Mahabharat (2013 TV series)
Mahabharat is a mythological Indian television series based on the ancient Sanskrit epic Mahabharat. It aired from 16 September 2013 to 16 August 2014 on Star Plus. The television show was produced by Swastik Productions Pvt. Ltd. It starred Saurabh Raj Jain as Krishna, Shaheer Sheikh as Arjun, Pooja Sharma as Draupadi, Aham Sharma as Karna, Arav Chowdhary as Bhishma, Arpit Ranka as Duryodhan, Praneet Bhat as Shakuni
Summary
The story begins with Bhishma, the son of Shantanu and Ganga, taking his oath of celibacy to convince Satyavati to marry his father Shantanu, the king of Hastinapura. Shantanu and Satyavati marry and have 2 children - Chitrangada and Vichitravirya. Both die without any children, but Veda Vyasa, the son of Satyavati prior her marriage is requested to impregnate Vichitravirya's 2 wives Ambika and Ambalika. Besides the queen Vyasa also impregnates a maid. Soon, Ambika gives birth to Dhritarashtra, born blind, Ambalika gives birth to Pandu, born pale and Parashrami gives birth to Vidura.25 years later, Dhritarashtra is married to Gandhari, the princess of Gandhara Kingdom; because of her boon of bearing a hundred sons. After knowing her would-be-husband is blind she decided to blindfolds herself to share her husband's pain. This angers Shakuni, the brother of Gandhari, and he vows to destroy Bhishma, as it was him who had brought the proposal for Gandhari's marriage. Dhritarashtra is denied the throne for being blind, and the throne is given to Pandu. Pandu marries Kunti, a princess of Kunti Kingdom and Madri of Madra Kingdom. Pandu is later cursed by Sage Kindama, that he will die if he attempts to impregnate his wives. Pandu, heartbroken, renounces the kingdom with his 2 wives. After this Dhritarashtra becomes de-facto king of Hastinapur.
Kunti uses her boon, given to her by Sage Durvasa, to invoke gods of her choice and obtain children from them. She begets Yudhishthira from Yama, Bhima from Vayu and Arjuna from Indra. She also chants the boon for Madri, and Madri obtains twins - Nakula and Sahadeva - from the Ashwini Kumaras. Gandhari gives birth to a flash of fish after being pregnant for nearly 18 months, and but the loaf of meat is cut in 101 pieces by veda vyasa, and these pieces are transformed into children - the 100 Kauravas and Dushala - by the sage Vyasa.
Years pass, and the Kauravas grow up to be evil, led by their eldest brother Duryodhana, who is highly influenced by his uncle Shakuni contray to Pandavas who are righteous. Pandava return to Hastinapur with Kunti, after the death of Pandu and Madri. All princes are sent to study to Dronacharya
Years pass, and the princes return to Hastinapur, where they are engaged into a competition of showcasing their skills. Arjuna wins the competition, but Karna, son of a charioteer, gatecrashes the competition and challenges Arjuna. Kunti realizes that Karna is her son whom she had obtained from Surya, the Sun God, long before marriage. Arjuna, in between, also befriends Lord Krishna, his cousin and a prince of Dwarka. The Kaurava along with Karna tries to kill the Pandavas, but the Pandavas save themselves. Pandavas force themselves into exile, pretending to be dead. Bheema marries Hidimba, an ogress, and the couple begets a son, Ghatotkacha. The Pandavas then together marry Draupadi, the princess of Panchala, born from fire. The Pandavas return to Hastinapur and justify their polyandry. Soon, the Kuru Kingdom is divided - The Pandavas get a new kingdom - Khandavprastha. Arjuna destroys the Khandava. They renovate the town, and rename it as Indraprastha. Prosperity of Indraprastha angered Duryodhana.
