Posted:
Kahani Manish Malhotra ke Mahabharat ki...!
piyushroy Posted online: Friday , July 25, 2008 at 1622 hrs
The earlier Mahabharat made by BR Chopra had an insightful dialogue (amongst many) between the epic's writer-narrator Maharshi Ved Vyas and princess Gandhari just before her marriage to king Dhritarashtra. On hearing about her decision to blindfold herself to identify with her husband's disability, contrary to the other gasping wows and praises, he actually admonishes her mildly, stating, "Dhritarashtra to janam se andha tha, ab tum ne bhi apni ankhon par patti bandh li… Mujhe to ab sab kuch andhera hi andhera nazar aa raha hai…'
The essence of that observation (and my reference) is that sage Vyas had already foreseen the events leading to the battle of Mahabharat. And yet, he forever maintained a detached connect with the goings on in the lives of the kings and princes of the Chandra Vansh (the dynasty of the Pandavas and Kauravas) as an unpopular, but often heeded elderly voice of sanity sans emotions, behooving a sage of his stature. Ekta Kapoor's Mahabharat (with all the extra A's) begins with a bellowing and walloping (thankfully he wasn't beating his chest) Vyas (Makrand Deshpande) off the battlefield of Kurukshetra regretting the war's futility and complaining to Lord Brahma about its destruction, in complete contrast to the nature and personality of the learned sage.
If that wasn't enough, the take off episode also had a screeching, inaudible Draupadi (the show's weakest acting link revealed so far) in the 'infamous' Vastraharan scene with Dushashan (grimacing like one of the rapist sidekicks of a B Grade Hindi film villain) unleashed to ample shock effect with the mandatory zip-zap-zoom effects and an ear splitting background chorus chanting stuff in little tandem with the onscreen happenings, a la any of the other primetime soaps from the 'K' factory.
To be honest and irrespective of the pre-launch doubters on Kapoor's ability to pull off a multi-layered story of such magnitude and spiritual depth, I had actually approached the show with hope and a promise of something new. After all, the country's leading television production house was attempting a retell of the world's longest epic with a tested and popular cast to boot. The show could have become Balaji Telefilms' showcase for the next creative big leap in television programming, especially in the tackling of the mythological genre. Alas, it has ended up being just another costume drama with all the narrative shortcomings and sensibilities of the production house's melodramatic saas-bahu sagas.
Ramayan and Mahabharat are not just two great stories anyone can tell. Every character in these epics lives his life on almost two different levels of existence - the human and the divine. Kapoor and her creative heads have managed to tap the human element of these characters, only partially. The divine connect that comes from a thorough understanding of the epics is sorely missing in the conduct and carriage of all the characters unveiled so far. Or else sage Vyas wouldn't have been shown lamenting on the Kurukshetra battlefield or Bheeshma prancing around in black robes (there's a reason behind the son of Ganga's signature donning of the white) fighting pre-historic monsters in a scene that seemed a straight lift from the establishing shots of the Greek war film 300.
And, while on the Greek influence, even if one gives allowance to arguments by the show's makers that there is no concrete proof of kings and princes wearing crowns in the Mahabharat era, one wonders the source of their 'new' research that has them don the cast in outfits akin to Hollywood biopics on ancient Rome. Ronit Roy's Bheeshma even looks like a Julius Caesar straight out of a Shakespearean play.
But even if one allows Balaji Telefilms' the sartorial and occasional narrative licence to digress, (after all both the great Indian epics have been variously interpreted and re-written down the ages as per the sensibilities and cultural influences of the-then writers), the production house's limiting of its take's uniqueness to scouting actors with six-pack-abs and dressing mythical Indian heroes in Greco-Roman costumes only, smacks of a creative laziness bordering on convenient cosmetic shocks.
Ironically, those very 'contestable' outfits actually stand out so strongly as the show's lone differential vis--vis the myriad televised takes on the Mahabharat - Draupadi, Mritunjay and Sanjay Khan's Mahabharat - since the success of the Chopra saga that it wouldn't be odd to call it Kahani Manish Malhotra Ke Mahabharat Ki.
As regards the acting, apart from Hasanandani's disappointingly loud Draupadi act and the young Bheeshma's expressionless monologues, the actors unveiled so far seem to be doing justice to their briefs - especially Ronit Roy (effective as Bheeshma), Ravee Gupta (convincing as Satyawati) and Aryan Vaid (surprisingly restrained and confident as Duryodhan).
