Mahabharat (2013–2014) User Reviews

Life Saviour

[superab · 10/10 · 12 December 2018]

This series saved me from falling in depression and pushed me to start my life journey again with much more positive energy. Just wanted more details like old Mahabharat (later watched some episodes on YouTube). I love this Mahabharat 👏🏻 🙏 Jai Shri Radhe Krishna 🙏

This new age Mahabharat is indeed another masterpiece in making ...... A 'Real' Game of Thrones indeed

[neelabhindian · 10/10 · 2 November 2013]

Everyone including myself wondered whether this new Mahabharat by Swastik Production will ever live up to the masterpiece created by BR Chopra more than 2 decades back. Although the promos were looking very engrossing but yet this element of doubt was always there.

The few episodes in the beginning may have appeared to be like a fast- forward of the story of mahabharat revolving around king shantanu. However as the they pass away things begin to get settled down and the story begins to pick up the right grip/pace.

Now in this Mahabharat the characters have been treated to quite an extent objectively and have been allowed sufficient space to grow. The negative characters like Dhritrashtra and Shakuni are shown as to how circumstances made them the way they were. Moreover the Sets can rival that of Hollywood production while the background score of Ajay-Atul is enigmatic and the hallmark of this series. I personally like Rajyabhisekh Mantra , Karna's Theme , Parshuram's Theme ,Bheshma's Theme and above all Krishna's amazing flute music.

Coming to performance. As yet of now everyone is acting superbly. However the actor playing Bheeshm and Lord Krishna are outstanding . Alongwith that the teachings of Lord Krishna in between the episodes are truly full of wisdom and knowledge for the current generation of young Indians who are torn between the worlds of modernity and traditions.

On one thing, I would like to really applaud this Mahabharata team is that they even after 2 decades of gap (since the 1st mahabharat was telecasted) haven't diluted the aspect of culture, ethics and practices of Indian tradition which shall have some positive influence on our present day youngsters.

To sum it up , this new Mahabharat is the best thing running on Indian television and to those for whom it appears as soap opera should really get a medical check-up of their ability to analyze things properly . With great war scenes and maintaining the same momentum I am sure it shall too be the most iconic thing ever to be launched in the history of Indian Television . 10/10 for this great work .

best

[ankitpatel-driftking000 · 10/10 · 21 February 2014]

hats off man... you producer,director,scrip writer and actor did great, marvelous job.. love you all..

who the Hel***** is telling that this Mahabharata version is not good... go off if you don't know what to show and what to not....

YOU ARE BEST SERIAL .... YOU ARE AWESOME. YOU DID GREAT JOB. YOU ARE PERFECT SUPERB ACTING BY ACTOR AND ACTRESS. HATS OFF AGAIN love ya all nice work best job love it hope you get BEST TRP in TV show.

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!!!

A Modern Day Masterpiece !!! MUST WATCH !!!!

[pjshahu · 10/10 · 7 December 2013]

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...

The Cast was one of the main reason this show was so good

[junedshaha · 10/10 · 5 February 2020]

This was one of the best shows on Indian TV. The Cast was the best fit. Be it krishna be it duryodhana. My Only complaint was why only one year of such a good show whereas stupid shows keep on running for 10 years. P.S. I understand this was due to budget reasons.

Star Plus"Mahabharat"(2013) is a great show......

[thinkapala · 10/10 · 18 February 2016]

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 .....

A must watch show

[manishxmlkr · 10/10 · 31 May 2020]

I have been watching series since my childhood, i saw lots of drama,romance,action,thrill,horror, survival and all, bt no show can touch its height.Every character in this show are mind blowing and did very best of their performance. The epic show based on epic.A MUST WATCH.

Hotstar : Game of thrones for India

[nkj-vsp · 10/10 · 19 April 2020]

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

Indian Epic saga with brilliant performance

[vikfrank · 10/10 · 24 March 2014]

I am saying that this is the best an Indian television can do, but the level of story telling and screen experience is really good.

All the actors really living the characters and it feels good to see our history the greatest epic saga on this grandeur level.

There are some loop holes in some emotional places but that can be subsided.

