Cinema

Star Plus' Mahabharat - A Review

Ever since I was a child, I have been fascinated by the Mahabharat. BR Chopra's Mahabharat was shown on TV in the 90s and I was subsequently glued to the television every sunday with my entire family.

Recently the Mahabharat has been adapted twice for TV. The first one was the disastrous attempt by Ekta Kapoor (Kahani Hamare Mahabharat Ki), which infuriated me so much that I stopped watching it after the first few episodes.

The more recent attempt by Star Plus is, while not perfect, at least watchable. However, I still get frustrated by the apparent lack of research that has gone into re-making this epic. Entire sub-stories have been glossed over. The story of Shantanu and Ganga reduced to a couple of hasty scenes.
 
The characters too are disappointing. Satyavati has been represented as an ambitious and selfish woman whose sole aim is to secure the throne for her progeny and yet the Satyavati of the texts was very different. Her marriage to the king may have been based on a terrible sacrifice by Devratha but for all intents and purposes, she was loyal to the throne to the end and eternally grateful to Bhisma. This depth and complexity of their relationship has not been explored in the current serial.

Yet another characterization that I was unhappy with was Amba. I have always sympathized with Amba because of the way she was treated in the epic. However, the Amba that is depicted in this new serial is just plain annoying! When she is introduced, she burns down a field in order to meet her beloved King Shalv. She is shown as an arrogant princess. And yet her sisters are shown to be demure, more than happy to go along with Bhisma to marry a man who, as stated above, is weak and a drunkard and it seems prone to burning fields as well!

Some other inaccuracies that I can’t help noticing are the way the battle scenes have been shot. Vichitravirya is captured by the Panchal King and is about to be punished for burning crops when he is rescued by Bhisma who turns up all gung ho, and pulls some extraordinary moves to rescue the hapless prince. At one point he is attacked by the king of Panchal from behind, something which would have been unthinkable for a king to do in those times. The Kshatriyas at the time of the Mahabharat were very particular about the Kshatriya code which stated that you can only fight your opponent when he has the same weapon as you and then too only from the front after a warning. An attempt to attack when your opponent’s back was turned would have been viewed as a extreme cowardice.

The kingdom of Hastinapur is shown to be surrounded by mountains and rivers. I am no expert of geography, but I do believe that Hastinapur was located in present day Haryana and there aren’t any mountains for miles around! In some of the scenes, fireworks are shown, which weren’t invented until the 7th Century A.D.

At Devratha’s coronation as a ‘Yuvraj’, we see dancers performing the south Indian Bharat Natyam dance, which was again a little too farfetched (even if south Indian dancers did come all the way to the coronation of a north Indian king, why weren’t there any dancers from north India present or shown?)
All the characters are shown to be wearing impossibly heavy and gaudy jewelry and tons of make up! The background music and camera movement is sometimes too melodramatic.

These may seem like small insignificant things, however, when put together they highlight the lack of research that has gone into the epic. It seems the makers were more concerned with how to make everything look larger than life and yes, a significant amount of money has been spent on the making of this serial but the results are not visible on screen since the CGI effects are simply atrocious. 
I particularly love the way the Gandhars have been shown to be different from the rest of the kings, their furs suggest they lived in a colder region (again no way of verifying but at least not everyone in the serial is wearing impossibly ornate and heavy gaudy jewelry). Similarly I love the irony of Gandhari being scared of the dark.
 
The makers had said that the serial is aimed at the youth of today, which worries me because of the inaccuracies and also because of the way that major female characters have been depicted thus far. Given the choice, I would rather show my children BR Chopra’s Mahabharat.

In conclusion then, some good things but a lot of frustratingly annoying inaccuracies as well. However, having said that, at least this serial is watchable unlike the last attempt which ended in disaster.
 