Verdict
If you view the show as one more costume fantasy for kids like Aladdin, Raajkumar Aryan, Arslaan or Dharam Veer with some impressive special effects, it will engage and entertain too; but if you are seeking the depth and spiritual connect of the epic, Kapoor's interpretation will disappoint in its all body-no soul approach.
Old wine, old bottle
Wednesday, 7:00 pm, Zoom
Here comes one more documentary biopic chronicling the prodigal success story of Bollywood super star Shah Rukh Khan. Khan's accessibility, media savvy attitude and a predominantly open book approach to his life and times have spun forth many a biography (which the show liberally quotes and sources pictures from) and documentaries by Indian and foreign (NRI) filmmakers in the recent past.
So does this latest documented take present anything we haven't seen before? Not exactly, though it uses the 'King Khan' success story to make quite a few researched observations on the rapidly changing Indian film industry scene. Beyond that, it opts for the predictable route of interviews with Khan's friends, childhood neighbours and film fraternity colleagues, apart from showcasing photographs and film-situation inserts to dramatise the momentous events in his life. While some photos seem unnecessarily repetitive (like the frowning couple shot of Khan's in-laws), the filmy scenes often end up being unintentionally funny like the juxtaposition of the shot of a sword-wielding Khan in Ashoka, as the voice over talks about his winning the St. Columbus School Sword for being its best student.
Given the access of the commissioning channel Zoom to the celebrity and stars set, one expected more candid takes from the actor himself, (surprisingly lacking) and a researched questionnaire (many of the other actor interviews seem to be dated inserts recorded off a party or public event). Also, the narrative could do with a slight toning of its almost eulogizing, fan like track. However, one does get to see some rare and interesting pictures like one of boy Shah Rukh dressed as Hanuman in a local Ram Leela.
Fans are also treated to a lot of trivia like how Khan first introduced himself by the name of Abhimanyu to his girl friend and future wife Gauri's Hindu parents or the fact that he simultaneously captained the cricket, hockey and football teams of his school. Indeed, a born multi-tasker!
Verdict
The eight part series can be a must watch for those of Shah Rukh Khan's fans for whom there never can be enough on the actor, though discerning viewers might experience a feeling of dejavu in its content and visuals.
piyushroy Posted online: Friday , July 25, 2008 at 1622 hrs
The earlier Mahabharat made by BR Chopra had an insightful dialogue (amongst many) between the epic's writer-narrator Maharshi Ved Vyas and princess Gandhari just before her marriage to king Dhritarashtra. On hearing about her decision to blindfold herself to identify with her husband's disability, contrary to the other gasping wows and praises, he actually admonishes her mildly, stating, "Dhritarashtra to janam se andha tha, ab tum ne bhi apni ankhon par patti bandh li… Mujhe to ab sab kuch andhera hi andhera nazar aa raha hai…'
The essence of that observation (and my reference) is that sage Vyas had already foreseen the events leading to the battle of Mahabharat. And yet, he forever maintained a detached connect with the goings on in the lives of the kings and princes of the Chandra Vansh (the dynasty of the Pandavas and Kauravas) as an unpopular, but often heeded elderly voice of sanity sans emotions, behooving a sage of his stature. Ekta Kapoor's Mahabharat (with all the extra A's) begins with a bellowing and walloping (thankfully he wasn't beating his chest) Vyas (Makrand Deshpande) off the battlefield of Kurukshetra regretting the war's futility and complaining to Lord Brahma about its destruction, in complete contrast to the nature and personality of the learned sage.
If that wasn't enough, the take off episode also had a screeching, inaudible Draupadi (the show's weakest acting link revealed so far) in the 'infamous' Vastraharan scene with Dushashan (grimacing like one of the rapist sidekicks of a B Grade Hindi film villain) unleashed to ample shock effect with the mandatory zip-zap-zoom effects and an ear splitting background chorus chanting stuff in little tandem with the onscreen happenings, a la any of the other primetime soaps from the 'K' factory.
To be honest and irrespective of the pre-launch doubters on Kapoor's ability to pull off a multi-layered story of such magnitude and spiritual depth, I had actually approached the show with hope and a promise of something new. After all, the country's leading television production house was attempting a retell of the world's longest epic with a tested and popular cast to boot. The show could have become Balaji Telefilms' showcase for the next creative big leap in television programming, especially in the tackling of the mythological genre. Alas, it has ended up being just another costume drama with all the narrative shortcomings and sensibilities of the production house's melodramatic saas-bahu sagas.
