly be expected to bother about physiology!!😉

Originally posted by luckySnow

There has been many movies and TV shows on Alexander the great throughout the world (with Oliver stones movie Alexander being the worst and stupid). I have seen few of them and I would say Rohit look as Alexander is among the best one👏..he has done justice to Alexander though producers have ruined the character. 😛 when we say Alexander we see an undefeated world conquering warrior...his fav black horse. His armor and long red cloth...blonde hair...Alexander was biggest superstar of his time and still is the most famous known emperor throughout the world...Rohit looks exactly like Alexander the great...👏

OK, my dear, this is it for the next couple of days, while my fingers recover from this orgy of typing.

As for your solution to the Halicarnassus mystery, it is a good option, but it should have been shown. By now, it is clear that the CVs don't intend to enlighten about how things happened!😡

Once again, I am delighted to have you with me again.

Affectionately,

Shyamala Aunty

Originally posted by: BrienneOfTarth
Hello Aunty!! I hope you are keeping in good health.
I am so happy I found your post while browsing here. Porus is the only serial I watch on Tv at the moment( otherwise I stick to news and discovery).Its entertaining, dramatic, visually appealing minus the rote of saas-bahu drama that I abhor and yes its allegedly 😆 a historical! ( Note - that fact certainly doesnt make me believe in its association to real history at all 🥱)

Yet, yet, it has a male lead who is not a MCP but a real compassionate hero who uses his grey matter as frequently as he listens to his heart - a balance I happen to like as it reminds me of the nature of Arjuna of old!!! It has female lead who is not a crying doormat but a true action heroine with sass who can use her brains and looks out for her hero whenever the lad is in distress! Plus point - She looks like a small cute tinkerbell in front of her goliath lover and knows when to be hard and when to be soft. Me likes that.

Most important the show has a lead pair that are not invested in denigrating each other but supporting and protecting each other - they have a healthy rota of competition than keeps things interesting but in all situations they stand united and complimentary to each other. Me likes that A LOT. A refreshing change from the usual battle of sexes we see on TV that passes for a love story when it should actually be a war story.😉
Most most importantly, it has a villain/second lead/antihero all roled in one who is terrifying, intelligent, powerful and actually has a real purpose to his life ie conquer the world ( and not just a purpose of terrorizing the leads). Me likes that very very much, indeed.

But, but, the storytellers do tend to go through bouts of dullness between the good parts. We get fabulous coronation scenes and "Yatha raja, tatha praja" philosophies and then we get to feel like uncomfortable voyuers sitting beside Peeping Tom Hasti figuratively. Last friday's bathing scene was just too euhhh. Seriously, I get that a Vishkanya is supposed to be a seductive and lethal assassin but I did not need to see her bathing in between glimpses of our leads romancing. Eughh! A sillhoutted shadow of her bathing would probably have sufficed for our sexually and romantically deprived future paurava general, Hasti. The guy doesnt need much to get going I think. 😆

Okay coming to the walled city - did our dashing conqueror order his men to block the openings on the wall from where the waters were coming out? And thus washed away his enemies in the waters that built up inside? Hmm, confirmation pending from the CVs. 😆

Atleast Puru the Sailor hasnt reached Persia in a day and is taking his sweet time on his love boat. Some logic to the entire yatra to faras retained. Although the repetition of his "Main aa raha hoon, XYZ" and "Main tumhe kahin nahin jaane dunga" do make me question his vocabulary at times. For a prince with the gab of a practised statesman who can move even his enemy (Takshashila), he seems to lose his tongue when faced by two things - a teasing Laachi who is near and an oblivious enemy who is far away. 😆

Anyways, I like the show as much as any show can be liked these days. The contrasting journeys of Alex and Puru do make it more interesting. Alex wants Power for One, Puru wants Unity for All - Alex makes war, Puru makes love (thank god not literally!) - Alex thrives on ambition and politics, Puru thrives on duty and honour - Alex is utterly nondramatic and pragmatic - Puru is utterly dramatic and emotional etc etc

I could go on as you know my blabbering tendecies but I shall stop here today.
Again I repeat, I am so happy to see you here!
Take care. Love, Ankita.

