This is not a movie review but the review of a television serial on the epic Mahabharat by Ekta Kapoor.
I was eagerly looking foward to Ekta Kapoor’s version of Mahabharath titled Kahani Hamare Mahabharat Ki, so much so that I even paid for an add-on package from Tata Sky just to catch Mahabharat every night from Monday to Thursday. Was expecting something not just bigger than the previous Mahabharat by B.R. Chopra, but a better product overall. Very high expectations, i know!
I became a fan of Mahabharat mainly due to the spectacular and historic Mahabharat of those good old days directed by B.R. Chopra and Ravi Chopra. The epic was aired every sunday morning, for 2 years between 1988 - 1990. The great thing about it was every character seemed to be born to play their role. Mukesh Khanna was brilliant as Bheeshma, when you think of Lord Krishna the picture of Nitish Bhardwaj in those costumes still comes to mind. Every other character right from Duryodhan (Puneet Issar), Arjun (Arjun), Shakuni (Gufi Paintal), Bhim (Praveen Kumar), Dhritrashtra (Girja Shankar), Draupadi (Rupa Ganguly), Karna (Pankaj Dheer), Yudhistir, Nakul, Sahadev and even Drona were just perfect for their roles. Its like you cant imagine anyone else in those legendary roles.
So it was an uphill task for Ekta Kapoor right from the day she decided to remake the epic. After the first episode that was telecasted last night on 9X at 9 PM, i was sorely disappointed.
It looked like a normal Ekta Kapoor’s Saas Bahu serial! To start off it wasnt realistic, atleast Ekta Kapoor should have had a look at Jodhaa Akbar, a costume drama which was presented in a very realistic way by Ashutosh Gowariker.
The camera was rolling all over the faces from every angle possible, a lot of thundering, lightening and noise. The characters from whatever little we got to see of them, just didnt look the character, they looked like models with a perfectly toned body in a costume drama for a historical. Maybe its too early to judge them, time will tell. The costumes except for Duryodhan’s was pretty good.
Coming to the performances, Anita Hansandani as draupadi, one of the most important characters in Mahabharat, was horrible. Dialogue delivery was the biggest flaw. She shrieked at the top of her voice, cried like she does in all those saas bahu series and in comparison to Rupa Ganguly, failed miserably. The intensity in her performance was just lacking. She made the strong character of Draupadi look weak! Shakuni is bald, he was pretty good although his laughter was sometimes annoying. Dushassan looked evil, performed well. Duryodhan looked like a evil superman in those costumes. Dont want to comment on Aryan Vaid’s performance just yet, more on him in the coming days!
Overall, after one episode it has been a major disappointment. Hopefully Ekta Kapoor can make it more realistic and Anita can improve her performance! Will keep updating this post, who knows the characters might grow on me and my opinion might change.
Ekta Kapoor’s Kahani Hamaray Mahabharat Ki is aired every Monday to Thursday from 9 to 9:30 PM Indian Standard Time on 9X.
Do drop in your comments and views on Kahani Hamaray Mahabharat Ki!
Updates
Episode 2 (8th July 2008) - Ved Vyas starts narrating the epic tale of Mahabharat to Lord Ganesh. Shantanu is smitten by Ganga’s beauty, accepts all her conditions and marries her. Ganga kills his sons one after another, till their 8th son, Bheeshma is born. The pace is fantastic, doesnt drag like most historicals. Performances were top notch today. Saakshi Tanwar, Parvathi of Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki, looks ethereal as Ganga. Kiran Karmarkar, Om of Kahani, is perfect for the role of Shantanu. The locales of Ladakh are breath taking. I still hate the excessive background music, thundering and camera zooming in on the faces of actors. How i wish, Ekta makes it slightly more realistic and different from her daily soaps. More tomorrow.. Today’s episode rating - 8 / 10.
Episode 3 (9th July 2008) - Shantanu breaks his promise, questions Ganga. Ganga reveals her identity and goes into detail about the curse that they got from Brahma, also the curse of the 7 kids that she eventually killed by drowning them into the pure water of River Ganga. She takes Devavrat (Bheeshma) their 8th son with her, promising Shantanu that she would return him back to the place he belongs to, when the king of Hastinapur needs him. Devavrat is trained and educated by Parashuram. Devavrat, now 16, returns to Hastinapur and blocks the waterflow of Ganga with his arrows… That ends the 3rd episode of the epic Mahabharat.
