This post is part movie review, part Virata Parva episodes.
Of all the Indian movies (well, Telugu and Tamil mostly) on the epics, I like Narthanasala the most. Karna in Tamil comes close, primarily due to Sivaji Ganesan. Many other potentially good performances are wasted due to bad casting. Also, too much DMK-style dialogues, a reflection on the politics-cinema cross pollination during the time.
And I wonder why none of the Mahabharata movies has a good actor in the role of Bhima - not even in Narthanasala. It's usually some physically huge fellow that looks deliberately dim-witted, making the powerful character a laughing stock. More on Bhima later.
Narthanasala wins out for the several great performances - from SV Ranga Rao as Keechaka, NT Rama Rao as Arjuna, the incomparable Savithri as Draupadi. While I didn't understand all the dialogues, the familiar story carried me through.
In the Virata Parva of the Mahabharata, the Pandavas are in the 13th year of their exile. They are required to be incognito, and if caught, would be required to repeat the 13 years. The Pandavas and Draupadi pretend to be civilians and decide to stay in Matsya, ruled by King Virata.
(By the way, there are ancient temples in Pakistan, in a location of importance to the Mahabharata. Chakwal is the region they are supposed to have spent their first 12 years in exile. Katasraj Temples: Wikipedia.)
Yudhishtira acts as a scholar/astrologer (?), Bhima as a cook/kitchen aide, Arjuna as a eunuch/dancer, Nakula as a keeper of the horses (?), and not sure about Sahadeva.
Arjuna is aided by a curse from Urvashi - that he must serve as a eunuch for a year. So, he chooses to turn a eunuch for the 13th year and is employed in teaching dance (learned from Urvashi I think) to Virata's daughter Uttara. NT Rama Rao does a good job as Arjuna in Narthanasala. At the end of the 13 years, Arjuna helps the Matsya kingdom defeat the Kaurava attack, thus revealing himself. When Virata comes to know of their identities, he proposes his daughter in marriage to Arjuna, but Arjuna refuses (since he has taught her, he is like a father to her). She is instead married to Abhimanyu.Not sure if Uttara is Abhimanyu's first wife, or if it is Subhadra.
While NTR does a good job, the best performances are definitely by SVR and Savithri. SVR's monologue in front of the mirror, and his subsequent intoxicated dialogues with Savithri are legendary.
Watch Narthansala if you haven't already - even if you don't follow Telugu too well (I don't)! The entire movie is available in Youtube, in parts.
And I wonder why none of the Mahabharata movies has a good actor in the role of Bhima - not even in Narthanasala. It's usually some physically huge fellow that looks deliberately dim-witted, making the powerful character a laughing stock. More on Bhima later.
Narthanasala wins out for the several great performances - from SV Ranga Rao as Keechaka, NT Rama Rao as Arjuna, the incomparable Savithri as Draupadi. While I didn't understand all the dialogues, the familiar story carried me through.
In the Virata Parva of the Mahabharata, the Pandavas are in the 13th year of their exile. They are required to be incognito, and if caught, would be required to repeat the 13 years. The Pandavas and Draupadi pretend to be civilians and decide to stay in Matsya, ruled by King Virata.
(By the way, there are ancient temples in Pakistan, in a location of importance to the Mahabharata. Chakwal is the region they are supposed to have spent their first 12 years in exile. Katasraj Temples: Wikipedia.)
Yudhishtira acts as a scholar/astrologer (?), Bhima as a cook/kitchen aide, Arjuna as a eunuch/dancer, Nakula as a keeper of the horses (?), and not sure about Sahadeva.
Arjuna is aided by a curse from Urvashi - that he must serve as a eunuch for a year. So, he chooses to turn a eunuch for the 13th year and is employed in teaching dance (learned from Urvashi I think) to Virata's daughter Uttara. NT Rama Rao does a good job as Arjuna in Narthanasala. At the end of the 13 years, Arjuna helps the Matsya kingdom defeat the Kaurava attack, thus revealing himself. When Virata comes to know of their identities, he proposes his daughter in marriage to Arjuna, but Arjuna refuses (since he has taught her, he is like a father to her). She is instead married to Abhimanyu.
While NTR does a good job, the best performances are definitely by SVR and Savithri. SVR's monologue in front of the mirror, and his subsequent intoxicated dialogues with Savithri are legendary.
Watch Narthansala if you haven't already - even if you don't follow Telugu too well (I don't)! The entire movie is available in Youtube, in parts.