Edited by sashashyam - 7 years ago

Quote

LostTraveller

@LostTraveller

Rocker

+ 5

Posted: 7 years ago

I hope you recover soon! I am also in IF after a very long time, the last was probably during early CGM days. I lost interest due to too much khichdi in the show. But since I am a sucker for historicals, I started watching Porus. Yeah this is a disappointingly slow forum for a show said to be the most high budget show ever made. TRPs and I are mutually separated as neither of us get the other! Porus is played by Laksh a very young actor. He is no match for Rohit in acting but I somehow feel that both actors are doing their job well. Rohit is excellent in these kind of intense roles. Laksh despite his inexperience has shown good screen presence and I can see he has improved in acting too. Rohit naturally has that godly charisma and sharp edginess that makes his the perfect Alexander. Laksh manages to look like the strong warrior with a soft heart - the trademark ideal Indian warrior type from days of Mahabharat. Thats why I said that he reminded me of Arjuna, the strongest warrior with the kindest heart who walked the path of dharma. Its an interesting contrast to see the mindset of the greek king and the indian would be king. Alexander believes that conquering others is the ideal way to be the best warrior and king. Porus believes that defending others is the ideal role of a warrior and king. Alexander plays politics for power, Porus plays politics for his people. I have recently been reading up on our vedas and old texts so I find this contrast quite interesting. By Macedonian culture, only Alexander was capable enough to be son of a god, by ancient Indian culture, every being, human or not, whatever be his capability has god living inside them. The philosophies are so different! And as for the lead pair, well I find them refreshing with their mutual faith and support system. The love scenes are good but what I appreciate most is how perfectly they balance each other and take care of each other. Maybe its just me but I am tired of watching hate stories in the name of love stories. Man and woman were made to complement each other and watching the common mcp/antihero vs feminist/doormat romance leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe I am growing up after all! Haha. Anyways, as the show is named Porus, I was always certain that max screentime would go to the Indian side of the story. Alexander stands out because of Rohit and the good war scenes. As for the vishkanya, i hope its brief and wrapped up by next week. But something tells me Vishuddhi will soon become a loyal of Porus, tag along to Faras and by Porus' order try to assassinate Alexander. Just please, cvs, keep her mostly clothed and mostly sans dialogue.

Originally posted by: sashashyam

My dear Avantika,

It is lovely that you have turned up here, and that we are getting together after a very long time. I am afraid I have become an old crock, at therehamokaramof my rheumatoid arthritis, and there is no way I can be as active anywhere as I used to be in the old days. There are days, at times weeks, when I cannot type at all, and sometimes, like this weekend, things improve for a few days, and I can post in the IF and do other typing work.

I am not a frequent writer in this forum, my last post being of April 6. The forum itself is surprisingly small for such a major historical when you compare it with those for Jodha Akbar, which was mammoth, or even Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat. I don't know why. So the membership and the readership are correspondingly small.

The TRPs too are mediocre at best, never crossing 1 after the initial episode, which got 1.3. Chandra Nandini, which rapidly sank to a pathetic show, got 1.6 at its nadir, and over 2 in its salad days. Ashoka and Maharana Pratap too did very much better than Porus. I don't know why this is so either. It must be that the main leads don't jell with the viewers, as young Siddharth as Ashoka and Faisal Khan as Kunwar Pratap did. Jodha Akbar of course was a major success.

I have written only three posts in this forum before this small one, and they are all mostly about Alexander, who is the sole reason I watch Porus without missing a single episode. If you have the time and the inclination, you can look them up. They are:

1)A
hatchet job on Alexander?