Karna was actually very cunning character but serial portrayed him very nearer to pandava's character.

More over this TV serial has created mile stone for all the TV shows in India.

Best one, but ..

[dyahachie2211 · 9/10 · 18 October 2014]

anyone who read the Mahabharat book perhaps will feel disappointed with the story, indeed. but one who never read the book before, esp when you lived abroad far from India like me, will love the movie and perhaps wants to read the book after they watch this movie.

we have our own version of Mahabharat which been rewritten and recreated by our ancestors thousands years BCE. as I and several of our people read both Indian/original version and Javanese/Indonesian version of Mahabharat, so we don't mind and regret any improved or updated version of Mahabharat, as long as we can catch the moral message lies within the movie (and the book) itself.

what I love from this movie is their objectives to spread moral values, such as respect the elders, obey your parents, respect for women, teenage bravery to protect their parents,equal rights for low-class people, etc. which are damaged seriously within young and adult generation all over the world these days.

some key actors of Mahabharat enjoyed high appreciation in our country during their tour recently, and i think they worth it, regardless disappointed voices on their acting performance.

I myself would like to praise this movie (BR Chopra's Mahabharat was also aired by our television long ago)as the best version of Mahabharat. a little bit of my disappointment arise due to short episodes on Virataparwan (which should told us more about Pandava's suffering and how they survived), and small appearance of Gathotkacha, regarding this character is adored by kids and adults in our country.

Addictive

[mahendramalla · 10/10 · 4 February 2018]

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.

Good attempt but bogged down by over-dramatisation/masala and inaccuracies. BR Chopra version best for accuracy.

[steeltrust · 7/10 · 15 September 2022]

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.

Mahabharat or Masalabharat

[moonbeam165 · 5/10 · 6 August 2014]

When I first heard that a big budget all-new Mahabharat was going to be played on Star plus, I was excited. I was excited because I always wished our richest and greatest Epic be made with special visual effects and a much more dynamic star cast that it well deserves. Well, to start off with I was very impressed with the setting, the cast, visual effects, background score and Krishna's narration. However, as the drama progressed, I saw the detonation of the script and characters. It sort of started to degrade to the soap standards with young pretty girls playing old women, the suspenses, too many dialogues, etc. etc. Here are a few more examples for my disappointment: (1) I think the girl who played Kunthi's role was such a turn off. One could never relate to her as a mother of such mighty warrior sons. (2) The characters lack depth. For example, Duryodhan is shown as such a shallow character; he's plain bad and silly which I guess was not the case. Duryondhan too was a mighty warrior and did have some spiritual qualities. Similarly, Karna's role too lacks depth; he seems to be so inconsistent with his stand. Sometimes, he is super kind and sometimes, just blindly supporting his friend or using profane language against Pandavas. (3) Oh, the main guys, the Pandavas!… they act and behave like college dropouts. (4) Krishna was good to start of with, but somehow his character began to ramble a lot. He can connect anything to Dharma for his own convenience. Also, its funny how they show he can freeze time and space to explain his point on the war field. (5) I was disappointed with Abhimanyu's war scene too. They could have worked more on the Chakravyuh formation and the strategy to break it. In stead, they just wasted the scene with dialogue exchanges and the poor kid simply dies talking Based on the above few things I mentioned and more, I just feel it's just it's an okay entertainer. I wished the team had invested more time in researching the mythology and presenting it in a more philosophical and profound manner. I don't think i would make my children watch this when they grow up as it would simply confuse them with the essence of our epic. I would rather read them the Mahabharat series from Amar Chitra Katha. Hence, I just give a 5!

Awesome and best direction

[rickyoneaaidu · 10/10 · 17 July 2014]

No one can match the characters and direction for this. Immensely pleased and love to follow it.

Love the character of Shakuni who has played the best part in the series. Krishna has the grace which I never saw in any form. All characters have their own music theme which incorporates their thinking and thoughts.

Awesome direction and fast enough to keep you interested all the time. overall acting has been superb.Special credit for Bhisma role who has justified his part superbly. Star plus has surely came up with something special. Wish we could get it on Netflix.Love it and recommend it.

Mahabharata Review. LOVE IT!!!