The 3rd episode was much slower in pace compared to the 2nd, filled with excessive dialogues and unnecessary special effects. Performances were once again good. The actor portraying the role of young Devavrat, suits the character. 3rd episode rating - 5 / 10
Episode 4 (10th July 2008) - Devavrat and his father battle, Ganga intervenes and reveals their identity to each other. Devavrat is now committed to his father and Hastinapur. 16 more years pass by and Devavrat has now matured..
The 4th episode was like Kanav said in the comments below, a complete disaster. The background music is deafening, trademark Ekta Kapoor slo-mo effects and camera work continue to irritate. A realistic feel, so very important for a historical is completely missing. 4th episode rating - 3 / 10
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July 8th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
I agree with you on this, but sorry, the costumes were not good.. They were dressed more like Greek gods rather than Indian mythological characters.. The sets were bad.. Thr was no reality in the show overall… For those who have watched BR Chopra’s Mahabharat, its tough for them to watch this version as they will more compare between the two versions and thr wl be only disappointment..
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July 8th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Common guys!!!!
Stop this..
It was awesome yesterday!!!!
Great start Ekta..
No one else could dare to do this…
Come out from those old outdated screen-drama that you guys have seen….
Coz u hav seen them that way - u r thinking this way!!
If this was shown 1st time… then these characters might have reached evryone….
But, its great to see such daring ppl in industry …
Cm’n we are in 21st century…
Let kids grow watching this version….
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July 8th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Just because she dared, doesnt mean the product is good. Lets wait and watch.
I didnt like the characters, the Pandavas were more like robots than real human beings. Hope for the best though!
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July 8th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
No I agree with Raavan this was stuff that is daringly different and away from the calendar art that we’re used to . . . it’s a notch up on everything on tv so far . . . but yes Anita awas disastrous and the Pandavas not seen . . . think it was just a gimmick as a first ep and it managed to surprise though that’s all . . . I love the styling and the sets and locations, very classy stuff . . . think the actors need to get believable as the charcaters they play . . . it could also do with some ‘thehraav’ its a little all over the place right now with too much of Makarand . . . and by the way Indicine the name’s Ved Vyas not Vedav . . . it’s just pronounced that way . . .
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July 9th, 2008 at 1:10 am
i agree wif ravan s well..
it wazz n awesome.. epi.. i luvedd it!!! in my point of view.. anita’s actin rocked… nd the pandavs were nt robot.. atlest.. robotss dnt av 6 pckss.. they lukdd hwatt… and sakshi luked stunninn…. giv dem a brek guyzz.. deyy doinn bloody gud job….
applause to all em’ hard workerss..
ope 2 c mree gudd epi.. in d futuree..
for now m so into dis show…
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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July 9th, 2008 at 3:55 am
i dont actually agree to anuradha….nobody knows what the costumes used to be hundreds of years ago……in that case we are allowed to imagine the costumes of these mythological characters from anything to everything……..there wasnt any specific description of the costumes in the epic tale…………………….dont you agree with me guys?
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July 9th, 2008 at 8:22 am
I feel drawing comparisons between chopra’s and kapoor’s mahabharat will not be a fair judgement to the show. Kapoor’s effort to give mahabharat a contemporay look is certainly commendable. It will be premature to talk about the performance of the main characters….except Draupadi. She is good otherwise, except her diction which is not up to the mark really. But I appreciate her effort and well, I liked the fiery element in her performance. The performances of Vyas, Draupadi and Dushshasan were high pitched on the first day, while Duryodhan’s was a subtle one. I didnt like Dhritarashtra and Shakuni….They are crude. The makers have also missed out on minute details. Though Ganga took extreme care to immerse her first son in the water, but from the second time onwards she didnot bother to sit even and just dropped them into the water. The first time they chose to drop the baby into a pond hahaha…they must have forgotten to shoot it near a river…
But the actors looked good and fresh on their indi-grecian attires - one of the few reasons that has kept me glued to a show ater a long time.
