Posted:
Folks,
The only problem I had in watching today's episode was, no, not enduring Puru's bhashans, in which he outdid himself tonight. They went on and on and on, the same words repeated umpteen times with a vim and vigour which were astonishing in a chap who had almost expired a few minutes earlier!
However, I had cleverly provided myself with a pair of ear plugs, and I put them to good use as soon as he opened his mouth, and held forth for, in total, at least half of today's telecast time😉. The only difficulty was in unplugging myself quickly enough as soon as Alexander began to speak, but then he was on the backfoot throughout, so even if I had missed a bit, it would have hardly mattered.
I was mostly laughing at myself for having got so worked up last night, about Alexander's reputation and Puru's existence. It is now clear to me that neither of them is worth bothering about. To put it bluntly, I felt like a fool.
As for the serial, it has by now descended to the level of an outright farce, with Puru pulling 8 arrows out of his body, fighting with six men, leaping over 30 feet to Alexander's balcony, and then putting what looked like a cardboard contraption masquerading as a sword to Alexander's throat. And holding it there for ages while both Hephaestion and his men gaped ineffectually at this sight.
Puru deliberately did not do the one thing that would have been useful for protecting Bharat, ie cut Alexander's throat, even when invited to do so by the unshaken Alexander.
Instead, he went to great lengths to acquaint Alexander - who took the momentous news with phlegmatic calm - with the fact that he, Purushottam, was the muhafiz the "Oracle" had warned Alexander about, and promising him dire retribution if he ever dared to step on the aanchal of Puru's mathrubhoomi.
This went for a while longer as Alexander looked on with a bemused expression on his face. Cliche was piled on cliche until Puru ran out of breath and finally stopped. I think the CVs must be fans of the old films of the 1960s and 1970s, which abounded in such fiery perorations by Dharmendra, Rajendra Kumar and their ilk.😡
In the middle of these ludicrous goings on, the only slight saving grace was Alexander. He has far more presence even in a badly disadvantaged situation, he manages to hold his own with icy calm , and most important, he does not make any speeches.
But today was not his day, and it showed clearly. He was caught totally unawares by a Puru who suddenly became a combo of Rambo and the Flying Dutchman, but even so, one does not expect Alexander to be caught unawares. The only excuse for him is that the CVs didn't let him fly like Puru !😉
So he had to stand there like a stuffed dummy, listening helplessly to Puru holding forth, without being able to do anything to retrieve the situation. A ludicrous position for a world conqueror to be in, and if the shade of Alexander could emerge from wherever it is, Porus ke CVs ki to khair nahin!😆
The only time Alexander said something worth listening to, when he smoothly and unexpectedly trapped Barsine & Co. into staying back, Puru was blessedly silent, and I could hear him properly and enjoy that bit. But very soon Puru was back with his lines, alas!
Though why Alexander wants this sullen, puffy faced female and her pinch faced mother (her sister hardly counts) hanging around is beyond me. In his place I would have said Good riddance, and settled myself down to ruling Faras wisely and well. I have still not sorted out this mystery.
I at least hope he has the good sense to ignore them totally, confine them to their rooms and leave them alone. But no, I suppose he is going to drag them to Bactria with him. And eventually marry Ms. Puffy Face as well. God help him!
As for how Puru is going to make his own marg out of Faras, it was silly of Alexander to ask that question. He is simply going to fly, just as he flew up to the balcony, all the way back to Paurav Rashtra, since he no longer has to worry about the Barsine Raksha Abhiyaan😉. To see his parents neatly locked up by Shivdutt, and Kanishka on the throne.
Ah yes,the problem. I had almost forgotten about it . It was about making up my mind as to which would be a better substitute for this show: Chandrakanta or Hatim Tai. I suppose either would do. At least those were honest about what they were setting out to be, and did not practice outright fraud on the viewers! Swastik and Siddharth Tewary have no business calling this production a historical. It belongs clearly in the mytho genre, with Puru's bhashans thrown in for good measure.
To wind up, I never thought the day would come when the Paurav Rashtra segment was the choice part of the episode. But it came tonight. In fact the best part of today's episode for me was the Anusuya-Shivdutt duel. She was truly superb, and Malay was as cute as ever. I wonder what is going to happen to him. I hope Anusuya takes him to prison with her and Bamni.
Finally, I have a piecc of good news for you, folks. I am going to shut up shop for the foreseeable future and shall not be inflicting any more posts on you come Monday. This script and this serial are just not my cup of tea, and today's episode brought this truth home to me. It is folly to spend so much time and energy analysing and commenting on such nonsense.
It has been great fun getting to know all of you, and I wish you all as much entertainment as possible with what is left of Porus. Take care, and God bless.
Shyamala/ Aunty/Di
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