A jealous Duryodhana summons Pandavas for a dice game, where Yudhishthira lost his kingdom, brothers and their common wife. Draupadi is dragged and humiliated in open-court, however Krishna saves her honour at the end. The Pandavas and Draupadi, as a result of losing, are forced into a 12-year exile and a year of incognito. After excile Pandavas reunite with their children
- the Upapandavas and Abhimanyu. Abhimanyu is married to Uttaraa, the daughter of King Virata and Queen Sudeshna.
The Pandavas' peace treaty with the Kauravas fails to materialise, hence confirming that a war will happen. Both, the Pandavas and Kauravas, gather their respective armies by allying with different tribes and kingdoms.
Just before the Kurukshetra War, Arjuna obtains the knowledge of the Bhagavad Gita from Krishna. The war begins and continues for 18 days - both the sides face mass destruction. The Pandavas and Kauravas lose all of their sons, in-laws and allies, and the war officially ends after Duryodhana, the only remaining Kaurava, is killed by Bhima. Ashwatthama - Duryodhana's friend - raids the Pandava camp at night - and kills many soldiers, Dhrishtadyumna and the Upapandavas while they are sleeping. Ashwatthama also unsuccessfully tries to kill Uttaraa's unborn baby, but the baby is revived, and named as Parikshit by Krishna. Krishna also curses Ashwatthama for his heinous act. Gandhari curses Krishna for letting the war happen as she lost all of her sons and grandsons. The show ends, after Yudhishthira is finally crowned by Krishna, as the king of Hastinapur.
Cast
Main
| Actor | Role | Notes |
| Saurabh Raj Jain | Krishna | Devaki and Vasudev's son. Yashoda and Nanda's foster son. He is an incarnation of Vishnu, who came to earth to protect dharma. Karna and Pandava's cousin, Radha's lover, Draupadi's friend and Rukmini and other 16007 wives's husband. |
| Shaheer Sheikh | Arjuna | Third Pandava prince; Indra and Kunti's son; a skilled archer; Draupadi, Ulupi, Chitrangada and Subhadra's husband and Abhimanyu and Srutakarma's father. |
| Pooja Sharma | Draupadi | King Drupad's daughter, Shikhandini and Dhristadyumna's younger sister, Princess of Panchala, Pandavas's common wife and Prativindhya, Sutasoma, Srutakarma, Satanika and Srutasena's mother. |
| Aarav Chowdhary | Bhishma | King Shantanu and Goddess Ganga's son and Grandsire of Pandavas and Kauravas. He has the power to decide the timing of his death. |
| Arpit Ranka | Duryodhana | Eldest Kaurava, King Dhritarashtra and Queen Gandhari's first son, arrogant and hot headed crown prince of Hastinapur, he is often manipulated by his uncle Shakuni, Karna and Ashwatthama's friend. Bhanumati's husband and an excellent mace fighter. |
| Aham Sharma | Karna | Surya and Kunti's son; Pandavas's elder brother; Adhiratha and Radha's foster son; Duryodhana's friend; Vrushali's husband; King of Anga. He is only archer who could compete against Arjuna. |
| Praneet Bhat | Shakuni | King Subala and Queen Sudharma's son, Gandhari's elder brother. At the beginning he is Prince but later King of Gandhara. He is a devious man who is strategist of Duryodhana's all plots against Pandavas. He has grudge agaist Bhishma for making his sister, Gandhari to marry a blind prince Dhritarastra. |
| Thakur Anoop Singh | Dhritarashtra | Blind King of Hastinapur. He was born from Vyasa and Ambika's niyoga, husband of Gandhari's husband, Kauravas and Dushyala's father, Pandavas's paternal uncle. He is deeply insecure and intensely partial to his sons which often prevent him from taking wise decisions. |
| Riya Deepsi | Gandhari | King Subala and Queen Sudharma's daughter, Princess of Gandhara, Shakuni's younger sister, Dhritarashtra's wife. After knowing that her future husband is born blind she decided to blindfold herself so that she could share his pain. Her act of blindfolding has enranged her elder brother. After her husband's coronation she became queen of Hastinapur. She is Kauravas and Dushyala's mother. She is often unaware of her sons's ploting against Pandava. |