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July 9th, 2008 at 9:40 am
Cmon ppl…its 2 early 2 comment i guess…if u c d first few episodes of Mr. B.R CHOPRA’S mahabharat u all would have had d same reaction…i agree with sudeshna its all bt work of fiction n imagination bout the clothng..same was done bt mr chopra n same is done by ekta bt d prob is we al have d characters of mr chopra’s mahabharat in our mind’s,so it wud take sum tym 2 adopt 2 d new version of MAHABHARAT.. bt i think this one is gonna b bigger<> n better<>.. great work EKTA!!
CHEERS!!!
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July 9th, 2008 at 10:34 am
hii all, well i too watched the two episodes of kahani hamari mahabharat ki. it ws good. but i noticed one thing and thought of sharing here. It ws said that Lord Ganesha wrote the story of mahabharata from his teeth (Danta) thts why we see his one Danta broken. but in this story i saw he ws using the peecock feather to write… i donno Ekta ignored this thing!!! I had heard the news tht she ws soo perfect to make the story tht for the role of bala krishna, she ws searching the boy who kundali matches Lord Krishna’s. But she forgot this thing!!!!
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July 9th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
i do not think ekta can get out of her loud saas bahu dramas! The first episode was horrible.anita cannot act, let alone as draupadi.she actually made me laugh.maybe the 2nd episode was a bit better but i found the costumes disgusting.it looked c grade.hopefully ekta will realise wher the fault is and rectify it…!
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July 9th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
I agree with you totally Indicine team … though I didn’t watch the 2nd episode … Draupadi is really horrible and intolerable and overall , the first show didn’t seem to me any better than a typical shnaas bahu serial .
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July 9th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
its such a horrible star cast and terrible background thunders/lightning effects, i wish if some other channel telecast the old BR chopra’s version at the same time to stop Ekta from troubling the young generation who are trying to understand our epics in some innocent way……………………
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July 9th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
bakwwas………….band karo ye mahabharat…………………..
kyunki iske cast n crew bilkul bhi acche nahi hain n anita hasandani is hopeless ……………..
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July 9th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Well… I still find a real frshness in Ekta’s Mahabharat..Afterall we r addcited to the Chopra version..It did complete more than 5 runs till now through different channels..so why not see something different in its presentation..I really liked the 1st episode..And there s a justification why many of the faces were not shown..this portion was shown to convinve that this was the root cuase for Kurukshetra war..I think they will air it once when when the story reaches the incident…with a full version and emotions of all…Its true that Natasha needs 2 improve in her dialogue delivery..however the camera angles, frames and treatment..everything is something fresh for us..
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July 9th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
oh come on guys! dare to think differently. I hate ekta and no one hates her more than me but i do applaud her for her attempt. She gave a new breath to the old epic. She has made it viewable for younger genertion by eradicating all those heavy urdu dialogues. All the other attempts to revive ramayan and other epics have failed to match the original bcos they copies the original and re-made it. thts wht there were heavy comparison and they failed to live upto the expectation. She “made” the mahabhara rather than re-making it. But i fail to understand one thing, why are pandavas or all hastinapur rajas and jantas dressed in black. maybe bcos thts the color of truth. i loved dushyasan. he looked so evil i wanted to kick him. ya but the pace in the first episode was too fast. there were no heavy dialogues of draupadi with her sasur and gurus. but then who knows what actually happened apart from ved vyas who is dead!. The second episode started with ganapati bappa travelling on mouse, never seen before. It was very cute and I must say she has used all the accessories of ganpati to his benefit, like putting a gold chain on his trunk to hide the trunk glued to his face. In short I am quite impressed with ekta’s mahabharat and i am glued to my tv from mon-thurs at 9 pm. I just pray she continues like that and improves!
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July 9th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
I agree with some of the comments that give about Ekta’s Mahabharat but it is not the Mahabharat of India, she already said (Kahani Hamare Mahabharat ki) so this is the Kahani of Balaji Telefilms and she narrated it. Only the one word for this serial is that HOPELESS HOPELESS HOPELESS HOPELESS and HOPELESS. This is because she only repeat the same actors of her serial not new faces why this . She always save money by using same actors in here every serial. Every actor’s performance is HOPELESS even Saakshi Tanwar , when ever i see her on screen i only remember her as Parvati of Kahani ghar ghar ki not Ganga of Mahabharat.
