Posted:
The screenplay seems now intent on building up Alexander as not just a ruthless conqueror but a bloodthirsty one.
The fascinating complexities in his character- the sudden cold rage that makes him have his defeated enemy dragged by a galloping horse, the evident yearning for the approval of a father figure that was shown in the way his eyes light up when Philip praises him, and even more so in the tenderness with which he looks after the comatose king, his clear sense of right and wrong, his dedication to his duties as Philip's commander in chief, the revulsion with which he learns of Olympia having used black magic to sideline Arridaeus - all that is now gone, swept away on a tide of single-minded ambition. He has become monochrome. I hope this is a passing phase and that the shades in his character will resurface.
As for the family killings, Filina was plotting to kill Alexander, so she was fair game, as was Attalus.The varied and sadistic ways in which the wives are killed are pure Olympia- I still remember her trying to roast a poor man inside an iron bull for the greater good of her unborn son.😡Historically, Arridaeus survived this bloodletting, so he has not been shown at all. But Alexander killing the baby was not only appalling, but also pointless. It is Cleopatra's baby girl, so how on earth would she be a threat to him?
So one can only conclude that it was meant to create revulsion in the mind of the viewer against Alexander, the sabse kroor conqueror the commentary described at the beginning. It is intended to be a contrast to the lily white, oh so good Puru, who can do no wrong, think no wrong, wish no wrong as he sashays across the screen with his long wavy locks like a shampoo ad, mostly in exasperating slo mo.
I only hope they do not fudge the extremely honourable and gentle way in which Alexander treated Darius' womenfolk: his mother Sisygambis. his wife and his two daughters, whom the Persian ruler had abandoned when he ran away from the battlefield. For that would hardly fit in with the current image of him as a baby killer!
An aside. I never understood how Olympia, with her mantra of mere aur Zeus ka beta. justified her laying claim to the Macedonian throne for Alexander. It was thus very interesting to see the stress that Alexander now lays on Philip as his waalid and himself as his aulaad!😉
Shyamala B.Cowsik
