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Mahabharat (1988 TV series)

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For the 2008 TV series produced by Balaji Telefilms, see Kahaani Hamaaray Mahaabhaarat Ki. For the 2008 TV series produced by Bobby Bedi, see Mahabharat (2008 TV series).
Mahabharat
File:Mahabharat tv series.jpg
GenreIndian History
Created byBaldev Raj Chopra
Narrated byHarish Bhimani
Country of originIndia
Original languageHindi
No. of episodes94
Production
Running time45 minutes approx
Original release
NetworkDD National
Release2 October 1988 –
24 June 1990
Related
Kahaani Hamaaray Mahaabhaarat Ki
Mahabharat (2008 TV series)
Vishnu Puran

Mahabharat is a successful Indian television series based on the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata. The 94-episode series originally ran from 2 October 1988 to 24 June 1990.[1] It was produced by B. R. Chopra and directed by his son, Ravi Chopra. The music was composed by critically acclaimed music director Rajkamal. Each episode was approximately 45 minutes long. It followed the highly successful Ramayan broadcast in 1987–1988.

It was shown in the UK by the BBC, where it achieved audience figures of 5 million, unheard of for a subtitled series being aired in the afternoon.[2] It was also the first programme broadcast on BBC2 after its 1991 revamp,[3] but was also shown late at night on BBC 1 the previous year [4]

According to production team member Kishore Malhotra, the total cost of producing the series was Rs. 90,000,000.[5]

Cast

Participating in war

in favour of (Pandavas)

in favour of (Kauravas)

Other cast

Episode Structure

The opening credits are shown over a backdrop of illustrations from ISKCON's edition of the Bhagavad-Gita, Bhagavad-Gītā As It Is. The Society and its founder, Swami Prabhupada, are credited for these illustrations. The sung verses at the end of the credit sequence are Verses 7 and 8 of Chapter 4 of the Gītā: "Whenever and wherever a decline of righteousness and a predominance of unrighteousness prevails, at that time I (Krishna) manifest myself personally, O descendant of Bhārata; for the protection of the devotees and the annihilation of the miscreants and to fully establish righteousness, I appear millenium after millenium."

The voice of Time (Samay in Hindi, voiced by Harish Bhimani) narrates the series. At or near the beginning of each episode, Time reviews relevant events that have gone before and sets the stage of the action happening in the present episode. During these sequences, a backdrop of stars and planets is shown overlaid with a transparent image of a statue's head and/or a slowly turning wheel. Time often speaks of perceiving or revealing patterns in the epic that only it can know from its cosmic perspective. Time also occasionally provides a narration while human-scale action is shown.

Each episode ends with a sung verse either summarizing the physical or emotional state of the episode's main characters, or a moral lesson that can be drawn from the action. The title song has been song by Mahendra Kapoor, the Indian playback singer.

References

  1. ^ McLain, Karline (2009). India's immortal comic books: gods, kings, and other heroes. Indiana University Press. p. 46. ISBN 9780253220523.
  2. ^ Epic Hindi Language Series Mahabharat Launches Exclusively on Rogers OMNI Television Channels In Ontario and British Columbia
  3. ^ "The TV Room". The TV Room. 1991-02-16. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
  4. ^ "The TV Room". The TV Room. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
  5. ^ Mahabharat Ki Mahabharat: The Making of B.R. Chopra's "Mahabharat"

External links

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