Some one said that think differently, why, Mahabharat means Mahabharat not (Kahani hamare Mahabharat ki) Ok lets see what she show on next episodes I think only one word HOPELESS same actors nothing else.
My son like this Mahabharat and said cartoon not Mahabharat.
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July 9th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
hello frenz..
i am a student of animation…n all that matters to me is…awsome special efects n camera work….but the second episode really disappoinded me…because of the use of those traditional ekta kapoor style…..my sincere request is to stop those irritating camera shifts n hosh fosh sounds……n keep it decent..i m loookin forward to smthint extremely creative n mindblowing.
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July 10th, 2008 at 12:09 am
Exactly my thoughts Kanav. The camera shifts, zooming in and around the actors faces, is highly irritating. The background music too needs to change, too much of thundering and lighting almost 15 - 20 times every episode.
Update - Episode 3 Review has been added.
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July 10th, 2008 at 8:52 am
I could not stop laughing as Ganesha came on. At one level one laughs -for reasons that I will explain- at another level one must feel angry.
I haven’t seen a worse caricature of Ganesha. Now, Ganesha is a very lovable kind of a god - playful, strangely ‘constructed’, forever seen as one who heralds good omen. Here. with his tubular trunk (not a tapering one as it should have been) and the golden covering up of where the tube joins the nose is so funny and tell-tale. In these days of great special effects and computer graphics, it should have been possible to do a much better, seamless job on this aspect rather than allow a tackiness that belongs to the films of Babubhai Mistry! Then the mouse on which he rode! Mouse as Ganesha’s vehicle is only a symbol, but here the mouse is of elephantine proportions since Ganesha is riding it. It is clear that the mouse, the background and Ganesha were all shot separately and put together on the computer. Again, tackiness writ large all over.
I can’t claim to be much of a tv serial watcher, but I know that at his juncture in our technical competence, we should have been able to do a much better job.
‘Horrible’ is the only adjective I can use if I feign to be a serious critic, and ‘laughable’ is the other one I would use if I went back to my compassionate avatar of an amused telly-watcher.
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July 10th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
hello again frenzz!!!
one more thing about the third episode…..no body noticed i suppose.The scene of boy killing the wolf is ditto copied from movie 300…heehee….bt still.. a good reproduction….n one more sincere request…pls produce some nice background score….which can be exploited very nicely in an epic…use of tablas,sitar,flutes…n all those totally awsome stuff!!
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July 10th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
what a bogus 3rd episode, the scene where Bheeshma or Devrath is fighting with a giant fox or animal was ripped directly from the movie 300. seriously why are they adding false cut scenes to the original. i am really pissed. the whole closeup of the faces and lighthing was driving me mad..
the direction is going to be another saas bahu types.. so i think i have made my decission from the first 3 episodes.
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July 10th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
oops i dint see your comment Kanav.. but i disagree its not a good reproduction.. you cant twist and turn an epic into a masala saas bahu kinda show..
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July 10th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
and i have to agree with Hersh, they have done an absolute disaster of a job. to portay Lord Ganesh… its funny but its not at the same time.. they are acting like its a soap opera when its actually not…
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July 10th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
hello frenz….
nw the 4th episode hs done a complete disaster. they hv restarted thoose fosh fush camera n sound effects like all other soaps.. dialougue bhi dhang se suna nahi jaata.. those pathetic slow motion effects.. pls ekta dont play with our expectations.. promo ws reallymind blowing.. because of that only i have been makin up mah mind to watch it daily.. but today it really tested mah patience.. pls dont involve this one into your TRP funda.. do some decent job!! n do it with full determination!!
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July 11th, 2008 at 5:26 am
thanks for the reviews! i hope arjun and the other pandavas enter soon
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July 11th, 2008 at 5:48 am
Asha, No one seem to have noticed ur concern, but thats not how ganesha wrote the story (with his teeth), he wrote it with the peacock feather pen, the most ancient type of pen. That ganesha broke one of his teeth is a totally different story altogether detached from the writing of mahabharata.
