Posted:
Hi Everyone- how are you all? It seems ages since I have written a take on a serial - though Lashy's stories are no less than a cinematic masterpiece on paper.
For those who were not on the Jodha Akbar forum, I write what are called Take 5's focused on what I like about the episodes.
Now that I am back at work, daily takes are not a possibility but weekly takes I may attempt. This take is for Anjali (Anjali Pushpanjali as I will always sing to our Harrybird) , for all her energy and great clips she shares on Chandra Nandini.
Chandra Nandini had a lot going against it from the get go ... to live up to Jodha Akbar, at least the first 100 episodes or so of it, was a tall order. If I remember right, there were similar rumblings when Jodha Akbar began, comparing to Prithviraj Chauhan and his pairing there (I never watched Prithviraj so didn't have preconceived notions coming into Jodha Akbar).
In any case, the first week was dramatic to the core, with many tributes to Baahubali (I love Baahubali to an extreme degree, as Chitti can attest to, so I took it more of a compliment than a fault).
However, for a second, I thought I couldn't handle the tempo of the drama but I think I slowly began to understand what was happening.
The stage was being set for the story- and so you had to understand the extremity of the hatred that is the crux of the story. Hence, Mura's revenge filled words were over spewed. Nanda's cheap nature, showed from his clothes to his actions. Chanakya's insult by Nanda was overly done. Chandra's hatred for love was shown multiple times so no one could miss it, no matter how much you were multi-tasking. As did Nandini, flow her words about love. The stage is set, and you know how the love-hate will seethe for a long time, which is Ekta's favorite past time.
Similarly, Chandra's powers had to be shown to an extreme so you understood he was no ordinary warrior- just better skill with the sword wouldn't make that obvious to the viewer who is not analyzing scenes like us- hence, the flying and jumping and twirling to make him stand out to us and Chankya. Audiences loved it in Baahubali (count me in) and I felt it was fine here (except lower budget and understandably so). Chanakya's discipline is also shown to an extreme as you needed to understand who had trained Chandra into the ace khiladi he was.
This reminds me of the similar beginning story of Jodha Akbar, how the story was set- Akbar going after a married woman in the mela, cutting off people's feet, the Maa ka Mandir debacle, Jodha's power-packed vow to cut off his head, and the multiple swords Jalal warded off in a well choreographed fight when he first hear's Jodha'a name. We all remember the mound of soldiers Jalal left behind in saving Abdul from the jail, and that was equally impractical, yet it proved a point.
The masterstroke of Jodha Akbar started for me during the Shaadi Saptah and I am going to give Chandra Nandini the same chance to grow on me, and it already shows signs of toning down.
So, I will tell you what I like about the first two weeks ...
1. Do Dhaari Talwaar ... which is of course our Rajat turned into Chandra. The two talwaars are one of course his sword, which is on full display, and second, his eyes, that are calculative and observe all in sight, including the entire palace of Nanda. So far, Chandra seems like cool ice, sharp and cutting and more in line with his name Chandra (moon). Whether it was when made fun of by Maleyaketu or whipped by Nandu, his is cooler on the surface with a storm surging inward that comes out in his plans for revenge. And that makes him a serious threat to his adversary as we wait for his plans to unfold.
2. And this makes Chandra a perfect pair for Chanakya.
The early days showed that Chandra always had superb abilities- and this was again shown with hyperbole from getting the honey from the hive to escaping Nanda's guards as a kid. What Chanakya brought to that raw ability was skill and discipline and a focus / lakshya against Magadh.
I think it will take some time for Chanakya as a character to grow on me, but I think the core goal was to show his principles and sense of discipline which is clear. It was overdone to set the tone of who Chanakya was. He also makes explicit the plans and motives which Chandra makes more discreet.
3. And what will become more important is the contrast to Nandini's role in Chandra's life (while however fictional, she will have a major role in this serial). So far, the one thing I have liked the most about Nandini is a certain mischief, lightness, playfulness about her that is different for a serial, where the heroine is expected to save the world and feels the world is on her shoulders. So far, Nandini seems to have no such thing on her shoulders - she looks up to her father and brothers, especially Dhananand, and trusts them even more than her mother and herself.
She saves a baby goat, but does it with a certain air of laughter with little mention of her abilities or greatness. There is an air of mischief as she goes to drive Malayketu away as there is when she spies on "Malayketu".
Even after returning home from her adventure with Chandra, she is not focused on revenge or him, she has moved on to teasing her sister in law.