26-Sep-2013

More by :  Puja Vaid

Top | Cinema

Views: 5589      Comments: 55



Comment sagar arts wale geeta gyan mai wo sab question hai jo geeta sunte samay ek aam admi ke man mai aati hain

lakshit
17-Aug-2014 20:41 PM

Comment hi all

sagar arts ka geeta gyan to mai bhi sunti hun i am a big fan of sagar arts.

shobha
17-Aug-2014 20:24 PM

Comment jo new Mahabharata dekh rahe hain mai unhe kuch querrry karna chaungi ki hum kaun hai?kaha se aye hai?kaha chale jayenge?Dharm kya hai?Karma kya hai?

agar answer nahi pata to mai dungi answer mere pass answer hai or iska credit jata hai sagar arts ke shree krishna ka geeta gyan.

shikha
17-Aug-2014 20:21 PM

Comment Even I am Die Hard Fan shreei Krishna by sagar arts'.

i am a daily viewr of eeta gyan of shree Krishna in you tube. it shows the truth of our life.

once you listen the geeta gyan by sagar arts aapko apni life se koi Maya Moh nahi rahega.zindagi ka sahi meaning samajh aa jaayega.

Geeta mai Krishna ne kaha ki HUM Janam se pehle nahi the Marne ke baad bhi nahi rehenge sirf beech mai hi hain.I really a trur fan of shree Krishna by sagar arts.

akash
17-Aug-2014 20:16 PM

Comment This new Mahabharat in Start Plus is an utter failue and disrespect to our religious sentiment. They have changed and contorted the charecters of the stories and even the entire story for near about 70 percent.This is an insult to great sage like Veda Vyas.They could have used some other name other than mahabharata.The great warrior like Bheema is represented like a joker.The Pndavas have projected as weak and powerless.This Mahabharat seems to be favouring anachonism, unethical means, lying, nasty polictics because it seems to support the Kauravas actually.I would suggest to reject this Mahabharat. - See more at: http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=14991#sthash.O1pCPXON.dpuf

komal
17-Aug-2014 20:09 PM

Comment are yaar yaha to sagar arts ke fans mil gaye .ramanand sagr ke Krishna mai se mughe sabse acha geeta gyan hi laga.or saare characters to masha Allah unki acting to ultimate or Krishna to No Words he look like real Krishna.

anjum
17-Aug-2014 20:01 PM

Comment hi ravi mai bhi shri Krishna ka geeta gyan you tube pe dekhti hun.aaj se nahi pehle se.Yarr mughe bhi sagar arts ka geeta gyan bahut acha lagat hai.mughe ab geeta ki puri knowledge hai.or follow bhi karti hun.

pankaj
17-Aug-2014 19:58 PM

Comment This new serial (Mahabharata ) on star plus in an insult to the original epic.

rajani
17-Aug-2014 19:55 PM

Comment Wow shri Krishna Ahhhhaaaa.mai to har Roz you tunbe mai dekhta hun ramanand sagr ka geeta saar mai complete geeta hai.

or pura explain karke bataya hai.

sagar arts ki to baat kcuh or hai yaar.and plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz don't compare shri Krishna with new Mahabharata plzzzzzzzzzz I would request you.

shailesh
17-Aug-2014 19:46 PM

Comment are yaar agar aap logo ko new Mahabharata achi nahi lagti to mat dekho yaar.

lekin old Mahabharata or sagar arts ka Krishna mughe sagar arts ke geeta gyan sunane mai bada acha lagta hai shanti milti hai.

agar new pasand nahi to old dekh lo.chill yaar

viraj
17-Aug-2014 19:40 PM

Comment BR CHOPRA sagar arts ka shri Krishna best ever hai sagar arts ka geeta gyan mai wo sab kuch hai jo ek aam insaan ke zindagi se jude hue hai islye ek baar geeta gyan Ramananda sagar ka zaror dekho.

sameer
17-Aug-2014 19:32 PM

Comment Hi all,

new Mahabharata thik thak hai lekin kafi kuch galat dikhaya jaa raha hai.
or haan draupadi achi nahi hai she is not good looking draupadi was very very beautifull.

