Mahabharat - Episode 25 - Drona's revenge

Drona's revenge

Keval paanch?

Synopsis

Drona goes to the Panchal Kingdom to seek aid from his former classmate and friend, Drupada. However, Drupada rebukes the friendship, claiming a king and a beggar cannot be friends, humiliating Drona. Guru Drona, in his anger, asks Karuav and Pandav princes for Guru Dakshina. He wants them to defeat king Drupad in battle and bring him alive as his Dakshina. After a failed attempt by Duryodhan, Pandavs bring him back alive, where Drona mocks him and lets him go as a revenge for his insults. He crowns Ashwatthama as the king of southern part of Panchal. Parshuram meets Shri Krishna and returns him his divine weapon, the Sudarshan Chakra.

Discussion

• This is the first time we see the classic war scenes that this show was famous for back in the day. It included lots of people, no cgi, just a bunch of dudes with fake swords fighting each other. The way Duryodhan screams "AAKRAMAN!" must have been enough to give goosebumps when this show first aired. Granted, it feels a bit dated now that we have seen newer, more modern cgi effects.

• In the final talk with Ashwatthama, Guru Drona explains why he did what he did to Eklavya. It was not because of caste or royal blood, but simply for the fact that eklavya "stole" the education instead of getting it by legitimate means. Although I think it could have been due to eklavya being a potential competitor to Drona's favorite Arjun.

• We are treated with another depressing Dhritrashtra monologue. Same old sad story about how he is an unlucky sack who can never be what a king should be and how his son will not be able to continue his legacy. The dialogue is Goosebump worthy, when he curses his own luck and says that he will kill it with his bare hands if he ever meets it as if it were a person.

• The way Nitish Bharadwaj brings Shri Krishna to life in this show is inexplicable. Everytime the camera is on him it feels like we are witness to the god himself. The music, the expressions, the innocence of Krishna, it all comes natural to him. We see a parallel drawn between two friendships. One is of Drona and Drupad, where the wealthier one rejects the friendship in his ego trip. While the other (Krishna) treats Sudama as his kin. There is a reason Krishna-Sudama friendship is so beloved by all.

Notable dialogue:

Bachpan to nasamaj hota hai

Abhimaan veer purush ka sabse bada shatru hai.

Tum kaal nahi ho, tum sirf ek rajkumaar ho.

Vidya par kisi jaati ka adhikaar nahi hai.

Yadi kahi mujhe mera Bhagya mil jaaye, to use me apni in bhujaaon me jakad kar maar daaloon.

Na tum deenheen ho, aur naa mai rajkumar. Tum Sudama ho, mere mitra. Aur main Krishna... Tumhara mitra.

Ab leelayein chhodo Vasudev. Sambhalo apna Shashtra, aur sambhalo apne yug ko!

To be continued