Review of Mahabharat (16 Disc Box Set)

Introduction

Finally, it`s here. When Arrow released the abridged version last year, I can`t say that I was overly pleased. This was an epic series holding the attention of a nation when first aired. I didn`t want a mere 15-hours worth of philosophy severely diluted. I wanted the whole thing. So here at last are all 16-discs! Each of the 94 episodes now has DVD player generated subtitles in English, French and Spanish accompanying the Hindi soundtrack. The rest of the introduction is taken from my review intro of the previous 15-hour version.

The Mahabharata is an epic Hindu story of a Great War, which probably took place around 1500 BCE It`s estimated to be about eight times as long as the Iliad and the Odyssey put together and it`s not just filler either. Content counts for something and in translating this for television it became the one show that would bring virtually every Hindu in India to a standstill. This story is considered scripture because it illustrates how Hindus should live hence the huge interest. Characters face tough moral issues and have to make some hard choices, which makes it perfect for spiritual mentors to impart Hindu ethics and spirituality. There`s plenty of cause and effect in play with people having to deal with the consequences of their actions.

The story, in a nutshell, is a battle between light and darkness. Skip ahead to the next section if you don`t want to know the story in a slightly larger nutshell.

There are two sets of brothers who are each other`s cousins, the Pandevas (the good guys) and the 100 Kauravas (the bad guys). The Pandevas are brought up in a forest where they learn virtue and respect, while their cousins the Kauravas are raised at court becoming cynical and corrupt. The eldest of the Pandevas, Yudhisthira, is due to be king when he comes of age. Unfortunately the acting king`s eldest son, Duryodhana, the eldest of the 100 Kauravas, feels he ought to be king by default since his father was the ruling legal king after he took over from Yudhisthira`s dad when he died.

The scheming Duryodhana takes the throne and refuses to give it up. He starts to experiment with ways to get rid of Yudhisthira and his brothers. Unfortunately for him, none of his nefarious plans succeed. After trying to resolve the dispute peacefully, Yudhisthira feels that ACAS won`t help, so he goes to war instead. It`s a difficult and painful choice seeing that lots of innocent people are likely to be killed. Duryodhana is truly evil and must be stopped.

The Pandavas and Kauravas prep for battle calling in all their allies. The Kauravas have been in power for years so they have a massive army. Yudhisthira (Pandava) sends his younger brother Arjuna to ask Krishna if he can help them out. (Incidentally, Arjuna is the main hero of the Mahabharata and is a good guy). Sadly when he turns up at Krishna`s place, he spots his opponent, Duryodhana, trying to curry (sorry) favour. Crafty so and so! Krishna has a massive army of his own and plenty of gold treasure. Krishna is no ordinary fella, the long and the short of it is that he`s God in human form on Earth. He`s a divine incarnation! Duryodhana can`t see this because he`s clouded by greed and hatred.

Krishna can`t pick sides as both are his cousins so he comes up with this plan: He`ll give all his soldiers, horses, elephants, artillery and gold to one of them. The other will have Krishna along as an advisor and he himself won`t fight. Whoever shows up first in the morning gets to choose which option he prefers. Can`t say any fairer than that.

Duryodhana came rushing in the next morning before dawn and sat anxiously at the head of Krishna`s bed. Arjuna woke up at his usual time, bathed and meditated before heading over to Krishna`s house. There he stood humbly by the foot of Krishna`s bed. Krishna woke up and the first person he laid eyes on was Arjuna, standing respectfully at the end of his bed, so he was given the choice, "My army or Me?".

"I choose You, Lord." was Arjuna`s famous reply.

Duryodhana walked away a very happy chap thinking that he had all the military power at Krishna`s command. Arjuna, with a much smaller army, was able to outwit Duryodhana and his army and win back the kingdom for his brother. The point being that if we choose God over all the strengths and all the temptations of the world, we have made the right decision.

Video

Presented with the original 4:3 fullframe transfer, this looks a lot better than the 5-disc abridged version released by Arrow last year. It resembles the same broadcast quality that the BBC used and makes for far more comfortable watching. Colours are restrained in some episodes, looking muted in some and stronger in others but this inconsistency is a minor problem and doesn`t interfere with the series. There are instances of dirt, but again it`s a minor issue and doesn`t detract. Plus there are no more burnt in subtitles so these can be turned off. The player-generated subs are clear and easy to read and don`t take up as much onscreen room as the previous burnt ones.

Audio

The original mono soundtrack is preserved well and sounds clear, if a little flat. The problems that I noticed on the 5-disc set aren`t apparent with this one. Hiss is kept to a minimum and music sounds okay. I couldn`t hear any problems with the sound and it serves the series fine.

Features

Easy to navigate static menus with a few extras. Before I go into the extras, I just want to say a little something about the way it`s presented here. It`s confusing. Most of the discs have the same extra, an unsubtitled piece, but then a few others have different extras, again unsubtitled, and I found it confusing to see these scattered about. Why couldn`t the extras be placed on the last disc, or rather than repeat the same extra on a number of discs, just leave it on the final disc? The extras which are different from each other, have the same 2-minute segment at the start, which in itself is confusing as it makes me think I`ve already seen it.

Unfortunately none of the extras are subtitled, so unless you understand Hindi, you`re not going to get much out of it. I hope this is a problem with the review discs and not the final discs. Where I`ve not written anything about the extra, it means that I ran out of patience in sitting through featurettes I couldn`t understand.

Here then are the extras:

• Synopsis - There`s a synopsis on each disc giving providing one or two pages of text for each episode. Useful reading, but reading text onscreen can be tiring.

Disc 1:
• Behind the Scenes (not subtitled) (12:26)

Disc 2:
• Behind the Scenes (not subtitled) (24:03) - A simple featurette behind the scenes, put to music. This contains a number of clips interspersed with actors giving their take on the series.

Disc 3:
• Behind the Scenes (not subtitled) (17:43)

Disc 11:
• Behind the Scenes (not subtitled) (28:04)

Disc 12:
• Behind the Scenes (not subtitled) (16:33)

Disc 13:
• Behind the Scenes (not subtitled) (12:08)

Disc 15:
• Behind the Scenes (not subtitled) (15:57) - There`s some English in here, but not a great deal.

Disc 16:
• Behind the Scenes (not subtitled) (43:11) - The longest featurette here and visually told only part of the story. Again, no subtitles doesn`t help.

Mahabharat comes with easy to read English, French and Spanish subtitles on all the episodes only. The packaging for this 16-disc set is a big cardboard digipack and slipcase.

Conclusion

While I enjoy reading books about Hindu spirituality, watching the Mahabharata as a television drama takes away from ones imagination in re-enacting the stories. That said, anyone who`s attempted to read and digest the Mahabharata, in its various interpretations, will know that it`s not something you undertake lightly. It has slightly hammed up acting performances and a soap opera look and feel but it`s not that bad once you start to follow the stories. The storylines are woven with characters who go through life with their moral dilemmas figuring out what to do whilst living with the consequences.

This is not a bad production, but for me the books have always held more allure. Does it work purely as entertainment despite personal beliefs? Yes and no. If you`re already familiar with the book, this version will serve to visualise what you know. The agnostic or atheist might have a harder time with the themes of Mahabharat however.

Anyone looking for a passive guide to the Mahabharata, on a mere 16-discs, could do worse than check this out. The audio and video quality are good and as long as you can take away something positive from the stories then I think you`ll find some enjoyment in it. Top marks to Arrow Films for finally releasing the complete collection; minus a few brownie points however because there are no English subtitles on the extras. Now all we need is Ramayan to complete the set, and some English subtitles on any extras...