Characters jayda ache nahi hai BR chopra Or Sagar Arts ka shri Krishna bahut acha hai ek baat zaror dekhna you tube pe.

Google pe search karo geeta gyan to sagar arts ka dehna.zindagi ki saccai hai.

I

ravi
17-Aug-2014 19:21 PM

Comment new Mahabharata is totally torcher for peoples. And must stop.new Mahabharata mai jo bhi dikhaya jata hai use jayda to log jaante hai .to isliye humhe bekoof mat banao.or arjun ke bow mai teer apne aap kaise aa jate hain bina mantra bole?

niranjan
17-Aug-2014 19:10 PM

Comment Geeta gyan bilkul bakwas hai new Mahabharata ka.Koi feeling nahi aati.

I still watch shri Krishna by Ramanands sagar the most important part which is geeta gyan.i realy like the geeta gyan of old shri Krishna.


and in new Mahabharata all characters walk like models they total new Mahabharata is not effective at all it should stop

vikas
17-Aug-2014 19:06 PM

Comment Ye star plus ki Mahabharat mislead kar raha hai sabko .agar apko pata hai ki Mahabharat mai kya kya hua tha to aap sab is Mahabharat ke against honge kyuki ye new Mahabharata bakwas hai.sab asie chalet hai jaise Ramp walk karte hai.

koi charatcrer acha nahi hai

mai sabko ye suggest karungi ki Ramanand sagar ki shri Krishna dekhe youtube pe sepecliy geeta gyan aap roye bina nahi eh sakte.

rajat
17-Aug-2014 18:58 PM

Comment One stupid thing in Mahabharata on star plus is that Arrows simply appear in bows, there is really no need a quiver. Wow. Rediclous technology.No also Krishna is not able to speak effective hindi

please stop showing stupid Mahabharata on star plus

manoj
17-Aug-2014 18:48 PM

Comment The characters of Mahabharata of star plus are too disappointing.

please stop this Nonsense Mahabharata on star plus. Star plus should create only saas bahu serials

I would request to the director of Mahabharata please watch srhi Krishna by Ramananda sagar.
and watch espicaly geeta gyan

ankita
17-Aug-2014 18:37 PM

Comment I lost interest in watching this Mahabharata and stopped watching it. Its not Mahabharata its publicity.star plus should stop this Nonsense.

Would request you to watch shri Krishna by Ramananda SAGAR

and the best part of it is Geeta gyan which the best thing very heart touching.

raj
17-Aug-2014 18:32 PM

Comment Please stop the Nonsense Mahabharata which comes on star plus.

geeta gyan is the important part of Mahabharata but geeta gyan of Mahabharata on star plus is ridiculous not effective at all.


Would request you all please watch shri Krishna by Ramanand Sagar best ever .

ashu
17-Aug-2014 17:37 PM

Comment star plus is expert in making ssas bhau serials achanak Mahabharata ?why ? ye Mahabharata hai ya MassalaMahabharata ridiculous bakwas dilouge bakwas characters .Krishna to thik se bol tak nahi sakta.

if you really want to know about the true Mahabharata watch shri Krishna Ramanad sagar specially geeta gyan which is heart touching.

and Mahabharata on star plus is so torcher.


veena
17-Aug-2014 17:31 PM

Comment First I thought that Mahabharat was really a boring epic but after seeing Star Plus Mahabharat my character was totaly changed. Yes I agree that there are flaws in it but overall the directors and the actors are trying their best. I totaly disagree with you Puja. And I think that BR Chopra's crap is nothing in front of the new Mahabharat

Nelson David
16-Aug-2014 01:57 AM

Comment While making serials on such great epics like Mahabharata, one thing must be ensured that the original story is followed truthfully. It is available for anybody to read and in almost every language. The serial being telecast on Star Plus is twisting the story so much that it has become a joke. The latest episodes showing Bheem - Duryodhan fight is being stretched too far with Balram's intervention asking Krishna not to help Pandavas and Draupadi requesting him to allow Krishna to help Pandavas. I could not find any such thing in the original Mahabharat text nor the Story by Ramesh Menon. In fact he is shown to have reached the scene of their fight at almost the end and then criticizing Krishna for helping Bheem by pointing to Duryodhan's thighs.