This lightness manifests in a sort of twinkle in her eye, which I like. I also have to admit that I am a big fan of Shwetha's sister role in Iqbal- where she manages to hold her own without making the scene about her. I am sensing the same here and so I am bullish about Nandini.
We will have to see what this Chanakya-Nandini dynamics does to Chandra- he has already got slaps from both in the span of one episode! My poor Chandra!
4. Two more influences in Chandra's life because he not only can say "mere paas maa hain" but "mere paas do (2) maa hain". Mura seems to have passed along her anger and focus against Nanda and Magadh through osmosis during her delivery. Chandra's foster maa was more passive, she seems to have caused Chandra's hatred for love and the weakness it brings, by her show of helplessness against her husband. What will be interesting is when Mura joins this picture with Chankya, Nandini, and Chandra. She obviously has nothing personally against Nandini but does foresee that Nandini will pay for her father's sins. It will be interesting as a mother-in-law, which side she will fall.
And yes, as mentioned above Mura, has been over the top- it is to highlight the strength of her vengeance, but she already seems to be toning down. I liked the way she helped Chandra escape with tact and even the way she said how her son will save her was calm.
5. And last but not least, I am beginning to enjoy the dynamics between Chandra and Nandini. One that starts in mischief and a sword fight. While I am a novice in sword fighting skill, I liked the sword fight between Chandra and Nandini. I also liked how Chandra stepped back upon realizing she was a woman, and Nandini in a display of her superwoman skills, somersaulted back in front of him. And yet Chandra will not raise the sword against her and holds his hand against her sword, and the blood filled her maang of course is symbolic of the relationship between them.
So far it seems to be a battle of equals, she was a step ahead in finding out Chandra is an imposter, he is a step ahead in escaping holding her hostage.
There were Jodha Akbar throw backs aplenty- the sword fight, the khoon bari maang, holding the sword with his hand a la the dagger scene, saving nirdosh pashu pakshi, marg darshan albiet in the palace, the misunderstood pulling of the dupatta, with a lizard / small reptile replacing a snake.
And I have to say, every Jodha Akbar reference only brought a smile to my face. There are some good things about Ekta serials and some bad things- she will definitely remember the good and typically will do it first- so for now there is upside in the near term.
As always , please leave your likes (Anjali feel free to make fun of me for this) and comments! I will respond as soon as I can.
For those who were not on the Jodha Akbar forum, I write what are called Take 5's focused on what I like about the episodes.
Now that I am back at work, daily takes are not a possibility but weekly takes I may attempt. This take is for Anjali (Anjali Pushpanjali as I will always sing to our Harrybird) , for all her energy and great clips she shares on Chandra Nandini.
Chandra Nandini had a lot going against it from the get go ... to live up to Jodha Akbar, at least the first 100 episodes or so of it, was a tall order. If I remember right, there were similar rumblings when Jodha Akbar began, comparing to Prithviraj Chauhan and his pairing there (I never watched Prithviraj so didn't have preconceived notions coming into Jodha Akbar).
In any case, the first week was dramatic to the core, with many tributes to Baahubali (I love Baahubali to an extreme degree, as Chitti can attest to, so I took it more of a compliment than a fault).
However, for a second, I thought I couldn't handle the tempo of the drama but I think I slowly began to understand what was happening.
The stage was being set for the story- and so you had to understand the extremity of the hatred that is the crux of the story. Hence, Mura's revenge filled words were over spewed. Nanda's cheap nature, showed from his clothes to his actions. Chanakya's insult by Nanda was overly done. Chandra's hatred for love was shown multiple times so no one could miss it, no matter how much you were multi-tasking. As did Nandini, flow her words about love. The stage is set, and you know how the love-hate will seethe for a long time, which is Ekta's favorite past time.
Similarly, Chandra's powers had to be shown to an extreme so you understood he was no ordinary warrior- just better skill with the sword wouldn't make that obvious to the viewer who is not analyzing scenes like us- hence, the flying and jumping and twirling to make him stand out to us and Chankya. Audiences loved it in Baahubali (count me in) and I felt it was fine here (except lower budget and understandably so). Chanakya's discipline is also shown to an extreme as you needed to understand who had trained Chandra into the ace khiladi he was.
This reminds me of the similar beginning story of Jodha Akbar, how the story was set- Akbar going after a married woman in the mela, cutting off people's feet, the Maa ka Mandir debacle, Jodha's power-packed vow to cut off his head, and the multiple swords Jalal warded off in a well choreographed fight when he first hear's Jodha'a name. We all remember the mound of soldiers Jalal left behind in saving Abdul from the jail, and that was equally impractical, yet it proved a point.
