All jazz, no stuff!

About a month or so back 9X started airing some really slick promos of Ekta Kapoor's magnum opus 'Kahani Hamare Mahabharat ki'. This was followed by write ups, interviews, articles, news channel coverages and movie-like premiere. Quite impressive...and surely created enough buzz.

As with other works people were already talking about it and trying to compare it with the 'original'. Even I was one of them...reminded me of Troy, Gladiator, The Mummy Returns and of course the 'original'

Whats the original?

A good two decades back (its been a loooooooooooong time!!!! i checked to get the facts right) sometime in 1988 (let me think...I was in 6th or 7th std) Doordarshan (where else) aired BR Chopra's Mahabharat, bringing to life one of the two biggest mythological epics...the other being Ramayan. Ramayan, Mahabharat & later The Sword of Tipu Sultan redefined Sunday viewing in Indian household. We were in Air Force Station Kalaikunda (Kharagpur, West Bengal) then. During that one hour or so the surroundings will almost go silent, people who didn't have TVs will throng their neighbour's houses a couple of minutes before the serial started taking their usual places. Over the next 2 years this epic went on to become one of the most popular serials of all time. The jingle still rings in my ears although rather faintly.

Coming back to now....I caught glimpse of one of the first episodes of the new Mahabharat. To my surprise it started with Draupadi's vastraharan...I wonder how people who have been eagerly waiting for the start reacted....Later I got to see some pictures courtesy the hype in some newspapers and online. Wonder what the so called Indian soap queen is up to? Who's the target audience? In trying to be different ( or lets say original) everything looks so shall I say funny. Every shot of the rather comical act reminded me of the 'original'. The pony tailed Dhrithrashtra...the bald Shakuni...the strange armour wearing Karna, the curly haired, red saree clad Draupadi all of them remind me of the 'original'. While it can be somebody's take but it can't tamper with basics. Didn't expect this after all the hype.

Yesterday, giving it a second chance I watched another episode. Through the media promotions I was aware that Ekta Kapoor has now suddenly turned her attention to Krishna kaand and introduced Kansa. I could not believe when I heard a cow's voice as a part of the background score!!!! Coupled with this poor acting....And then Krishna'a father crossing the river...another scene which reminded me of the 'original'.

The impactful narration of Harish Bhimani as Samay, Mukesh Khanna as Bheeshma, Nitish Bharadwaj as Lord Krishna, Girja Shankar as Dhritrashtra, Puneet Issar as Duryodhana, Pankaj Dhir as Karna and Gufi Paintal as Shakuni...the memories are still fresh. Unlike today's TV stars who have made names more through hype and page 3 appearances the 'original stars' have made name through impactful performances. For all these years and given the way the current Mahabharat is turning out to be...for more generations to come BR Chopra's Mahabharat looks to be telling the story of good versus evil with the depth of human emotions like loyalty, love, bonding, jealousy, hatred, envy, and bitterness.

You have a long, very long way to go Ekta. And even after that while you may be able to ca[ture audiences and gater TRPs but I doubt whether you would be able to create impact, a lasting impact...