RAKESH
09-Aug-2014 13:55 PM

Comment Hi,

New mahabhart on starplus is very good specially speeches of Krishna about life was amazing, its entertaining story with little bit commercial and masala envolved in it. The roles Krishna ( Sourabh Jain ) is fantastic, shaheer sheikh is also doing fabulous job, Arav Chowdhary is always good, Paras Arora done good job, Aham Sharma is also doing tremendous job in his character.

All i can say its a good recall of epic indian history.

Chinmoy
01-Aug-2014 00:52 AM

Comment this mahabharat is much better compared to br chopra (altough factually incorrect at some points)....graphics,derection etc are better....first 180 episodes were perfect...but the kurukshetra war has been shown very poorly

and one more thing @puja vaid ....kurukshetra was in haryana not hastinapur

arunabh
16-Jul-2014 09:02 AM

Comment Well...just to express my views about the new mahabharat, the only word which would explain it is 'AMAZING'.....To be very honest, earlier i didnot care about the indian mythology and found it really confusing.......not to be offensive but still i found the earlier mythological shows VERY LOUD and found that they were just elongated a lot with their typical hindi and horrible cinemawork.....even if i tried to i could not endure it for more than a few episodes.........Even though their acting would have been superb but i simply cannot relate them to the real ones.

People loved the earlier Mahabharat a lot because
1. At that time no other channels (which also means options) were available
2. People had no other daily mode for entertainment
2. It was telecasted only on Sundays, thus increasing people's excitement
3.It was the first ever representation of Mahabharat , so it got really loyal viewers , who were not desperate to compare it to any others' but simply absorbed all that was shown without any questions
4. As it was the one due to which people got to know about the MAHABHARAT therefore they accepted it to be real.

Now when the new Mahabharat was featured ......it didn't get any loyal viewers but just got thousands of critics who were to comment on all of their hardwork
with so many other serials going around people did not easily switch to the newer one.........With the older mahabharat imprinted on the minds of elderly all they got in the beginning was comparison........Well as for me i watched the new one first and then saw the videos of the older one...and found out that there is simply no comparison between the two................

PLEASE if you want to watch the new Mahabharat...........WATCH IT AS VIEWERS AND NOT AS CRITICS......

Thankyou
Palak

Palak
07-Jul-2014 07:51 AM

Comment Not meaning to disrespect those who adore the new tv series on star plus, mahabharata,, I would like to tell you that you are simply swayed by appearances. of course, every actor is pretty enough, even Shakuni, but plz, dont appreciate such craps and read the text. if you dnt have the patience, as it is quite evident from your penchant for graphics, six-packs etc, try reading Ramesh Menon's Mahabharata: A modern rendering, or watch B.R Chopra's mahabharata. The makers have all to rights for innovation, but they really can't distort things and facts and that's so with so much idiocy. let me give some examples:

1. Virat War never happened. wow, how wise!
2. the friendship between karna and duryodhana is still celebrated, something that was not guided by selfish interests. here, it has been shown that duryodhana is simply using Karna as a pawn. he even called him a sutaputra, when it is well known that duryodhana was against casteism. if you rally want to feel the intensity of the bond they shared, read the text, or go for the older tv version.
3. Arrows simply appear in your bows, you really dnt need a quiver. great. hail technology. tell me then, how are they going to show karna's use of nagastra against arjuna? this nagastra contained a deadly serpent whose mate was killed by arjuna during khandavdahana. to avenge this serpant took his place in karna's quiver without the latter's knowledge.
4. Maharathis always fight on chariots. But here we see Shakuni, Dussashana, upapandavas on horseback.
5. pandavas' exile has been indifferently and insignificantly portrayed.
6. Shikhandi was not born a woman and then turned into a eunuch. ridiculous. she was born a eunuch, and she was permitted to fight in the war.
There are more...but my hands are getting tired...

