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Saturday, June 5, 2010

Peter brooks mahabharata and theater set

When we are treating the mahabharata questions that unwillfully resist from watching the entire story is the method of narrative .The narrative can become either very fast and displicable like Rajneeti(film) or slow and obscure.Earlier this year in march I saw Peter Brook's Mahabharata for the 1st time and repeated the visual pleasure many times. Each time my admiration for it has grown. I consider it one of the greatest dramatic productions of all time. Its notable lack of appeal to Indians, except to a sliver, may be because it is in English and stars mostly non-Indian actors and slightly twisted dialect also to mention that it treats the epic simply as a great work of literature, without the cloying religiosity that has inspired most Indian dramatizations.The arrows and bows are also less hurting compared to the words of the actors which is pure hypnosis.
I also cannot understand the use of rabindra sangeet lines except that the humming can can be used as a state of hypnosis.But the lines are very beautiful.The stark poetry at the starting "Do u know how to write:Its about u:The poetical history of mankind."I am also at a loss how they treat Ganesha and Krishna on the same level.How the story starts with Satyavati?
The chemistry between the pandavas is lacking but that between Karna(Jeff Kissoom) and duryodhana(George corface)is a delight to watch.
The multinational, multi-racial cast from a dozen countries works brilliantly, driving home the universality of the Mahabharata. The script brings out some of its best philosophical nuances and existential dilemmas. Costumes are tasteful, music score hauntingly beautiful, dialog taut and poetic. Battle scenes are creatively shown, like the Chakravyuh that traps Abhimanyu.
Mahabharata1 One thing I noticed more this time -- which you won't find in popular Indian renditions -- is Krishna's ambivalent role in the story (he's not "cute" either). Nor is he above cheating and murderous advice (for e.g., to kill Karna, to hit Duryodhana's thigh, sacrificing Bhima's son). The conclusion is inescapable: even the Creator is flawed, much like His creation. In the end, with the catastrophic destruction of the war, we wonder if Arjuna's doubts were any less profound than Krishna's "divine truth". Was it all worth it? Should one aspire to act without attachment to the fruit of the action? A perfectly defensible interpretation is that Krishna brainwashes Arjuna into "understanding" his duty (or dharma), after which the great warrior exhibits no further doubts -- hardly a desirable state.
In this production, Bhishma is wonderfully quirky and stubborn, with some memorable lines to boot, all delivered in a charming Malian accent ("I abjure forever the love of woman"; "I am troubled. The question is obscure."). Kunti imparts a fitting gravity to her role. Duryodhana is extraordinary, weaving in the right mix of lust for life and power ("Birth is obscure and men are like rivers whose origins are often unknown"). Mama Shakuni is consummately crafty. Bhima is well cast: loud, brawny, and impetuous. Karna is suitably intense and conflicted, though he appears to have done a few too many Shakespearean tragedies before this role. Yudhisthira is an introspective man of truth with a debilitating blind spot. The greatest wonder of all, he observes, is that each day death strikes, and we live as though we were immortal. Draupadi comes across as willful, submissive yet strong, driven by her public humiliation to hardness and gory revenge.Ashwathamma comes as a gory adventurous killer which is just an aspect but cannot be a total rendition.
The moments I cherish the most are the scenes between dharma and yuddishtira at the lake :the moment of truth betwen karna and kunti; Ashwathamma and duryodhana.
Inspite of running at six hours and fifty minutes and a previous grudge of downloading night and day I loved the film and wanted to see more because of the narrative pace and brilliant acting by Bruce Meyers(Krishna) and Robert Landon LLyod(Vyassa),Ryszard Cieslak as Dhritarashtra,Andrzej Seweryn as Yudhishthira.But the actor who steals the show for me is Jeffrey Kissoon as Karna.He is as vulnerable as strong in moments.He wins the best character in the Golliath production.The mahabharata as a production is a titanic of sorts that treats the strata of emotions beliefs with the greatest sensibility.Only the ship continues to sail even after 20 yrs of its making.It takes us on a journey from where we can visualize and get a glimpse of what we call "MAHABHARATA".

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