Fascinating! Brook has assembled a terrific cast which does a most creditable job. Standouts are almost too many to list but I was impressed by Duryodhana, Amba, Vyasa, Draupadi, and Drona. Sakuni was suitably oily and Dushasana (sp?) satisfyingly craven. Jeffrey Kissoon as Karna, the most pitiable and conflicted of the characters, gave a memorable performance.
One wonders, though, after seeing this adaptation, why Krishna is considered a "good guy". He advises Bhima to contravene the rules of engagement established before the war begins, just in order to win by striking Duryodhana below the waist (although, of course, after Duryodhana's display of his thigh to Draupadi after the dice scene, it's seen as a suitable comeuppance for him). Krishna contrives to have Yudhishthira, who never lies, lie at a crucial moment to gain an advantage. The lesson one learns, if one tries to learn a lesson, is that the end justifies the means.
To me the whole moral lesson of this epic rests on whether Yudhishthira was actually cheated at dice. If he was not, and continued out of stupidity or addiction to wager away all his assets, then his side did not deserve to "win" the war. Only if he was cheated does he have moral standing here, and the epic is ambiguous about that.
Thought-provoking and well worth watching.
One wonders, though, after seeing this adaptation, why Krishna is considered a "good guy". He advises Bhima to contravene the rules of engagement established before the war begins, just in order to win by striking Duryodhana below the waist (although, of course, after Duryodhana's display of his thigh to Draupadi after the dice scene, it's seen as a suitable comeuppance for him). Krishna contrives to have Yudhishthira, who never lies, lie at a crucial moment to gain an advantage. The lesson one learns, if one tries to learn a lesson, is that the end justifies the means.
To me the whole moral lesson of this epic rests on whether Yudhishthira was actually cheated at dice. If he was not, and continued out of stupidity or addiction to wager away all his assets, then his side did not deserve to "win" the war. Only if he was cheated does he have moral standing here, and the epic is ambiguous about that.
Thought-provoking and well worth watching.