Best Person / character of Mahabharat

[Gollum]

47 minutes ago, Stan AF said:

Shivaji Ganesan is an criminally underrated actor. Most pan Indian audiences don't even know about him. Even the indian government didn't felicitate him on time but the french government bestowed chevalier title in the mid 90s.

He is one of the greats, didn't get his due like many other actors from South and Bengal. I mean look at Nagesh, not even a Padma Shri !!!

 

Sivaji is well respected outside India, he was the favorite actor of Egyptian President Nasser. He was made honorary citizen in other countries, one of the few brown men to win best actor awards in international film festivals. Those who understand cinema would know his greatness. Some gracious remarks by the then Hollywood stars about his acting, including by Brando though I don't know whether some of them are exaggerated. 

 

SIVAJI GANESAN POSING FOR A SNAP WITH HOLLYWOOD ACTORS. STANDING FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: JIM GARNER, JACK LEMMON, CHARLTON HESTON. SITTING FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: GEORGE CHANDLER, SIVAJI GANESAN, WALTER PIDGEON.  

[Gollum]

Just now, I6MTW said:

Shivaji is recognised as an over actor by the masses today. Which was true during the later stages of his career, but it was his initial performances that earned him the title of a thespian. He was an excellent actor no doubt. 

First 50 movies of his (till mid-60s), at least 30 were good and some 10 were legendary. Next 200 movies, hardly 10-15 were good, though I read that he did many of those movies as favor to friends. 

 

His debut was Parasakthi, can it get more impressive than that? 

 

Also a great stage actor, his name wasn't Sivaji, that was bestowed upon him after his portrayal of the warrior king in one of his many plays. Overacting may have been because of his theatre background, besides we have to look at that era and the kind of movies that were made, the expectations of moviegoers etc. He was capable of method acting as well. 

[Gollum]

Name another actor who can pull this off, single take. Today's actors can't form one sentence without stammering.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI-oU1FUZuE

Movie: Cheran Senguttuvan 

Edited May 15, 2020 by Gollum

[Manny_Pacquiao]

Karn. By far

[Manny_Pacquiao]

22 hours ago, coffee_rules said:

Bad deeds of Karna, and why he is killed in the end.

 

https://twitter.com/manojvani/status/1251230150814916608?s=21

https://twitter.com/abhilegend000/status/1259595180413464576?s=21

 

Karna in Vyas MB was much more evil than he is shown in popular TV and movie versions. In a Telugu version, played by NTR, it is shown that Draupadi secretly lusts over Karna as well.

 

Vyas had made it clear that despite all the good deeds in one’s life, you can’t hide from major crimes . Karna was not, as believed,  a reluctant participant in shakuni-Duryodhan conspiracies to kill Pandavas. He actively plotted varnavat/laakshagriha and wanted to burn Kunti and Pandavas. Also, he instigated Pandavas in the Draupadi vastrapaharan, which was the main reason for the war. 
 

 

Karn isn't evil, he's a genius. Those are the guys you want on your side.

[coffee_rules]

1 hour ago, Manny_Pacquiao said:

Karn isn't evil, he's a genius. Those are the guys you want on your side.

Vyaas MB reference, Karna was not made such a tragic hero as he is turning out to be. I don’t appreciate his loyalties lying with adharma, vivashta kayaron ki dhaal hain!

[EnterTheVoid]

Bheem is my favourite character..

 

How dare Dushasan drag Draupadi by the hair and attempt to disrobe her? Bheem avenged her humiliation at Kurukshetra.

 

That saree disrobing scene, I just cannot watch. When Lord Krishna steps in and makes it such that Draupadi's saree is of infinite length, let me tell you, there was not a dry eye in the room.

 

[Mariyam]

Eklavya.

 

By far the noble most character in an epic where the lines between good and evil are blurred.

 

 

 

 

[coffee_rules]

4 hours ago, Mariyam said:

Eklavya.

 

By far the noble most character in an epic where the lines between good and evil are blurred.

 

 

 

 

He fights for Duryodhana alongside Drona in the war.

[Mariyam]

Just now, coffee_rules said:

He fights for Duryodhana alongside Drona in the war.

That part I didn't know.

 

I knew that he selflessly and without any hesitation cut off his thumb for his guru. A guru who didn't even actually teach him. In Indian ethos, a teacher has been a revered figure since antiquity.