Posted:
28 March 2018 at 5:38am | IP Logged

http://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=4971282&PID=146627900&#p146627900
2)Alexander: a redemption
& Porus: a heedless martyr
Posted:
02 April 2018 at 3:58am | IP Logged
http://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=4972894&PID=146685857&#p146685857

<h1>3)Alexander: Deliberate
distortions</h1>
Posted: 06 April
2018 at 3:17am | IP Logged

http://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=4974463&PID=146738949&#p146738949
I loved your enthusiastic dissertation on Puru and Laachi, but my dear, I am afraid that with all the will in the world, I cannot share your enthusiasm. Laachi, yes, I like her a lot, especially her smiling eyes, though I am strongly tempted to throw her into a washing machine to brighten up her dingy costume.😉
But Puru, an emphatic NO! I cannot stand the chap, with his endless slo mo walk, his Patanjali shampooed hair, waving in even slower mo and captured with loving closeups, his entirely predictable expressions, which number about half a dozen, his trademark aphorisms, especiallyPuru koyi kaam adhura nahin chhodta,his in your face mahaanta,his endlessbhashansabout his mathrubhoomi. The Samson take off with the pillar was the pits!😡
Plus he gets over 80% of the telecast time while Alexander is fobbed off with 20% or less. So they have plenty of time for hammy scenes for Puru, with standard issue lines, with Darius, his mother, his father, and so on, forvishkanyas, and anything else that catches their fancy, while there is not even a voice over to explain what happened at Halicarnassus.😡
His love scenes with Laachi, and not just the one on Friday, which was most off putting, bore me. I don't know why, but I cannot sense the slightest spark between them, and when they were hanging around that pillar sensing each other, I wanted to laugh. I am sure it is all my fault, not being able to appreciate the pair, but there it is. Not that you have to bother about my fuddy duddy views !
It is on Alexander and Rohit that we are totally of one mind. I am pasting below my take on him in the Best Alexander the Great thread. I am sure you will share my views.
Posted: 03 May 2018 at 2:39am | IP Logged
I agree completely with you. The choice of this boy is a remarkable casting coup, and it is one of the very few clever things the producers have done.
Alexander the Great was a superstar not only of his time but down the millennia. Neither of the other two military geniuses of the last 3 millennia, Julius Caesar and Napoleon, came anywhere close to Alexander in sheer charisma and lasting fame. I wanted to name my son after him, but had to compromise by settling on Sasha - the Russian dimunitive for Alexander- as his pet name.

To revert, Rohit has the presence which is vital for a successful Alexander. Now presence is either there or not there, it cannot be taught or acquired. His Alexander looks every inch a very young world conqueror: the insouciance of youth, the effortless dominance, the unshakeable confidence, the innate shrewdness, the subtle grasp of human psychology. Plus he is very handsome - which too Alexander was, judging from the statues and busts - and he has the sleek grace of a panther when he moves.

I have not yet seen a single scene where Rohit failed to convey what was intended. The very best sequence, which drew him into hitherto uncharted territory, was after the blow up with Philip in the open court, which leaves Alexander crushed and deeply distressed at his naivete in trusting such a man. His face, as he walks to his mother's rooms. was a study in conflicting emotions, and he pulled it off to perfection. Again, when he was caressing the hair of the comatose Philip, the tenderness in his face was remarkable.

I was not surprised, but dismayed to see that whereas Puru's departure scene was as prolonged as thebidaayeeof adulhanfrom hermaika,😆Alexander's very hard fought siege and victory at Halicarnassus did not merit even a voice over narration as to how it was achieved. There was the round pebble that Ada hands him with a mysterious comment, and then there was Alexander striding thru the corridors of the palace while the dead lined the walls and the stairs. Nothing in between. I have not yet watched the whole of the Wednesday episode, maybe there is some summary clarification. But the treatment was unacceptably skimpy.

All in all, the equality in the montage notwithstanding, it is still 80% or more Puru and 20% or less Alexander. And the determined campaign to paint Alexander askroor aur nirmamis well and thriving. A great pity.