Kaustav Chanda
06-Jul-2014 14:41 PM

Comment if they have not moulded the story according to themselves,then the serial would be superb......

parul
23-Jun-2014 14:52 PM

Comment Hi Puja,
I completely agree with your critique of the serial Mahabharata as shown in Star Plus. In order to make the show pompous, the characters exhibit modern day mannerisms. The story has been twisted a lot which was completely unnecessary. The story of Mahabharata contains within itself numerous twists and portrays the ups and downs of human life. It makes one ready to face all the challenges of life. I feel strongly that not much research went into the making of the serial, one example being the weak portrayal of the character of Bheema who is one of the strongest characters in Mahabharata.
Thanks for your able and honest comment.

Regards
Nirman Ganguly

Nirman Ganguly
01-Jun-2014 02:20 AM

Comment Some things are very good and some are bad, I think this new mahabharat is equally to BR Chopra, BUT one thing I cannot accept is subadhra and draupadi are too far from beautiful. Why don't they use the cast of Rukmini as Draupadi and the cast of durshala as subadhra

Ardi
22-May-2014 11:18 AM

Comment This new Mahabharat in Start Plus is an utter failue and disrespect to our religious sentiment. They have changed and contorted the charecters of the stories and even the entire story for near about 70 percent.
This is an insult to great sage like Veda Vyas.
They could have used some other name other than mahabharata.
The great warrior like Bheema is represented like a joker.
The Pndavas have projected as weak and powerless.
This Mahabharat seems to be favouring anachonism, unethical means, lying, nasty polictics because it seems to support the Kauravas actually.
I would suggest to reject this Mahabharat.


Sourav Kolay
03-May-2014 10:57 AM

Comment I think story of Virat Yudh in Star Plus Mahabharat was not real.I just saw the episode but it seems totally wrong.IN actual Virat Yudh was won by Arjun by using Sammohan Astra.but in star plus It was ended by just Bhishma request to arjun to stop the war.....

Manoj
26-Apr-2014 05:33 AM

Comment see i am a big fan of star plus mahabharat graphics,background music, acting are superb really. all the actors are like future of indian cinemas. but the problem is they twisting the stories very much till vastraharan the stories was 90% correct but after vastraharan they are going too fast so i request star plus that dont go too fast shopw actual story u r showing correct story bot actual story thats the problem otherwise all are superb and i request to those people who critics this mahabharat that there are some good points in this version also so appreciate that points also dont always criticise.

shyam sunder iyer
16-Apr-2014 08:10 AM

Comment 1. New Mahabharata serial broadcasting on star Plus is total waste, not more than circus, complete joke.

2. Things are comparable when they match equally in most respect but in this scenario comparing Star Plus Mahabharata with B R Chopra's Mahabharata is simply waste of time like comparing gold with brass. No one can produce like B R Chopra's Mahabharata in future whatever technology, money, time they spent.

If we can make a poll though it is worthless, Star Plus Mahabharata will not stand anywhere against B R Chopra's Mahabharata. This is guarantee.

3. And acting, character by character, individual by individual, no one can beat B R Chopra's Mahabharata character and individual. Even after 25 yrs we know the name of every character. and people who don't know it need to let them know that people started praying Nitish Bhardwaj as lord Krishna. They touch his feet, offer puja and asked for blessed.

Much more things can said but this will be like comparing and that i don't want cuz sun can not be compare with candle or whatever.

