Episode 13 to 17 - Krishna Leela

2021-12-21

Recap

An infant krishna, who is growing up in Gokul brings death to the demoness Putana send by Kansa.

Krishna Leela

Vo to iss jagat ka hai, use iss jagat me hi bat jaane do..

I have decided to bunch these five episodes in one post because subjectively they don’t have anything that can have long discussions. It is nothing but various leelas of shri krishna. I have added multiple shots from the episodes to let the reader familiarize themselves with the theme and tone of these episodes.

Discussion

While these episodes may feel like filler episodes, it is definitely a visual and auditory treat. Multiple songs have been added to these episodes to reflect the mood of song and dance that is always shown in Vrindavan. Maa yashoda sees the whole of universe in little krishna’s mouth, Krishna remembers his Ram Avatar memories for a moment. We see him stealing Makhan from around Vrindavan and parts and we see how the people of Vrindavan are more than happy to let him steal it. Krishna lifts up whole mountains and brings down Kaliya naag. These are stories we are familiar with since our childhood and that is why we are not going into detail on these.

Some of the cinematic shots were brilliant especially the one where a young krishna is playing flute and the gopikas are dancing around him and the shot where Krishna stole Gopi’s clothes and was sitting on the tree playing the flute. Very pleasing camera work. The songs are definitely very nostalgic (Maiya mori, mai nahin maakhan khaayo.) I think the best portrayal of Krishna was done by the child who played a younger krishna. It was almost as if you were transported into Vrindavan. Many special effects were okay, some were outright bad, but I don’t think we can blame the producers who were limited by the technology of their time. What I noticed even then, was that this show is much more watchable than the current religious TV shows that they are churning out with excessive CGI and filmy elements. Krishna was a human in the end, and showing him as humane is a part of good story telling and that is where the current storytellers are missing out. In trying to make the show look good, they are forgetting that the material needs to be good as well.

The effects in death of Kansa were not up to the mark and felt overused. I know better than to question the cinematic choice of the producers but I think it could have been shown in a little decent manner. The sound effects were also reminiscent of 80’s hollywood movies that we see. When Krishna went underwater in Kaliya’s den, you could swear an Alien would show up the very next moment. It shows that industry standards still existed in the 80s. The characteristic bing bong sound of aliens coming was prevalent whenever something supernatural happened on screen. Other than that, these episodes were more drama then the usual social commentary that Mahabharat episodes tend to be, and it is welcome. No one likes too much seriousness. So after this episode we will be going back to the land of Hastinapur since we are now introduced to a major player in Mahabharat, or should I say, the only player. ;) Until next time!