The masterstroke of Jodha Akbar started for me during the Shaadi Saptah and I am going to give Chandra Nandini the same chance to grow on me, and it already shows signs of toning down.
So, I will tell you what I like about the first two weeks ...
1. Do Dhaari Talwaar ... which is of course our Rajat turned into Chandra. The two talwaars are one of course his sword, which is on full display, and second, his eyes, that are calculative and observe all in sight, including the entire palace of Nanda. So far, Chandra seems like cool ice, sharp and cutting and more in line with his name Chandra (moon). Whether it was when made fun of by Maleyaketu or whipped by Nandu, his is cooler on the surface with a storm surging inward that comes out in his plans for revenge. And that makes him a serious threat to his adversary as we wait for his plans to unfold.
2. And this makes Chandra a perfect pair for Chanakya.
The early days showed that Chandra always had superb abilities- and this was again shown with hyperbole from getting the honey from the hive to escaping Nanda's guards as a kid. What Chanakya brought to that raw ability was skill and discipline and a focus / lakshya against Magadh.
I think it will take some time for Chanakya as a character to grow on me, but I think the core goal was to show his principles and sense of discipline which is clear. It was overdone to set the tone of who Chanakya was. He also makes explicit the plans and motives which Chandra makes more discreet.
3. And what will become more important is the contrast to Nandini's role in Chandra's life (while however fictional, she will have a major role in this serial). So far, the one thing I have liked the most about Nandini is a certain mischief, lightness, playfulness about her that is different for a serial, where the heroine is expected to save the world and feels the world is on her shoulders. So far, Nandini seems to have no such thing on her shoulders - she looks up to her father and brothers, especially Dhananand, and trusts them even more than her mother and herself.
She saves a baby goat, but does it with a certain air of laughter with little mention of her abilities or greatness. There is an air of mischief as she goes to drive Malayketu away as there is when she spies on "Malayketu".
Even after returning home from her adventure with Chandra, she is not focused on revenge or him, she has moved on to teasing her sister in law.
This lightness manifests in a sort of twinkle in her eye, which I like. I also have to admit that I am a big fan of Shwetha's sister role in Iqbal- where she manages to hold her own without making the scene about her. I am sensing the same here and so I am bullish about Nandini.
We will have to see what this Chanakya-Nandini dynamics does to Chandra- he has already got slaps from both in the span of one episode! My poor Chandra!
4. Two more influences in Chandra's life because he not only can say "mere paas maa hain" but "mere paas do (2) maa hain". Mura seems to have passed along her anger and focus against Nanda and Magadh through osmosis during her delivery. Chandra's foster maa was more passive, she seems to have caused Chandra's hatred for love and the weakness it brings, by her show of helplessness against her husband. What will be interesting is when Mura joins this picture with Chankya, Nandini, and Chandra. She obviously has nothing personally against Nandini but does foresee that Nandini will pay for her father's sins. It will be interesting as a mother-in-law, which side she will fall.
And yes, as mentioned above Mura, has been over the top- it is to highlight the strength of her vengeance, but she already seems to be toning down. I liked the way she helped Chandra escape with tact and even the way she said how her son will save her was calm.
5. And last but not least, I am beginning to enjoy the dynamics between Chandra and Nandini. One that starts in mischief and a sword fight. While I am a novice in sword fighting skill, I liked the sword fight between Chandra and Nandini. I also liked how Chandra stepped back upon realizing she was a woman, and Nandini in a display of her superwoman skills, somersaulted back in front of him. And yet Chandra will not raise the sword against her and holds his hand against her sword, and the blood filled her maang of course is symbolic of the relationship between them.
So far it seems to be a battle of equals, she was a step ahead in finding out Chandra is an imposter, he is a step ahead in escaping holding her hostage.
There were Jodha Akbar throw backs aplenty- the sword fight, the khoon bari maang, holding the sword with his hand a la the dagger scene, saving nirdosh pashu pakshi, marg darshan albiet in the palace, the misunderstood pulling of the dupatta, with a lizard / small reptile replacing a snake.
And I have to say, every Jodha Akbar reference only brought a smile to my face. There are some good things about Ekta serials and some bad things- she will definitely remember the good and typically will do it first- so for now there is upside in the near term.
As always , please leave your likes (Anjali feel free to make fun of me for this) and comments! I will respond as soon as I can.
Jhanak
Shiv Shakti
