I was still depressed when we went to watch Rajneeti. Coz this was another epic, that reminded me of my "epical spoof". But I came out of the hall, an optimistic man. Coz Aagan had just said "uff...if we made Mahabharat, ours would be better". Sorry I couldnt live up to your expectations. But I tried. And I came out of the hall, again conjuring up cinematic sequences of the Mahabharat. And I had already decided 2 cast members...Sakshi as Kunti and Ritu as Gandhari. But where would I get the opportunity?
It came in the form of a gettogether at Sayan's place. Hence while people went there to enjoy and chatter, I forced everyone to act. People were disgruntled...but I nagged on...and the result was a skeleton of the Mahabharat...with umpteen holes in the plot...naturally an epic cannot be recreated in just 3-4 hours. But I tried my best. And my friends cooperated.
The product was not bad for an epic. Though I had a few technical difficulties while editing. The foremost being the audiography. In a few sequences, the raw audio was defective. The result was, I had to edit out a vast portion of Arjun's triumph, the first meeting scene of Kunti and Draupadi. But I couldnt have done the same with the Arjun-Draupadi interactions. Hence I had to dub for Arjun, whereas u can hardly find Draupadi's voice except for a few shrieks (I cudnt have dubbed for Linz). The other technical difficulty was the loss in continuity, which I tried to eliminate through text and background music. Overall, for an epic of 1000+ pages, I think our version was decent enough as a product shot in 3-4 hrs, including the song and fight sequences.
I know this is not of the same standard with the previous physiopal presentations. The major reason is that in the latter, we only have an outline of wot we have to do...no script, and no particular story...in fact things are much more inpromptu. Here we were bound by a story we knew was impossible to complete, and realize within such a short span of time. There we used to shoot a telefilm...Mahabharata is a film by itself. Hence all the pandemonium.
Even by such constraints of a unrealistic target, my actors did a commendable job. Linz (she herself has admitted),as Draupadi, surprisingly was not in her usual tacky form. She looked disinterested in most scenes, but was good at the song sequences and the vastraharan sequence. If you compare her previous performances like in Mayar Khela (she was a pro in her rendition of the role of Maya Hazra), this is one film where clearly she was uncomfortable. Another falacy was that her role was ill defined, and mostly restricted to being a veiled woman, a tortured woman, or her song and dance sequences.
Sakshi as Kunti was clearly a show stealer. She came the motherly role a new melodramatic , yet modern dimension, much more efficiently than I visualized it.
Ritu as the sophesticated Gandhari is another gem of the film. True, she went a little far with her dialogues, but you dont mind it as she is highly complemented by her on screen husband, Uttam. Her confrontation with Kunti is another highlight of the film, where both the ladies share excellent rapport.
Uttam as Dhritarastra is clearly THE scene stealer. Who could imagine that the usually shy Uttam could be so bold and authoritative in his expressions? Particularly in the Rajsabha sequence.
Sayyan as Arjun the chocolate hero is another delight to watch. From his heroic comedy at the beginning, to his melodrama, he is at top form after the immensely melodramatic "Jab Mile 2 dil, khao I pill". Too bad that I had to dub for him...a few sequences are sounding odd, but his expressions hugely mask his vocal supplementation. And watch out for his Mujra, too.
Agni as the effeminate Yudhisthir is cute and funny. Particularly his entry sequence, and his melodrama with Kunti. Agni is an excellent actor and infuses life and comedy to the otherwise boring Yudhisthir.
Janu, as Duryodhana, is a surprise. This is his first cinematic appearance ( after a brief drama in A chhotto songsar get2gether). He is natural in his cunningness. And extraordinary in the war sequence. Watch out for his rhythmic expressions in the vastraharan sequence.
Neelu, as Bhim, is also a delight to watch in the fight sequence, particularly his collapse shot.
Krishnendu, as Krishna, makes his presence felt in a small role. His godly expression and innocent smile justifies his Krishna avataar.
Sugata, in a special appearance as Karna, is efficient. His role is incomplete, but in his limited presence, he sets the screen on fire. His interaction with Kunti is adorable.
Thus, in the constraint period, the product was not bad, though I was really missing the Linz-Agni chemistry of the previous films. The Uttam-Ritu chemistry was adorable, but the Sayan-Linz one lacked oomph, again maybe due to dubbing problems, and elimination of more interacting sequences due to audio defects. I would give this adaptation a 2/5.
