Review of Mahabharat Gita

Introduction

`Gita` is a single DVD release containing 3 episodes from the 94 episode epic Mahabaharat TV series, also available in its entirety on DVD.

Originally aired in the mid-1980`s it was one of the most successful Indian-made serials ever, purporting to have been viewed by 95% of India`s population. In the UK, it was aired by the BBC and was popular with both those with Indian roots, as well as the merely curious.
It was a huge sprawling historic epic which tells the story of a terrible war between the five Pandava Princes and their envious cousins, the Kauravs, who were all descendents of the great King Bharat, the first king of India.

It`s based on the Mahabharata, which started out as an epic poem (circa 400 BC - AD 400). It`s made up of some 100,000 Sanskrit verse couplets, making it not only one of the oldest poems in the world, but one of the longest.

It`s full of colourful and wild imagery, including many references to Gods and the supernatural, and, quite apart from its obvious importance to the Hindu religion; it has found many admirers amongst poets, writers and filmmakers.

These three episodes show the royal Pandava family (the five brothers) exiled from their own kingdom and preparing for battle. But there are friends and relatives on both sides of the dispute and one of the brothers (Arjun) turns to Lord Krishna for counsel and spiritual guidance. This guidance comes in the form of Lord Krishna`s message to humanity, the Bhagvad Gita, which is central to the Hindu ethos. This speech, given in its entirety, brings together many of the ethical and spiritual themes of the entire poem. As a key text for the Hindu religion, perhaps this condensed DVD is intended for those who want to extract this key element from the 94-episode epic, without the hours of viewing that you`d have to put into the box set.

On the downside, this feels very much like coming to a series halfway through, and leaving before the end.

The characters, including the `Patriarch`, who is the central character in this drama, having relatives on both sides of the dispute, are all played like melodramatic operatic stereotypes, with over the top stagy acting being the norm.

Video

Horrible low-grade video that`s just about as bad as anything I`ve ever seen broadcast. It`s remarkable that, with the expense of a cast of hundreds, with incredible costumes and props (including many `live` elephants) that this was all shot so badly. It`s low-contrast, no depth of field, soft and fuzzy rubbish. And to add insult to injury, the camerawork is amateurish with lots of indecisive zooms, and wobbly tracks. This is further worsened with some of the worst editing ever committed to drama (which may have been through lack of material in the suite) where wide shots are often cut with almost identical wide shots. Really, really nasty stuff.

Audio

Original Hindi-language mono. This is horribly trebly and thin, with a score so bad it`s almost comical. Audio levels are all over the place with frequent instances of the VU`s needle leaping into the red and overloading, giving awful distorted sound. Unbelievable when you consider the scale of what was being produced here. (Think of a lavish Broadway show being filmed badly with a camera mike placed at the back of the hall).

Features

None.

Conclusion

Some folk may have warm and nostalgic memories of this epic serial from its broadcast on the BBC in the mid-80`s. I don`t. I didn`t see it at the time, though if I`d known a little more about its subject matter, and the scale of production I may well have tuned in. Sadly, I think, even then I would have been disappointed.

Whilst there is no doubt that a great deal of effort and money went into the production (with a cast of hundreds and costumes and armoury on a `Lord of the Rings` scale), the tacky video recordings and almost laughably bad score were more than bad enough for me to dismiss any notions of watching further episodes.

Of course there may be a niche in the market for those seeking out `so bad it`s good` Indian kitsch but that would be entirely out of keeping with the spirit of the piece.

It may be worth mentioning that a MAHABHARAT 2 has now been produced (45 x 45 minute episodes) and have started airing in India.

I`m sure that there will be viewers who will be able to see past the technical flaws here (just as I am with some of my favourite shows of yesteryear). But for anyone else, and with the greatest respect for the programme`s spiritual substance, I would suggest you avoid.