Thanks

Rakesh tiwari
10-Apr-2014 18:52 PM

Comment The story is not inline with original. Its a mixed bag of original and some cooked up sequences of director/writer to create some sensational element.

Overall, the show poses a risk of misleading the gullible viewers with a mutated version that is not in line with original.

Sincere request to all viewers, please also read the original Mahabharat while you watch this to understand what the actual story was.


Murali Ch
06-Apr-2014 08:18 AM

Comment This show is far superior to BR chopra's in terms of acting and the gyan given
i stopped watching br's after first few episodes as i felt it was horrible
1) plot- br wastes time in the shantanu arc. In the episode when dashraj refuses shantanu. we have a song sequence showing us wat we hav seen 2 mins ago. Similarly in kunti's first appereanc samay repeats wat kuntibhoj already told us. that her name is prtha,etc. also wen karna is born they show the effect with the yelow light for too long.
2)gyan given- in br,the same episode a woman is described as a"mata" and "jeeti hui dharti ki tukra". describing woman as a thing is wrong. wen i watched br i could not relate to pandu at all. this was an insult to all women.in the new series krishna's gyans in most episodes are relatable.
3) acting- only watch karna's birth episode in both series. in the old one, surya's actor seems bored and kunti's acting is not that great. in the new one, kunti genuinely feels guilty wen she lets go of karna. Shafaq naaz 's performance in that scene is great. also i feel dritirashtra and pandu's acting is superior in this series


shuddha kibria
15-Mar-2014 11:57 AM

Comment We spend our valuable time in arguing about history. What we should get from this tv serial is what is good and what is bad. Marrying 5 person for a female today is wrong, and the same applies to a male too. There are Shakunis with and around us too. We have to be careful. Its not just a story, its an epic. We have to enjoy this as a tv serial only and take only the good things and learn from the bad. For better facts and story read 'Amar Chitra Katha'

Abhijith Dev
24-Feb-2014 06:57 AM

Comment I am fan of this starplus mahabharat...
The graphics is too good.. but what I expect in main role is Duryodan & karan...an the role of duryodan & karan in is mahabharat acting is not good.....

prakash kumar
23-Feb-2014 07:20 AM

Comment I dont remember old Mahabharta so for me it was like first time watching the great epic.

I had lots of questions and this new Mahabharta explains them very nicely. Specially gyan given by bhagwan Krishna. Each and every gyan is so much appropriate and relevant in day to day life.

earlier I always use to wonder how come Draupadi was allowed to marry 5 people just because Kunti had ordered by mistake.

The explanation given here , specially conversation between Kunti and Yudhishtar , made su much of sense.

I still remember what he says to Kunti" jinhe aadesh dene ka aadhikar hota hai , uneh Anjaan rahne ka nahee" something like that .

Specially all the explanation about "Dhama"

My only thing is not all the people have time to read great Epic but this serial is serving the purpose of educating people about what is good and what is bad from "dharma " point of view.

By the way, My husband is Muslim, and now he has great respect for Drapaudi and feel, understand her pain .






Nishi
20-Feb-2014 21:42 PM

Comment This new serial in an insult to the original epic. I can't imagine them twisting it so much...Bhishma, Vidur, Yudhishthir, etc. roles are so diminished that I cannot imagine. The way they are shown escaping the palace is laughable. In real, Vidur had sent a man to dig canal to get them out. I hope the young generation does not take this as real...