| Rohit Bhardwaj | Yudhisthira | First Pandava; Yama and Kunti's son; Draupadi's husband; Prativindhya's father. A truthful King. He ruled Indraprastha and later Hastinapur. |
| Saurav Gurjar | Bhima | Second Pandava; Vayu and Kunti's son; a tremendous mace fighter, Hidimba and Draupadi's husband and father of Ghatothkacha and Sutasoma. |
| Shafaq Naaz | Kunti | Dowager Queen of Hastinapur, Late King Pandu's first wife. She has power to have child by invoking God. She is also Shurasena's daughter, Kuntibhoja's foster daughter. Karna, Yudhisthir, Bheem and Arjuna's mother. Balram, Krishna and Subhadra's paternal aunt. |
| Nissar Khan | Drona | Royal teacher of Kuru princes and Ashwatthama's father. |
| Ankit Mohan | Ashwatthama | Dronacharya and Kripi's son and Duryodhana's friend. |
| Vin Rana | Nakula | Fourth Pandava; Madri and Ashwini Kumar's son: Draupadi and Karenumati's husband and Satanika, Niramitra and Printha's father. |
| Lavanya Bhardwaj | Sahadeva | Fifth Pandava, Madri and Ashwini Kumar's son, Draupadi and Vijaya's husband and Srutasena and Suhotra's father. |
| Nirbhay Wadhwa | Dushasana | Second Kaurava, King Dhritarashtra and Queen Gandhari's second son, Duryodhana's younger brother, 97 Kauravas and Dushyala's elder brother and Drumasena's father. |
| Naveen Jinger | Vidura | Prime minister of Hastinapur, Vyasa and a maid's son, Dhritarashtra and Pandu's younger brother. |
| Sayantani Ghosh | Satyavati | Uparichara Vasu and Adrika's daughter, Matsya's twin sister, Dusharaj's foster daughter, Maharishi Parashara's first wife, Ved Vyas's mother, King Shantanu's second wife, Bhishma step mother and Chitrāngada and Vichitravirya's mother. |
Recurring
Development
Background
In November 2005, a report from Variety stated Bobby Bedi's plan to make three feature films and 100 hours of television programming on Indian epic Mahabharat under Kaleidoscope Entertainment with the television version planned to be delivered by the end of 2007. In 2006 it was revealed making for Star Plus which was to be directed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi. It was a part of Bedi's 360 degree approach to the epic through TV, film, gaming and theme parks. Planned for 100 episodes with new actors, it was planned to premiere in March 2008 but got postpone due to production to August 2008 and later January 2009.During this, Ekta Kapoor was simultaneously producing a series on Mahabharat since January 2008 titled Kahaani Hamaarey Mahaabhaarat Ki for a rival channel to premiere in mid 2008 which she earlier planned for Star but could not as the channel roped Bedi. This led on to a pressure in the production as they wanted to rush their premiere before Kapoor due to which Dwivedi quit mid way after association with them for two years after which three directors were working on it. But, they were not able to rush up the series before Kapoor's. 50 episodes were shot at the sets created in Morna between Noida and Delhi for an year after paying ₹6 Crores. However, as the channel was not satisfied with those episodes, they were asked to rework the entire series again pushing its premiere to 2009. But, Bedi reportedly started selling it in DVDs which created problems between them and channel and the production was stalled. However, in December 2008, Star took Bedi to Bombay High Court filing an arbitration petition alleging that the production house took ₹6 Crore for the production of the series in advance but has not produced even a single episode while a senior executive from the production house stated, " This legal notice is Star's way of pulling out of the show. May be it doesn't want to go ahead with the Mahabharat project after all." After these, the shooting was expected to restart from February 2009 but in mid 2009 the production was cancelled and the project was given over to Siddharth Kumar Tewary's Swastik Productions to start fresh.