Ramayan and Mahabharat are not just two great stories anyone can tell. Every character in these epics lives his life on almost two different levels of existence - the human and the divine. Kapoor and her creative heads have managed to tap the human element of these characters, only partially. The divine connect that comes from a thorough understanding of the epics is sorely missing in the conduct and carriage of all the characters unveiled so far. Or else sage Vyas wouldn't have been shown lamenting on the Kurukshetra battlefield or Bheeshma prancing around in black robes (there's a reason behind the son of Ganga's signature donning of the white) fighting pre-historic monsters in a scene that seemed a straight lift from the establishing shots of the Greek war film 300.
And, while on the Greek influence, even if one gives allowance to arguments by the show's makers that there is no concrete proof of kings and princes wearing crowns in the Mahabharat era, one wonders the source of their 'new' research that has them don the cast in outfits akin to Hollywood biopics on ancient Rome. Ronit Roy's Bheeshma even looks like a Julius Caesar straight out of a Shakespearean play.
But even if one allows Balaji Telefilms' the sartorial and occasional narrative licence to digress, (after all both the great Indian epics have been variously interpreted and re-written down the ages as per the sensibilities and cultural influences of the-then writers), the production house's limiting of its take's uniqueness to scouting actors with six-pack-abs and dressing mythical Indian heroes in Greco-Roman costumes only, smacks of a creative laziness bordering on convenient cosmetic shocks.
Ironically, those very 'contestable' outfits actually stand out so strongly as the show's lone differential vis--vis the myriad televised takes on the Mahabharat - Draupadi, Mritunjay and Sanjay Khan's Mahabharat - since the success of the Chopra saga that it wouldn't be odd to call it Kahani Manish Malhotra Ke Mahabharat Ki.
As regards the acting, apart from Hasanandani's disappointingly loud Draupadi act and the young Bheeshma's expressionless monologues, the actors unveiled so far seem to be doing justice to their briefs - especially Ronit Roy (effective as Bheeshma), Ravee Gupta (convincing as Satyawati) and Aryan Vaid (surprisingly restrained and confident as Duryodhan).
Verdict
If you view the show as one more costume fantasy for kids like Aladdin, Raajkumar Aryan, Arslaan or Dharam Veer with some impressive special effects, it will engage and entertain too; but if you are seeking the depth and spiritual connect of the epic, Kapoor's interpretation will disappoint in its all body-no soul approach.
Old wine, old bottle
Wednesday, 7:00 pm, Zoom
Here comes one more documentary biopic chronicling the prodigal success story of Bollywood super star Shah Rukh Khan. Khan's accessibility, media savvy attitude and a predominantly open book approach to his life and times have spun forth many a biography (which the show liberally quotes and sources pictures from) and documentaries by Indian and foreign (NRI) filmmakers in the recent past.
So does this latest documented take present anything we haven't seen before? Not exactly, though it uses the 'King Khan' success story to make quite a few researched observations on the rapidly changing Indian film industry scene. Beyond that, it opts for the predictable route of interviews with Khan's friends, childhood neighbours and film fraternity colleagues, apart from showcasing photographs and film-situation inserts to dramatise the momentous events in his life. While some photos seem unnecessarily repetitive (like the frowning couple shot of Khan's in-laws), the filmy scenes often end up being unintentionally funny like the juxtaposition of the shot of a sword-wielding Khan in Ashoka, as the voice over talks about his winning the St. Columbus School Sword for being its best student.
Given the access of the commissioning channel Zoom to the celebrity and stars set, one expected more candid takes from the actor himself, (surprisingly lacking) and a researched questionnaire (many of the other actor interviews seem to be dated inserts recorded off a party or public event). Also, the narrative could do with a slight toning of its almost eulogizing, fan like track. However, one does get to see some rare and interesting pictures like one of boy Shah Rukh dressed as Hanuman in a local Ram Leela.
Fans are also treated to a lot of trivia like how Khan first introduced himself by the name of Abhimanyu to his girl friend and future wife Gauri's Hindu parents or the fact that he simultaneously captained the cricket, hockey and football teams of his school. Indeed, a born multi-tasker!
Verdict
The eight part series can be a must watch for those of Shah Rukh Khan's fans for whom there never can be enough on the actor, though discerning viewers might experience a feeling of dejavu in its content and visuals.
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
CID