Mikemaj
20-Feb-2014 16:13 PM

Comment this new mahabharat serial is superb. if can't appreciate it don't watch it. everything is soooo great. i haven't missed one episode and its awesome. yes they have changed the story a bit and that's the only fault in the serial. Krishna and duryadhan are so appropriate. even bhisma and shakuni and of course arjun. the teamwork is great and i love it. although the draupadi could have ben FAR FAR better since she was famous for her celestial beauty...

nayanika majumdar
19-Feb-2014 02:33 AM

Comment this star plus mahabharat is great.No other mahabharat can come up to this level,This mahabharat is 10000000000000000 times better than br chopra one.In this the bheeshm is superb.

ayush agrawal
14-Feb-2014 01:07 AM

Comment two things the production house should have done before touching this epic text and making a joke out of it. Recruited there cast from drama schools or professional actors than handpicking junk from a gymnasium.Second, they should include more dialogues in their episodes which actually convey clear idea of the things happening in the episode. For 4 episodes they showed the stupid swayamwar .

I really feel worried how these TV shows for monetary gains are ruining the soul of our ancient epics and puranas . There are so much teachings which modern era people can learn to improvise on their lifestyle .

ashwani chandra
11-Feb-2014 11:06 AM

Comment In real maha bharata before going to swayamvar Bheema kills Bakasura which is missing , I don't why they removed it.Bheema is very powerful character along with Arjun why they showing Bheema as a joker we would like to see the serial as original without changing the original story.

Anil Yaji
07-Feb-2014 03:56 AM

Comment Respected Sir/Madam

As Im one of greatest of fan of star plus . . Im glad to request tat pls reapeat the Mahabharatha serial twice a day so tat thousands of fans can watch the serial on their convenient time . . I hope tat Star plus team will take a good action on my comments . .

Thank you
Regards
Vijay


Vijay Anand Kumar
06-Feb-2014 22:38 PM

Comment the new mahabharat is realy going awesome......... we like this very much.the entire cast is playing good role.but this could be more enjoyable if the locations could be real n please try to speak our typical hindi not today's !!!

dipti
06-Feb-2014 06:38 AM

Comment There is complete distortion of facts in Star Plus Mahabharata right from the beginning. This great epic was given to us by great sage veda vyasa. The serial makers have completely twisted the story beyond imagination and this aspect is extremely saddening. There is no proper research done and it is not upto the mark as far as content is concerned. The way Draupadi is being portrayed is really stupid.

ANYTIME BR CHOPRA'S MAHABHARATA WAS FAR SUPERIOR IN ITS CONTENT AS LOT OF RESEARCH HAS GONE INTO IT.

I would prefer my children watching BR Chopra's version rather than star plus version.

I lost interest in watching this Mahabharata and stopped watching it.

Sakshi
16-Jan-2014 05:34 AM

Comment Hi all,
Star plus mahabharat excellent. no words superb acting , superb screen play, superb direction and extra ordinary themes music.

Really am enjoying a lot by watching daily epi sodes with out missing.

Thanks to the whole team who ever working behind the screen n on the screen..

Ayub
08-Jan-2014 10:53 AM

Comment Disgusting series.
3rd rate direction, twisting facts to one's fantasy, re-engineering characters, projecting today's vulgarity on them.
The bandmaster in Gangs of Wasseypur is far better than the overdose of chanting in the background. You have all the technology to create special effects today, yet you can't come near something that was created 25 yrs ago.
This one makes Ramayana of 1986 seem far better in terms of quality, let alone the 1988 Mahabharata. What a shame!

0bserver
07-Jan-2014 01:44 AM

Comment Though I watch the Star plus Mahabharat every episode without missing, I am deeply frustrated the way the directors are taking the story into their hands.It is like carrying drainage water in golden container. What is the use of using such good set designs and other technical values without following proper story, especially in the case of great epics like Mahabharat. As some body mentioned, I am not unhappy with the present story by comparing it with earlier one. Even who ever listen or read actual Mahabharat with out watching the BR chopra also frustrate to the same extent. The frustration is increasing episode after episode. They are changing the story completely. It is utter disaster. They would have telecast this serial with some other name. Who the hell are these story writers to change the story like this. It is a disrespect to the great sages like VEDA VYASA maharshi. Each and every character in the story is have its own philosophical shades and fit properly in the complex story without any loose edges. Present star plus serial writers changing the characters and their philoshophical view points in the way they want. The story is so complex, if one change the characters like that then they won;t fit properly at some incidents when the story is moving forward. As a whole the present serial ( I wont call it as Mahabharat) is utter disaster. But the bad part is still i watch it as i am a big fan of Mahabharat.