 

 

[RedFever]

Mahabharta by Kamala subramanium, is a really good read, which describes the characteistics of each character. You can get the PDF online too.

https://www.amazon.com/Mahabharata-Kamala-Subramaniam-ebook/dp/B01CX2AXG8

 

 

[Adamant]

The version of Mahabharat you watch on tv shows is totally polluted. If you have time then please read mahabharat, Kmg or any other version. 

Karna was a reincarnation of a devil,  reading mahabharat will change your whole perception about Karna,  i was a big fan of Karna too but reading MB hit me hard. 

 

On topic  - 

Actually anyone present in a sabha in which a women is getting tortured isn't worthy of praise, their wrong doing easily outweighs all their virtues. 

 

 So the best character should obviously be someone who wasn't there during the dice game.

Krishna for the win.....  Also if we exclude Krishna bcoz of him being a god then i"ll say it's Abhimanyu. 

[EnterTheVoid]

I can't understand the support for Karna.

 

Karna was complicit in Duryodhan's crimes. Even after knowing that he was the brother of the Pandavas, he still sides with Duryodhan in the Maha Yudh.

 

Sure, Karna had some horrible things done to him earlier (abandoned by Kunti for example). But by the time the Battle at Kurukshetra happens, he has used up all his goodwill IMO.

 

Also, don't understand why Yudhishtir is considered the most righteous amongst the Pandavas? Arjun won Draupadi's hand in marriage, Yudhishtir gambles her away. What right did Yudhistir have over Draupadi to treat her as a commodity and gamble her in the dice game? That entire incident makes my blood boil.

 

Even after all the horrible crimes committed against the Pandavas, Arjun is reluctant to face them at Kurukshetra. It was only after Lord Krishna showed his viswaroop that Arjuna agrees to the battle. And that too, hesitantly. Those conversations between Arjuna and Lord Krishna start the Bhagvad Gita section of the Mahabharata, an incredible piece of literature in it's own right.

 

Kripacharya, Dronacharya, Dhritrashtra, Bhishma, they were all mute spectators when Dushasan humiliates Draupadi. Bheem takes a stand and takes an oath to avenge Draupadi's humiliation. That sub story reaches a crescendo when Bheem kills Duryodhan in the Gada Yudh. He breaks Duryodhan's thigh, the same thigh Duryodhan wanted Draupadi to sit on.

 

All the female characters in the Maha Bharat are tragedies in their own right - Maa Satyavati, Amba (who later kills Bhishm), Ambika (she closes her eyes during the procreation process, causing Dhritrashta to be born blind), Amballika (her son Pandu dies as a result of the curse), Kunti (had to abandon Karna), Gandhari (all her children get killed) etc etc

 

After Bheem, my favourite character is Gandhari. She deliberately blindfolds herself so he can feel the same feelings of helpless as her husband. In the end, it might have been a blessing in disguise. Can't imagine  the pain watching Duryodhan inflict his crimes would have caused. 

 

Edited April 3, 2021 by EnterTheVoid

[EnterTheVoid]

I've been watching the show "Dharmakshetra" on Netflix; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharmakshetra

 

All the main characters in the Mahabharata are made to answer for their crimes. Highly recommended watch. 

[dial_100]

The blissful glow of Lord Viraat Krishna is so bright and mesmerizing, there is not much visible and important in the MB.

 

But Yes Eklavya, Bhim and last but not least Vidur are definitely hard to forget. 

[coffee_rules]

2 minutes ago, dial_100 said:

The blissful glow of Lord Viraat Krishna is so bright and mesmerizing, there is not much visible and important in the MB.

 

But Yes Eklavya, Bhim and last but not least Vidur are definitely hard to forget. 

No wonder Vidura was Krishna’s favorite person in Hastinapura. He stays in his home whenever he turned up there. 

[BacktoCricaddict]

On 4/2/2021 at 8:07 PM, EnterTheVoid said:

I can't understand the support for Karna.

 

Karna was complicit in Duryodhan's crimes. Even after knowing that he was the brother of the Pandavas, he still sides with Duryodhan in the Maha Yudh.

 

Sure, Karna had some horrible things done to him earlier (abandoned by Kunti for example). But by the time the Battle at Kurukshetra happens, he has used up all his goodwill IMO.

 

Also, don't understand why Yudhishtir is considered the most righteous amongst the Pandavas? Arjun won Draupadi's hand in marriage, Yudhishtir gambles her away. What right did Yudhistir have over Draupadi to treat her as a commodity and gamble her in the dice game? That entire incident makes my blood boil.