Guys, I am sitting here in US and happened to stumble upon these reviews, i had no idea Ekta Kapoor will try to do something like this. can’t wait to go to India and watch those episodes and kick her ass. lol, Duryodhan looks like the Indian superman. for, all those who are saying that new kids must be allowed to grow up on this mahabharat (ekta’s). my simple advice, just make them see both. they will decide what they like.
all these reviews indicate that she has delivered another shabby work, and frankly i am not surprised. I am sure she will air that vastraharan episode every month to keep the viewers (horny ones) glued. i am keen to know, who can do a better job than mukesh khanna and nitish bharadwaj in their respective roles. they were the stars of the original mahabharat serial and the two characters of the epic itself.
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July 11th, 2008 at 5:50 am
not to forget, shakuni.
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July 11th, 2008 at 6:30 am
lol, jst found out the episodes online, cant believe ganga went all the way to ladakh from hastinapur to drown her babies. i tell u, these pampered queens of India, they are jst too much. lol.
I am not even talkin about dialogue deliveries here. I wont blame the actors though, they must be doing what they are told to do. but i just have to say this, rupa ganguly’s performance and dialogues were far superior then this gal’s during the vastraharan scene. (anybody remember that dialogue when draupadi says to yudhishtir: Maharaj, pehle kisko daav pe lagaya? maharaj hokar apni patni ka ya daas bankar rani ka??) and whats the idea of letting the kauravs see that draupadi is getting the saree by divine means..lol.. that jst dropped the IQ of kauravas, they continue pulling the saree even when they know its endless. since, everything is so ridiculous maybe next time that episode is aired again, they should get the scene sponsored by one of the saree giants, Nalli Saree (they cud use a sticker on sudarshan chakra). gosh, i can talk so much abt it, but i will let others enjoy this new make.
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July 11th, 2008 at 6:42 am
hahahahhaa, the wolf scene is awesome.. OMG…. copyright infringement zindabad
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July 11th, 2008 at 8:37 am
The first episode had draupadi putting sindoor, Ekta did not care to study Mahabharatha , Draupadi was in her periods , she did not have bath , neither was she wearing sari , she was in a single piece of cloth. This was the main reason she did not want to go before elders.She tried her best not to go in sabha , that’s why Dushashan brought her dragging her by hair.Anita came almost willingly.I did not feel an iota of sympathy with her.The plight and humiliation was so well potratied in BR’s Mahabharatha.Why Ekta started with Cheer haran is obvious , she wanted the first episode to be emphatic ,which came all the way opposite.Ekta despite being a woman , does not show any humilitation with sincerity.Very shoddy cheer haran it was.Then so much lightening and thundering in every episode.Cheer was coming from chakra of Krishna bhagwan , how foolish? In fact all surprised that her cheer was not coming to end and the reason was unknown , it was not that chakra which anyone could see.
Ekta read Mahabharata first.Manish Malhotra is an ace designer , but he should have done research for clothes.People say what they used to wear is unknown, which is really false, many times in Mahabharatha
gifts and clothes are mentioned .
Ved Vyas (makrand deshpande) is looking complete idiot.We know how good actor he is. Second Episode he was doing yoga with both hands up and story narration at the same time.Whenever he comes I feel laughing.Hastinapur (some where around present Delhi ) has been shifted towards Himalayas ,so barren and plain.Ganga drops her second children in a pond and not in river Ganga.
Third episode with thundering and lightening after every dialogue , ganga tells her synonym and devvrata upbringing has been lifted with 300 . One scene was totally lifted with that movie.
4th episode Ekta tried another dramebaazi with the fight between shantanu and devvrata , which really did not happen.
Ekta you should die b4 making such stupid stuff.Your countdown has begun , your work never had quality and this is the epitome of how careless you are, TRPs have always been doubtful , surveying TV in metros
does not reflect how whole India thinks.The shameless prostitute like character of Prerna never liked by anyone , though it was your own tactics you managed to declare it a hit like Ramu showing Sarkar Raj a hit, but Ekta you cannot save this serial and you should shame on you that how can you make such insulting serials .You are superstitious and good at only going to and fro to temples , bhagwan bhaav ke bhuke hote hain , chadhavon ke nahin . Eveyone tries to make sth good after being commercially hit.Aamir khan tried lagaan and taare zamin par.KJ tried KANK , srk tried Paheli but you never try to make anYthing classic, what you made is the slapstick KYA KOOL… .jUST ONE LINE CHULLU BHAR PANI MAIN DOOB MARO , no research nothing .
