When BR Chopra’s TV version premiered in late 1988, I spent much time fuming about the show’s simplifications to anyone who would listen. Later, I would revel in Kamala Subramaniam’s gentle, humanist retelling (still a personal favourite) that emphasised the nobler qualities not just of Karna- – or Radheya, as she refers to him throughout- – but of most figures in the epic (Subramaniam even cast Duryodhana as a Shakespearean hero doomed by a single fatal flaw). Which proclaimed that he could be viewed as the “real hero” of the epic. I felt a sense of vindication while reading passages that stressed Karna’s virtues - such as an introduction to Shanta Rameshwar Rao’s translation.

The adoration and the attendant defensiveness reached proportions that are easy to smile about today. Perhaps I had subconsciously linked Karna with the social outcasts played by another childhood idol, Amitabh Bachchan, in films like Deewaar and Kaala Patthar. But I may have taken the hero worship too far.

This is not an uncommon reaction among young Mahabharata readers who are introverted by nature and whose literary heroes tend to be loners and outsiders: the Pandavas’ illegitimate elder brother is one of ancient literature’s major tragic figures, and some of the most stirring episodes in the final third of the narrative are built around him. By that age I had devoured at least three other Mahabharata translations (the ones by RK Narayan, P Lal and William Buck) along with uncounted Amar Chitra Katha comics, and much of my interest was centred on Karna’s unhappy life. Mahabharatham 23-07-2014 - Vijay TV Serial Episode Mahabharat BR Chopra Full Episode 49-54 (49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54) with subtitles.Īnd the Abhimanyu killing was toned down somewhat. 1 Star 2 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars 5 Stars (1,142 votes, average: 3.50 out of 5). Meendum Mahabharatham – Vijay Tv Serial – 31-08-2015, Episode 184.

The Kauravas’ disastrous expedition to the forest to mock their exiled cousins - an adventure stirred up by Karna - found no mention in my selective retelling. Thus, the command to disrobe the Pandavas and Draupadi was transferred from his mouth to Duryodhana’s. For days on end, as she did her housework, I followed her about with the book in my hand, omitting not a sentence - with one exception: I would bowdlerise any passages that presented my personal hero, Karna. I was barely 10 when I took it upon myself to read out C Rajagopalachari’s translation of the Mahabharata to my mother. My first stab at literary censorship came at an early age.

SubscribeSubscribedUnsubscribe 27,761 Mahabharatham : Season 1. Produced by Siddharth Kumar Tewary of Swastik Productions, the.

Mahabharatham vijay tv full episodes