Mahabharat

The good -

• Graphics/VFX are good for the most part but overdone and too gaudy in some areas. It's an expensive project and it shows. Costume design is great.

• Krishna, Bhishmapita and Draupadi are excellent, others are ok. Krishna really stands out and his teachings are written properly( although hugging Karna is stupid). But overall really good, even better than Nitish Bhardwaj's Krishna. Bhisma looks the part and dialogue delivery is good. Draupadi has been given more role than BR Chopra's Draupadi.

• bgms for each character is great and gives an epic feel.

• Vidura, Drona and Drupad came out well.

Now the bad things -

• Loud and overuse of bgm. There's music after almost every dialogue and the thundering sound is cheap and unnecessary. Lacks subtlety of western shows like Game of Thrones.

• Lots of overacting and bad closeups of actors. Actors staring at the camera with their eyes bulging and crying dramatically. Bhim and Shakuni is particularly guilty of this. The BR Chopra edition had more subtlety.

• Too much masala drama added and scenes dragged out too long. The death of Abhimanyu is poorly shown with the Pandavas and Karauavs talking to each other which is not possible as Pandavas are supposed to be far outside the Chakravyuh at the entrance. And Abhimanyu is supposed to be deep inside the Chakravyuh when he's killed. The Pandavas didn't actually see his death because they were outside fighting with Jaidrath. Again, the BR version was better here.

• Lord Krishna hugging Karna before his death? Like c'mon, that's a bit too much. Krishna may have had a bit of sympathy for Karna but hugging him like that is completely out of character for him as Karna had insulted Draupadi and Krishna was very close to Draupadi and the Pandavas.

• In the original, Karna's chariot wheel gets stuck during battle with Arjun. Here Krishna takes the chariot away and makes Karna chase after them and then his wheel gets stuck.

• Karna's death is also laughably shown in this. In the original story he's instantly killed when Arjuna fires the arrow at him. In this however, he doesn't die and keeps taking for several minutes with the arrow in his neck. Then Kunti arrives on the battlefield and talks to him which never happens in the orginal story. Then his adopted mother Radha also arrives with his wife Vrushali wtf!! Completely ridiculous as they were nowhere near Kurukshetra during the war. Just added for masala.

• Bhishmapitamaha's death is also inaccurate, all the five Pandavas are attacking him in some secluded place and the Kauravas are nowhere to be seen lol. Then Shikandi arrives and shoots an arrow at him wtf. In the original story Shikhandi doesn't use any weapons and is just placed in front of Bhisma so he gives up his weapons. Why can't you just stick to the original in important events like this.

• Duryodhan actor is soft/boyish looking and doesn't have the strong vibe and rough look that BR's Duryodhan had. His dialogue delivery is weak as well and doesn't feel threatening at all.

• Krishna playing dice game with Shakuni in the end? Wtf lol

• Most of the fight scenes are bad with too much slow motion and unnecessary dialogues. After spending so much money atleast make some proper choreographed action scenes that have tension. In this it's two sides shooting CGI arrows at each other.

I never imagined that this show would be this good until i started watching it.I got hooked to it right from the first episode.The acting,screenplay,direction,BGM are too good except the budget for graphics and vfx which you can strike off considering the amount it needs.They should have promoted it Country wide for the reach.Anyway it got dubbed into some languages which did good.Finally a must watch for any kind of audience.This story is really an epic.

Actually I shouldn't be compared to any show. But few people understand Western name. As those who judge with 1988 mahabharat this version is more updated and accepted. I love this show in hotstar, when I started I couldn't stop it all. I am proud of my epic history which is shown beautifully in this show

Star Plus"Mahabharat"(2013)Is a great... because so many points made it good and more acceptable.

I know our the-original-text-of-Mahabharatha. It is full of a huge history of our Indian HINDU religion and a GLORIOUS knowledge,AND IT is unchangeable and never old and always THE GREAT EPIC..

On the other side, it came out through a TV show in 1988 by B.R CHOPRA. It is a good epic show of MAHABHARATHA..the time was so different and the people's mentality were different,the main point of that great success, it was only 1st time TV show of MAHABHARATHA the limited TV channels were available on that time.

I saw so many people have commented on their reviews that the 2013 Star plus MAHABHARATHA is not good.. I just oppose that : the new MAHABHARATHA is extremely appropriate and acceptable..because the Time has been changed as it is 21st CENTURY, the science and life is too fast, the people is too busy in their work and they have no time, 1000 TV shows are available , all people are modern and so many youth are not believed in supper natural things.. as a consequence, they are detached from our main culture and religious..

As a Result the NEW MAHABHARATHA 2013, is so summarized and meaning full .. though some text have been missed and some text is manipulating but the basic thing is same as the-original-text-of-Mahabharatha.. the Other side it is true the TV shows are not written by VEDAVYASA the director want to represent the main and actual Indian History. A great religious Knowledge he want to represent through the science and good artist.. technology....he did a great job .....

HATS OFF to the makers of this version of Mahabharat !!

I am a BIG fan of B R Chopra's Mahabharat, have seen it 4 times and hence I had never imagined that anyone can match to the level of B. R. Chopra's Mahabharat as that version of great story of Mahabharat was awesome. Each and every character of that Mahabharat is etched in people's mind till date and it is hard to imagine that anyone else can create the same magic on screen with Mahabharat. This fact was reinforced after watching the disastrous and pathetic "Kahani hamare Mahabharat ki" by Ekta Kapoor which was unceremoniously and rightly so was taken off air midway.. But After watching this version of Mahabharat, I am immensely impressed and I thanks the makers from bottom of my heart for bringing this epic story on screen again by doing much more detailed analysis and showing it with the grandeur and magnificence which it demands!!!

The casting is PERFECT!!! I never imagined that I would accept any other actor in those roles after watching B R Chopra's Mahabharat. But I was wrong.. In this Mahabharat as well, the Casting is Superb.. Each and every Actor slips into his / her character and looks perfect... Especially, the actors playing Krishna, Bheeshma,Dronacharya, Dhrutrashtra, Karna, Arjuna. Bheema, Duryodhan looks perfect and enacted their part with aplomb and gusto!!!

An Overall impressive treatment is given to each and every department of show... Story, Screenplay and Dialogues does complete justice to the Epic... The screenplay of this version of Mahabharat is better at many parts as compared to B R Chopra's Mahabharat... Noted Mythologist Devdutt Patnaik is the Special Adviser for story and screenplay and he has done excellent job.. This version gives answers to many questions which left unanswered in old Mahabharta and narrates the story in an altogether new way which really good , entertaining, educative and exciting.

The sets are magnificent and brilliantly designed (Omang Kumar of Devdas & Black fame). It gives the feeling of the great kingdoms of ancient India..

Very detailed attention is given to the costumes, makeup and characterization of each and every character.. thanks to the guidance of Oscar winning costume designer Bhanu Athaiya

The production value, Visual effect, Action Sequences are superb, authentic and engaging... The Dialogues are meaningful and are at par with the level set by Dr. Rahi Masum Raza for Chopra's Mahabharat.. The intuitive use of Krishna in every episode is magical and the speech he gives is very entertaining and highly educative..

Thanks a lot to Team Mahabharat for treating this epic story honestly and with good intentions and Kudos to the entire team and I sincerely hope that the same honest treatment would continue till end of this epic story...