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July 11th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Siddhart u r being 2 rude to ekta..actually its all bt publicity..if she wud have done d same ole stuff n d same ole manner wud any body notice?????so she has done it d modern way..da way it is understood by the present generation….o agree d character of draupadi sucks n shud b changd…bt rest is on a verge of improvemnt…d costumes for sure look royal….i specially likd d one of ganga……few touch ups can b goven n d show wil b betr i guess….this mahabharat luks bigger n larger than d last one……gd work ekta…cogos……
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July 12th, 2008 at 7:53 am
Ekta actually has people (employed by her) listening in on this forum. She is very smart and will change the way people want her to change. She is driven by TRP, and if things don’t move up, she will kill it. I think she is good sticking on to a genre she understands and does exceedingly well.
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July 12th, 2008 at 9:24 am
Let us not make Ekta’s Mahabaharata an international cause. She is getting her way. As we discuss, we make it more watched. I think we should ignore it to an extent that its TRP’s should plummet to sub zero, and INX is forced to drop it altogether.
There is another Mahabaharata being made by Bobby Bedi, for Star Plus. Dr Chandra Prakash (Chanakaya) Dwivedi was supposed to direct it, but he left in disgust. So now Bobby himself is directing it! God help the Kauravas and the Pandavas, and God help the believers of Gita!
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July 12th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
I totally agree that the dialog delivery has not been upto the mark. The narration - not good at all. They need to do something about it. Bad audio is spoiling the sometime-good-cinemetography.
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July 12th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
finally the much expected MAHABHARAT has arrived……but much to my and everyone’s dissappointment it could not live upto expectation!!! Mr Chopra has raised the bar of the previous MAHABHARAT,to such a high level,that i guess it’ll be difficult for ekta to reach or even be anywhere near it…. but alas lets not get too dis-appointed as its the world’s greatest epic!! and hopefully ekta will do something to mend her ways…
The story telling style of Balaji’s Mahabharat is very very weak,like in the old MAHABHARAT,the story kept on unfolding as it progressed ahead,but here they give away the plot at the introduction of the character
e.g,the introduction of Devrath,by rishi Vyaas,already tell us that he is going to become bheesmhma,with all unnecessary over melodramatic dialogs,with special effects thrown is from the movie 300,which gives away the essence of the character….like in the older version,the plot unfolds with every new episode…and building up the interest as it progresses…apart from that like everyone says,the costume ,the dialog delivery,camera work are all bad….im not against the costumes…but they dont go insync with the indian culture… they should have learnt some lesson from RAMAYAN showing at other channel,which is much better ,modern blend with tradition..nowonder ppl r like it quiet well…
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July 13th, 2008 at 8:37 am
sorry Harshit and all those who found me rude to Ekta. Harshit, I disagree with you that she is trying new,BR’s Mahabharatha is the most successfull serials on Indian Tv, therefore Ekta did not try anything new , but chose a tested and tried formula. If she had made serial on vayam raksham (ravan’s point of view of Ramayan ,written by Chatursen), then It would have been new.I love reading and I have read both Ramayan and Mahabharatha, so I cannot digest anything absurd .The promos were mind blowing , though I felt then only that slightly inspired from 300 especially the rain of arrows scene .I always knew , it would be bad as ekta’s other serials, but there was a little hope ,that it would be good , but that little hope was disillusioned. I am not against costumes , but those should have Indian touch ,women’s costumes are ok , but men look like Romans, even in the global world ,Kimono is still worn in Japan , Samba dancers still wear minimal clothes, Indians still wear saris.The cheer haran was shot in jaipur , to where I belong, the unit came on 3rd or 4th july , it was shot in a day (local newspaper covered it in details) and that episode came on 7th july.Why was such in a haste , that’s why the whole episode was so shoddy, research the whole incident , because it was the main reason of Mahabharat , and I agree with Hersh Goenk ,we are giving too much importance to this serial , because negative or positive , publicity is a publicity, so I would not add post my comments,
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July 13th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Very well said Siddharth. hey, does any one of u know if i can get hold of a dvd collection of the B.R. Chopra’s mahabharat?
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July 13th, 2008 at 9:51 am
By the way, Siddharth, I am glad she dint make something on vayam Raksham, for we would have never been informed the true story. ekta would have spiced and twisted it too.
