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So just what can you expect when Ekta Kapoor decides to make a serial out of the epic called The Mahabharata? Jump cuts, freeze frames, flowing sarees and what have you… it’s all there.

Well, the ‘K’ Queen’s new epic daily Kahaani Hamaaray Mahabharat Ki (Monday-Thursday 9 pm on 9X) finally took off. Quite unlike BR Chopra’s version, this one starts off from the draupadi vastraharan episode, which many say was the root cause of the epic bloodbath.

Draupadi screaming, protesting, cursing, Yudishtir looking every bit a broken man after losing everything in the game of dice, Bheem clutching his mace, Arjun his bow and arrow, Bheeshma clenching his fists and the blind emperor Dhritarashtra clenching his fists in agony. This is pretty much how we are introduced to the epic characters.

Also as a marked departure from tradition, in the place of the Hastinapur courtroom where the action is said to have taken place, Ekta gets her actors out in the open with wild winds blowing away the flowing robes and locks.

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The actors

A new actor plays Yuddhishtir, the eldest of the Pandavas. It probably would be too early to comment on the actor’s acting capabilities since he had no dialogues in the episode.

Aryan Vaid plays Duryodhan, the eldest of the Kauravas (and first cousin to the Pandavas) and quite looks the part he plays. And even though he doesn’t talk much, his brother (and sidekick) Dusashan does all the yelling for his brother. Nonetheless he does have a convincing screen presence.

Now for the most important character - Draupadi who is introduced in signature Ekta style. Her free flowing red saree reminds us of Prerna’s flowing red dupatta in Kasautii Zindagi Kay. Anita Hasanandani as Draupadi is good with her histrionics but fails to strike the right chord with her shrill voice. The incessant screeching, the glycerine eyes are tad too much to handle.
Shakuni, maternal uncle of the Kauravas, looks funny rather than the shrewd and cunning man he is meant to be.

Last but not the least, Makrand Deshpande replaces Harish Bhimani’s voice of Samay (Time) from the original. Mak plays Ved Vyas the sage who has written the epic and is shown visualising the whole Mahabharata

Special Effects

There’s little scope for sfx in kitchen politics. But Mahabharata offers a lot and Ekta makes the most of it. In the first episode itself we see Krishna’s chakra appearing from nowhere as if in a computer simulated game and saves the day for Draupadi.

And yes of course, there are flashes of thunder, a staple of the K-soaps, used generously to accentuate the painful pauses and shock and awe.

So that is pretty much what happens in the first 30-minute epic remake as the episode wraps up with a glimpse of the next where small screen’s dear old Om and Parvati (of Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii) as seen playing Ganga and Shantanu respectively.

Verdict

Overall, a fairly good beginning as Ekta has managed to hook the audience with one of the most pivotal and dramatic sequences from the epic. And she has managed to retain some curiosity as well. As for the future of the show, it may pick up after the well-known faces pop up in this epic saga. Till then keep watching!

It’s actually fun to be a part of Bollywood. You get to learn so many sports activity and that too for free. No check this, Shahid has learned Rollerblading fro his new movie Kismat Connection.

Just a couple of days ago, we’d told you about how Shahid Kapur discovered – and mastered – the art of rollerblading, while shooting for Kismet Konnection in Canada. And now, here’s more info on the same.

Turns out that the director of the film, Aziz Mirza was so impressed with the skills that Shahid had picked up at such a short notice, that he decided to incorporate a scene with Shahid skating on the blades in the film.

Says a source from the production unit of Kismet Konnection , “The shooting schedule of the film was very long, and Shahid was getting bored. One such afternoon, it so happened that Shahid came across a bunch of youngsters skating. He liked it so much that he started learning the sport in his free time and soon became a pro at it. Shahid mastered the sport so well, that director Mirza included a scene with Shahid roller-blading in one of the songs in the film.”

We’d heard about actors learning different skills to get into the skin of the character. But, this one’s quite the other way round, isn’t it?