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Mahabharata is a vast and exceptionally fascinating conundrum. I am an agnostic atheist and nothing whatsoever about Hinduism attracts me, except Mahabharata. In Mahabharata, I see a variety of characters and a plethora of potential learning that is impossible to grasp at once. One has to go through the texts and related art, articles and researches time and time again to absorb the meaning of it all. Because in simple words, Mahabharata is life. It cannot be defined objectively. As we come, none of us is perfect and as a matter of fact, no aspect of life can be seen as wholly white or black. Grey, it is. So our all the characters in Mahabharata, crudely humane with only the packaging of royalty of the ancient times, really. That being said, I am immensely happy that the makers of this show have it all understood inside their heads about the epic. I felt an instant connect between the show and myself because it was depicting all my notions about Mahabharata.
Krishna's bit in tonight's episode was a learning experience in itself. My ten year old brother was actually listening hard, I am afraid he did not fully understand it. Maybe even I didn't because you don't get it all in a day really. Krishna's explanation of identity was thought-provoking and yet quite plain and obvious. Our ceaseless desires construct the framework of our identity. We may be a lot of things but all those things can be held back except perhaps our desires. Might I add, Saurabh Jain proved in the first glimpse of his character itself that he's your quintessential astute Lord Krishna. I have nothing more to add in his regard because he was well, frigging amazing! 😳
Speaking of acting performances, Sayanti Ghosh is phenomenal! I have not witnessed much of her work before but as Satyawati, she's par excellence and that's about it. The most gripping scenes of the episode were what they were because of her. Her dialogue delivery is flawless and her expressions are so graceful. Also, Devvrat was played with enough tact to get registered into my favorites straight away. The highest point of the episode for me was Devvrat's plea to Satyawati. You see Bhisma being stoic a lot of times and you see him grieve as well. But this happened once and wouldn't happen again, how Devvrat felt defeated on realizing he was the cause of his father's grief. Sameer Dharamadhikari as King Shantanu probably had the most powerful lines after Krishna to say. He has a presence too and these people came together to actually create a great first episode.
I'm not proud of Indian Television mostly, let's be honest. But I was quite proud tonight as I watched Mahabharata. Why? It didn't seem like a TV serial to me. It was an absolute visual delight. Some historical shows are almost comical as they come with their visual effects but this one here was impeccable, okay? I was proud and it was all beautiful. 😳
On the front of the story itself, I will take my time. Their approach is unique, you cannot compare their storytelling technique with any other retelling of the epic on TV or otherwise even if you want to, you know? I'll just be in a better position to discuss the plot with more episodes out.
A highly memorable first episode, it had its impact on me. (:
Epiphany.
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