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July 13th, 2008 at 11:14 am
I think the problem of Siddharth is , he has read too much and that’s why he felt so angry, this is a common problem with all those who are fond of reading, including my mom and to an extent me.
Siddharth might be having minute details but not all people have (like Draupadi’s periods and all that) .Siddharth accept the way things are.In this money centric world everything is around money ,the prime focus of Ekta is to dig money and nothing else.Kids now don’t read ,they grow on diet of such serials
and their standards are very low.This serial might get hit ,like all her baseless and absurd serials .Just see Partners and OSO are hit .Dont’ stop writing Siddharth , I liked your and Samarth comments , you both draw better comparisons and point out the insync in depth
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July 13th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
GOOD THINGS ABOUT EKTA’S MAHABHARAT: THE PERFORMENCE OF KIRAN KARMARKAR AS SHANTANU IS VERY GOOD.THE PERFORMENCE OF SAKSHI TANWAR AS GANGA IS VERY GOOD THE CHEMISTRY BETWEEN SHANTANU AND GANGA IS SUPERRB.
BAD THINGS ABOUT MAHABHARAT: THE PERFORMENCE OF ANITA HASNANDANI AS DRAUPADI IS EXTREMELY BAD.SHAKUNI’S PERFORMENCE IS VERY BAD.DURYODHAN IS HORRIBLE
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July 14th, 2008 at 2:32 am
im kinda dispointed since the ladies look more modern rather than …looking like what they are supposed to look like…i mean ganga has hair cut…wow i was excpecting her with long beautiful hair and Draupadi should have been the lady who is playing ganga…gosh it seems like im watching some greek epic…hate ekta
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July 14th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Actually i was very eager to watch Ekta’s Mahabharat. I believe she has Guts to prove herself and can make such a big epic. I am not at all avid follower of her serials still i admire her courage and command.
Her attempt of Mahabharat i must say is one of the best decision she must have taken after Hum Paanch.
However, I can understand its very difficult for people who have read and had watched BR Chopras Mahabharat to connect with the newer version because it is not at par at any part. Ekta is having best techniques and best epic. But she has failed to use it in proper way. She has just adopted Epic but not the style. I agree Manish Malhotra is an ace designer bu the might had forgotten that he was designing for Mahabharat and not for any award function. Secondly i dont think black colour should have been used for costumes. Its not good. and worst part about Ektas Mahabharat is her loved DRAUPADI played by Anita H. She sucks all time……..she is pathetic and horrible. She should be changed ASAP or else this version of Mahabharat wd go in bin very soon. Ekta pls visit this comments sooner and implement them.
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July 15th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
I agree. Ekta Kapoor’s Mahabharat is horrible. The first episode was the worst, with irritating characters, dialogues and costumes. It is a mistake to think that the young generation will like show just because of special effects, Greek/Roman costumes, shrieking and stupidity that is written all over. Our generation values authenticity and hates the saas - bahu serials that Ekta is trying to make Mahabharat into.
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July 15th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Guys,
If u r making any film or serial based on any story then think of that story and of that time..dont made
use that story using todays time. Ekta has introduced stunts in all possible scenes..how can this be possible ?? I Have seen all episode from start to till now..THey have copied a whole scene from English movie 300 while showing childhood of devrath(Bheeshma)…!! Dialogues are not pure..It doesnt make u feel that u r seeing Mahabharat..Its totally disaster…!! Casting as also poor and dressing style….!!
Definitely we need to give some more time to Ekta but i dont think she would be able to make up.
All main characters are perfect body builders..was that necessary to show.?
I have seen B R chopra’s Mahabharat Many times and somebudy stated above that this show was intially boring..so let me tell you guys…that BR chopra has shown based on Mahabharats story…!! Was Ekta’s
mahabharat’s story was demanding stunts..background music..special effects etc…Totally wasting…
I am not comparing this wid BRC’s but u should think in Mahabharat’s time …how it would have been at that time…!!!
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July 15th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
i love new mahabharat.it will be great.
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July 16th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Well… for those who have seen B.R.Chopra’s Mahabharat… the comparison between Mahabharat and Kahani Hamare Mahabharat Ki is obvious! But guys please come out of it!