Rajesh
17-Dec-2013 11:51 AM

Comment What burns me up is the lack of research and knowledge before attempting to present such a great epic on television. On top of that they are messing with the text and concocting alterations in characters and in their course tampering with the greatness of the epic. The anachronism is distinct in the special effects and in certain dialogues of the characters. What happens when someone watches this show who has no previous knowledge of the Mahabharat?
BR Chopra's Mahabharat stands way on top. The current version is hardly a comparison.

Suvadeep Sarker
02-Dec-2013 13:40 PM

Comment Hey Pooja, I m not agree with review. I had not missed single episode of early Mahabharata. But I am also watching &waiting every episode of new Mahabharata alongwith my children. Its very good program right now. We have to comeout of influence of old and watch this new.

Shrikant
02-Dec-2013 10:26 AM

Comment I think there is a Tech nology overdose in this serial. If it is intended for youth, then truth must be told the essance of Mahabharat must be maintained and not fabricaated. There is also a Shakuni overdose. Dhrutrashtra destroyed all by himself without the help of Shakuni. BR Chopra's Mahabharat, though lacked technology, was much better reflection of the truth.

Mike M
07-Nov-2013 08:28 AM

Comment I agree with all the points that you have put forth but at the same time you didn't highlighted some of the good points in the new Mahabharata. Some of them are as follows:
1. Gyaan given by Bhagwaan Krishna in almost all the episode
2. Pace of the episode.
3. The amount of effort that had gone into making of the episode
4. Brilliant acting by all the actors

There are many more things that are worth appreciating. So please when you are reviewing any art form please look for the good points also.
Regards,
Nitin Ahuja

Nitin Ahuja
25-Oct-2013 13:09 PM

Comment Your analysis is what I have been crying out loud in my mind! I am equally annoyed with the portrayal of Amba and Satyavati. They have crossed all limits to highlight the revengful and selfish nature respectively of these two leading ladies. My concern is, if this is what we feed the youth brains on, then you may only expect them to learn "See ...Mahabharat happened because of Satyavati's ambition to begin with and Amba's revengeful nature..hence the conclusion is, Females have always caused wars"...this has been a cry since ages. And now, the new atrocious addition is the disrespectful attitude of Dhristrashtra towards Gandhari. Agreed he was not a fair King, but it is hard to agree, that he was not taught how to treat a wife. Such stupid depictions if shown to the youth will lead to comments like "see, women were also treated like this in our culture even so many thousand years back"...while in reality, the only culture which gave equal if not more power to women in terms of rights and respect was ours. It was much later after the Mughal carnage that rape culture and disrespect for females began!! The only savior I feel at times are Gandhari's dialogues. But even then, I am concerned that soon, her character will be made very miserable with her husband treating her miserably and soon her sons (if we assume the baseline of character development we have seen so far).

Sircar
09-Oct-2013 22:49 PM

Comment Hi Puja,
I agree with you 100%. The Mahabharata serial by B.R. Chopra was so great with all great characters that nobody can beat it in future at any time. I am not sure why new producers are not able to realize the fact. They should concentrate on other topic rather than the Mahabharata which has already got more that 100% success. I don’t think that anybody would be interested to see any new characters because of the excellent role by B. R. Chopra’s Mahabharata characters. Each and every character was seems to be really born to perform the given role. I have watched all B.R Chopra’s Mahabharata episodes many times and suggested my friends to watch the same on internet. (Online Mahabharata)

Thanks for your honest comment.

Regards,
Hemraj Saner

Hemraj Saner
29-Sep-2013 04:10 AM