Production
More than 400 people were involved in production with 200 people working on graphics. Renowned author Devdutt Pattanaik was roped as the chief consultant and guiding person for the series. Also writer Salim Khan, music directors Ajay-Atul and Ismail Darbar and action director Ram Shetty were involved.Speaking about bringing Mahabharat to television again, Star Plus senior vice-president Nikhil Madhok said, "With over 20 years having passed since the telecast of Mahabharat serial on Doordarshan, we felt that the younger generation should be re-introduced to this epic. Also, the plot of this epic is open to interpretation and has many intricacies in it, unlike that of let's say Ramayan, which is fairly linear and is passed on from generation to generation."
According to producer Siddharth Kumar Tewary, the Draupadi cheer haran sequence, which Tewary himself directed, took 20 days to shoot.
Even in the last fight between Bheema and Duryodhana, the actors shared that the scene took 3 days to shoot.
Originally planned for 129 episodes, its growing popularity gave an extension for about 100 more episodes as Tewary wanted to explore the story further in January 2014. However, it ended with 267 episodes.
Design
The set covering 10 acres of land in Umargam, Valsad, Gujarat was designed by the art director Omung Kumar.The costume designer of the series Nidhi Yasha along with her consultant Bhanu Athaiya, had referred 450 books related to period textiles, costume and jewelry.
Marketing and budget
Star spent on the project and spent another on marketing the show, making it India's most expensive TV series. As a part of marketing, Star constructed Mahabharat museum across malls in cities consisting selective weapons, jewellery and finery of Mahabharat along with 3D virtual tour of the sets of Hastinapur. In towns the same concept was adapted with wheels-canter vans along with LED.The sets of the series at Umargam in Gujarat cost ₹100 crores and production costs of ₹13-15 Lakhs per day.
Filming
The series was mainly shot in the sets at Umargam, Valsad in Gujarat. Shooting also took place in various exotic locations such as Jaisalmer, Amber Palace in Jaipur, Kashmir, Ahmedabad, Jabalpur in Madya Pradesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.Training
The actors shared that they had to go through acting workshops and various trainings for about a year where they were explained in detail what to do and how. Rajit Kapur trained the actors by conducting acting workshops.Reception and impact
Critics
Writing for Rediff, Nishi Tiwari wrote that "If it maintains the quality of writing and able actors who portray key characters, we may have another winner among us". DNA praised the costumes, scenery, Krishna's flute theme which was given by Raj Mohan Sinha, and most of the CGI special effects, but said the serial's pace was too fast. However, the premiere episode received negative criticism from Deepanjana Pal of Firstpost for CGI effects, acting, dialogues, cinematography and background. They also stated the storytelling as disappointing.Hindustan Times criticised, " The scale of the Mahabharat is grand and overwhelming. The characters are larger than life. Highly dramatic events take place in the epic. But at the same time, it is a nuanced look at human beings and their frailties. Everything is so exaggerated. Even relatively less important moments are treated with such overblown drama," They also criticised the background music being sound.
The Indian Express said, "Mahabharat came in with all the pomp and show, glory and grandeur, with larger-than-life sets, special effects and Lord Krishna as its sutradhaar, narrating the story, introducing its characters, and peeling off the layers. No doubt it's a good looking and talented ensemble cast and the locations are stunning, but this is no Game of Thrones."
The Times of India expressed that this version of Mahabharat is the first Indian series to portray the Game of Dice sequence elaborately stating, "For the first time on Indian television, viewers will witness an elaborate ‘Game of Dice’ where the rules of the game will be set, one by one the play of emotions, cheating and manipulation that led to Draupadi's dishonor."
In June 2020, Karnataka Chief Minister Yediyurappa then, on watching the Kannada dubbed version appreciated the series and stated that the character Krishna played by Saurabh Raj Jain impressed him.