 

Even after all the horrible crimes committed against the Pandavas, Arjun is reluctant to face them at Kurukshetra. It was only after Lord Krishna showed his viswaroop that Arjuna agrees to the battle. And that too, hesitantly. Those conversations between Arjuna and Lord Krishna start the Bhagvad Gita section of the Mahabharata, an incredible piece of literature in it's own right.

 

Kripacharya, Dronacharya, Dhritrashtra, Bhishma, they were all mute spectators when Dushasan humiliates Draupadi. Bheem takes a stand and takes an oath to avenge Draupadi's humiliation. That sub story reaches a crescendo when Bheem kills Duryodhan in the Gada Yudh. He breaks Duryodhan's thigh, the same thigh Duryodhan wanted Draupadi to sit on.

 

All the female characters in the Maha Bharat are tragedies in their own right - Maa Satyavati, Amba (who later kills Bhishm), Ambika (she closes her eyes during the procreation process, causing Dhritrashta to be born blind), Amballika (her son Pandu dies as a result of the curse), Kunti (had to abandon Karna), Gandhari (all her children get killed) etc etc

 

After Bheem, my favourite character is Gandhari. She deliberately blindfolds herself so he can feel the same feelings of helpless as her husband. In the end, it might have been a blessing in disguise. Can't imagine  the pain watching Duryodhan inflict his crimes would have caused. 

 

Karna's moral framework was personal loyalty and that alone.  He is a great example of a stand-up guy who is so blinded by his loyalty to one person that he loses all objectivity. 

 

You can plug any powerful politician/leader/cult-founder in Duryodhana's place and any fiercely loyal assistant in Karna's place and you see the theme repeated time after time after time everywhere.  Powerful immoral people rely on fiercely loyal lieutenants to further themselves and their agendas.        

Edited April 6, 2021 by BacktoCricaddict

[Pollack]

On 4/2/2021 at 11:44 PM, Adamant said:

The version of Mahabharat you watch on tv shows is totally polluted. If you have time then please read mahabharat, Kmg or any other version. 

Karna was a reincarnation of a devil,  reading mahabharat will change your whole perception about Karna,  i was a big fan of Karna too but reading MB hit me hard. 

 

On topic  - 

Actually anyone present in a sabha in which a women is getting tortured isn't worthy of praise, their wrong doing easily outweighs all their virtues. 

 

 So the best character should obviously be someone who wasn't there during the dice game.

Krishna for the win.....  Also if we exclude Krishna bcoz of him being a god then i"ll say it's Abhimanyu. 

How about Vikarna.

[Vilander]

On 5/14/2020 at 1:23 AM, randomGuy said:

Do they watch the hindi version or dubbed version down south?

depends on the hindi language literacy, mine watched the hindi version.

[Vilander]

On 4/2/2021 at 2:14 PM, Adamant said:

The version of Mahabharat you watch on tv shows is totally polluted. If you have time then please read mahabharat, Kmg or any other version. 

Karna was a reincarnation of a devil,  reading mahabharat will change your whole perception about Karna,  i was a big fan of Karna too but reading MB hit me hard. 

 

On topic  - 

Actually anyone present in a sabha in which a women is getting tortured isn't worthy of praise, their wrong doing easily outweighs all their virtues. 

 

 So the best character should obviously be someone who wasn't there during the dice game.

Krishna for the win.....  Also if we exclude Krishna bcoz of him being a god then i"ll say it's Abhimanyu. 

 

i imagine one of the core values of Mahabharat as pragmatic reality and staying away for decisive evil and good characters. I tend to explore and rationalize judgement on the characters from their point of view and imagine a degree of attribution bias on part of the story teller ( and judge it myself from the individuals point of view) and tweak the reasoning to the context of story in play - but what was done to Draupati was pure evil from all angles- and fitting that each of them faced gory deaths because of that. There was lots that happened before and after that event quite unrelated to it , nothing comes close to Mahabharat is character arc development and shock value. Homers Odysser is no match. GOT i enjoyed, but characters vie for lesser ideals like the throne and some characters are just fodder and are there to build the main story arcs. Mahabharat is so layered in that respect, its a freaking epic. Really hope someone makes a critical ( non bollywood ) Indian modern adaptation of mahabharat.