Shyamala Aunty

PS: Corpses do not bleed, for once someone is dead, the heart stops pumping the blood around. So a river cannot remain red with blood because of the corpses floating in it. But of course the director, who has such a cavalier attitude to history, can hardly be expected to bother about physiology!!😉


Originally posted by luckySnow

There has been many movies and TV shows on Alexander the great throughout the world (with Oliver stones movie Alexander being the worst and stupid). I have seen few of them and I would say Rohit look as Alexander is among the best one👏..he has done justice to Alexander though producers have ruined the character.😛when we say Alexander we see an undefeated world conquering warrior...his fav black horse. His armor and long red cloth...blonde hair...Alexander was biggest superstar of his time and still is the most famous known emperor throughout the world...Rohit looks exactly like Alexander the great...👏

OK, my dear, this is it for the next couple of days, while my fingers recover from this orgy of typing.
As for your solution to the Halicarnassus mystery, it is a good option, but it should have been shown. By now, it is clear that the CVs don't intend to enlighten about how things happened!😡
Once again, I am delighted to have you with me again.
Affectionately,
Shyamala Aunty

Quote

sashashyam

@sashashyam

Sparkler

+ 3

Posted: 7 years ago

My dear Ankita,

I am so sorry that I am so late with this response, but my RA - for which there is no cure, only pain management - is a quirky menace.

I shall try and be a little kinder towards Puru just for you!😉 This apart, you have scored a hit with the part in bold, and I have duly congratulated you in my latest post on the Friday night episode, The Mystery of the Missing Mother. As for the rest, I don't think our goody goody Puru would think of any such wicked plan (nor would Alexander for that matter), but Vishuddhi might try something on her own and come a cropper. I hope she does; I have had enough of her!

Do read my latest, especially the last part about the Alexander-Hephastian scene that I have analysed in detail - and let me have your comments without fail.

Affectionately

Shyamala Aunty

Originally posted by: BrienneOfTarth
I hope you recover soon! I am also in IF after a very long time, the last was probably during early CGM days. I lost interest due to too much khichdi in the show. But since I am a sucker for historicals, I started watching Porus. Yeah this is a disappointingly slow forum for a show said to be the most high budget show ever made. TRPs and I are mutually separated as neither of us get the other! Porus is played by Laksh a very young actor. He is no match for Rohit in acting but I somehow feel that both actors are doing their job well. Rohit is excellent in these kind of intense roles. Laksh despite his inexperience has shown good screen presence and I can see he has improved in acting too. Rohit naturally has that godly charisma and sharp edginess that makes his the perfect Alexander. Laksh manages to look like the strong warrior with a soft heart - the trademark ideal Indian warrior type from days of Mahabharat. Thats why I said that he reminded me of Arjuna, the strongest warrior with the kindest heart who walked the path of dharma. Its an interesting contrast to see the mindset of the greek king and the indian would be king. Alexander believes that conquering others is the ideal way to be the best warrior and king. Porus believes that defending others is the ideal role of a warrior and king. Alexander plays politics for power, Porus plays politics for his people. I have recently been reading up on our vedas and old texts so I find this contrast quite interesting. By Macedonian culture, only Alexander was capable enough to be son of a god, by ancient Indian culture, every being, human or not, whatever be his capability has god living inside them. The philosophies are so different! And as for the lead pair, well I find them refreshing with their mutual faith and support system. The love scenes are good but what I appreciate most is how perfectly they balance each other and take care of each other. Maybe its just me but I am tired of watching hate stories in the name of love stories. Man and woman were made to complement each other and watching the common mcp/antihero vs feminist/doormat romance leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe I am growing up after all! Haha. Anyways, as the show is named Porus, I was always certain that max screentime would go to the Indian side of the story. Alexander stands out because of Rohit and the good war scenes.
As for the vishkanya, i hope its brief and wrapped up by next week. But something tells me Vishuddhi will soon become a loyal of Porus, tag along to Faras and by Porus' order try to assassinate Alexander. Just please, cvs, keep her mostly clothed and mostly sans dialogue.