Viewership in India
Its premiere had a viewership of approximately 8.4 million people . That week it averaged 6356 TVTs. The viewership ratings of the week of 1 December 2013 reached 9,801 TVTs. The game of dice leading to Draupadi's 'cheer haran' took Mahabharat at its peak viewership and helped the broadcasting channel Star Plus clock one of the highest GTVMs. Overall, it became the tenth most watched Hindi GEC with an average viewership of 5.6 million and a peak viewership of 7.2 million.During Covid-19 outbreak and lockdown in India, it started re-airing on Star Plus from 30 March 2020 till 25 July 2020. It was then again launched from the first episode on a different time slot from 27 July 2020. It soon became one of the most watched Hindi GEC series featuring in top five programs even during the re-run.
Impact
This series is regarded as the costliest show ever launched by StarPlus and one of the costliest Indian television series, being the first Indian television show to be made on a budget more than ₹100 crores.In 2014, the cast of Mahabharat were invited to hold a fan meeting tour at Jakarta and Bali. The Times of India reported that the show has a huge fan following abroad and as result, the prominent characters from the show had been called to Indonesia for a special event. The main casts of Mahabharat, performed on "Mahabharat Show: Fan Meeting Tour" in the year 2014.
Adaptations
It has been dubbed and aired in other Indian languages including Tamil, Bengali, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu.International broadcasting
In Indonesia, the drama was broadcast on antv dubbed in Indonesian in 2014. In 2015, the show aired in its original version and subtitled in English on MBC Digital 4 every Sunday in Mauritius. In Thailand, the drama was broadcast on Channel 5 dubbed in Thai in 2016. In Myanmar,it has been dubbed in Burma as မဟာဘာရတ and telecasted everyday on Sky Net World Drama Channel. In Sri Lanka,it has been dubbed in Sinhalese as මහාභාරත් and telecasted on Swarnavahini.Awards and nominations
It won the trophy for the Best Drama in Star Guild Awards 2013 as well as number of accolades in other award shows. Show won Best Historical/Mythological serial award in Indian Television Academy Awards. It won the Indian Telly Awards for Actor in a Supporting Role , given to Aham Sharma for his portrayal as Karna, and Actor in a Negative Role to Praneet Bhat in 2014. The crew members also won the awards for Best Costumes for a TV Programme, Best Make – Up Artist, and Best Stylist.| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref |
| 2014 | Star Guild Awards | Best Ensemble Cast | Sidharth Kumar Tewary | ||
| 2014 | Star Guild Awards | Best Mythological Series | Swasthik Picture | ||
| 2014 | Indian Television Academy Awards | Best Visual Effects | Swasthik Picture | ||
| 2014 | Indian Television Academy Awards | Best Actor - Popular | Shaheer Sheikh | ||
| 2014 | Indian Television Academy Awards | Best Historical/Mythological Serial | Mahabharat | ||
| 2014 | Indian Telly Award | Best Actor in a Lead Role | Saurabh Raj Jain | ||
| 2014 | Indian Telly Award | Best Actor in a Lead Role | Shaheer Sheikh | ||
| 2014 | Indian Telly Award | Best Actress in a Lead Role | Pooja Sharma | ||
| 2014 | Indian Telly Award | Best Actor in a Negative Role | Praneet Bhat | ||
| 2014 | Indian Telly Award | Best Actor in a Negative Role | Arpit Ranka | ||
| 2014 | Indian Telly Award | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Aham Sharma | ||
| 2014 | Indian Telly Award | Best Costumes for a TV Program | Bhanu Athaiya | ||
| 2014 | Indian Telly Award | Best Makeup Artist | G. A. Jamesh | ||
| 2014 | Indian Telly Award | Best Ensemble | Sidharth Kumar Tewary | ||
| 2014 | Indian Telly Award | Best Stylist | Shweta Korde | ||
| 2014 | Gold Awards | Best Actor in a Lead Role | Shaheer Sheikh | ||
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