We do not know what were the costumes, the language accents, the accessories, etc used by the people in those days… B.R.Chopra showed them to us in one way and Ekta is showing in another way! And I am sure none of us has seen how all these things were in the ancient days! So.. for sure.. we shouldn’t question on these fronts! B.R.Chopra made the characters look and feel the way the crowd of 80s would accept and Ekta is making the characters look and feel the way crowd of 2008 would accept!
Just imagine how difficult it would be for us if the characters used heavy and difficult language - we would spend most of the time in understanding the dialogues rather than understanding what is happening! Moreover, the costumes and accessories well suit the characters.. we do not know if the ladies in those days used to be covered from top-to-toe or were they dressed in the way they are portrayed in this show!
I had missed the episodes in the first week- so may be I cant comment about Anita’s performance! But we havent seen much of her- lets hope that she develops more acting skills with time and we get to see more of her!
But the actors playing Shantanu, Devavrat, Ganga, Satyavati, Satyavati’s father are doing great job - the way Satyavati’s father was emoting the scene of talking to Devavrat was awesome! We could link back in time how He would have put forward all his points while talking to a Prince!
But the thing that upsets me is the whoosh-whoosh sounds after important dialogues and camera zooming around the faces of actors to catch their expressions- especially when they want to show that people are surprised and/or shocked! This technique looks good in saas-bahu soaps but not in period shows! Also, i think the team needs to improve with the special effects that are used in the show- many a times we can make out that the things are artificial- especially when they show the Gods- Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh.. the backgrounds in the scenes look unreal! I wish there is some way that we can notify them about the scope of improvement!
Rest.. the team of Kahani Hamare Mahabharat Ki is doing excellent work! Thanks to Ekta for producing this show! We really needed something like this on television since we have had enough of the saas-bahu sagas and reality shows!
I just hope that the way after the success of Indian Idol season1, every channel now telecasts atleast two reality shows in a day; other channels do not start making other epics and overfeed us with period shows!!!
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July 16th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
I already stop watching this bull shit made by horrible Ekta kapoor. She doesn’t know how to made a good serial , her every serial is lack of direction and full of her interference. Her every director is just direct what she wants because “Yeh roti ka mamla hai”. So please every one comment because I know about the serial from here.
I am from USA but I request to all who lived in India to request Ekta Kapoor stop making these type of serial and don’t play with the sentiments of Indian that lived in all over world. I thing all Indian that lived in India start the agitation against Ekta Kapoor to stop this serial.
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July 16th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
GOOD THINGS ABOUT EKTA’S MAHABHARAT :
They were dressed more like Greek gods .
Its such a horrible star cast .
I totally agree that the dialog delivery has not been upto the mark.
No research.
Ekta Kapoor’s Time is over and she going to down .
EKTA KAPOOR’S SUCKS
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July 16th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
After the horrible first week , first epiosde of second week is okay but it is so insipid .
so many turns by ekta herself like semi clad satyawati leading herself for marriage but to an extent digestable . Devvrath is looking father of his dad , kiran karamakar is looking much younger then people’s fav rohit roy.
Shantanu vows not to see devvratha till he drops his vow not to marry, a twist by ekta herself. Greek Shantanu is wearing black all the time.Does she not know black is still taboo in Hindu society and a good character in black , only ekta can do it. It is said m ghazani plundered India 17 times and every time he found gold, but you can’t see gold in bounty in any character’s ornaments.Shantanu wearing black necklace.
The epic does not look like epic but soap of today with too much masala unnecessarily added .Nothing indian in costumes. Vedvyas look and talk like idiot as always.oNLY people who have grown up watching ekta’s serials will like it because they have very low standards.
To stop this serial one should report to the producers of 300 and the serial will stuck in copyright infringement
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July 17th, 2008 at 12:07 am
i am a great fan of mahabhartat.i have seen mahabharat n number of times and loved all the characters.i had huge expectations from this serial as it had great promos.The first episode was disappointing specially clothing was pathetic and never been part of indian culture.Actore were more lo0kng greek or roman gods.Camera angles were similar to all saas bahu operas…Still Aryan vaid was loking good.Pandvas apart from yudistir were standing like robots with face hidden looked silly.It was not at all good experiene.Let see future episodes..
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