[indiandancelover · 10/10 · 9 December 2016]

This series was Awesome!!!!!! I couldn't have asked for more. Draupadi is so well cast, and so are the Pandavas, Bhishma, definitely Krishnas and even Shakuni. I just loved it!!!! I watched it already twice and some scenes and I just go back to. The theme song and the songs in general is beyond words. I love Yada Yada Hi Dharmasya!!! Like, it's more than I could ever ask for. Also, Bhisma is so fine!!!! Like he's honestly to god, very HOT!!!!!! I could watch him all day! I LOVE HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This series is just fantastic and no wonder it keeps being showed on main stream TV!!! More than 3 times!!!! If that doesn't say it. LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Beyond words.

Superb ! i was critical as Old is always gold ! But This one is GEM !

[suyash123 · 10/10 · 14 May 2020]

The Direction , the story telling, the Story writing, Cinematography is really outstanding. very special thing of this is Lord Krishna role is marvelous , Gita's References in middle of correct and precise point of mahabharat episode is superb . i m really impressed. This Makes mahabharat is not just a Tale of ancient India but a Hub of knowledge sharing which a Human should think and put it on our life ! esp. Lord krishna's Quotes. The dialogues are really meaningful

I really thanks - Siddharth Kumar Tewary for making such a great and knowledgeful Series which will be a GEM for lifetime . This made our lil generations now onwards to learn about our history and learn about wisdom in new way.

Thank you to all actors and entire team of MAHABHARAT . u did great work !

No Words!!!

[sharmasourav-16576 · 10/10 · 16 September 2017]

An excellent replica of The Great Epic "Mahabharat". It feels like i am also a part of it.Awesome team, Bheesma and Krishna are outstanding and Hats Off to Krishna seekh which is needed very much for our youth. Superb animations,Wonderful theme song and soothing background music in between. Lots of Love!!!!

The most enthralling show on Indian Television

[rockheat · 10/10 · 23 September 2017]

An amazing and adventurous saga with enthralling narration and amazing sets. All the actors are excellent in their portrayal of characters like Shakuni, Bhishm, Krishna and Arjun. CGI and Graphics were world-class. Script and dialogues were well written and well delivered. The music and Soundtrack was so good! - It should get an Oscar. Emotional and War scenes were well portrayed. Above all.the director and direction was just superb!It touched the heart, made us laugh sometimes and cry sometimes. Amazing Experience

A great show of all time.

[krayush-60818 · 10/10 · 28 April 2019]

The show can be called a masterpiece in terms of screenplay, music and acting of the leads.. The skillful actors such as Pooja sharma Arav and sourabh raj jain had justified the role very well.. No other show can replace the glory of this masterpiece. (A great work)

Best MAHABHARAT Narration afer BR Chopara's Mahabharat

[mukulshukla · 10/10 · 14 May 2020]

I will call it the modern narration of epic Mahabharat. I have already watched several versions of Mahabharat but I am very much impressed with this version . Kudos to all crew members and cast for their hard word and dedication .

Best Mahabharat ever

[ishvadhel · 10/10 · 13 February 2017]

All the characters are just perfect. And I did not see any melodrama in it.It was just that to give it more feel, background music was added. I got so involved in it ! I have all the episodes in my laptop and I love to watch it again and again. I have seen some episodes of old Mahabharat online..but i did not like them at all ! I did not get that feel..I wasn't satisfied with even a single character.But this 2013 show ? It cannot get better..just perfect ! It seemed very real..epic show on television..The most perfect Mahabharat with the perfect characters and perfect music..10 on 10 for it. I could connect with all the characters. And specially Lord Krishna's character was so very well played. The only minor flaw in it was the makeup was a little more. But the acting of every single character was so real. Hats off to this show.

Few things not related to real incident, and also not happen in real as well

[sirmohittomar · 6/10 · 19 November 2020]

Mahabharat without kripacharya? How is that possible? . Kripacharya is most important character as well. And he fight with pandvas, and he is also a great worrior. . You people don't give much importance to dhrishtadyumna, While he is also a important character in pandvas army. . You people just lime light pandvas and abhimanyu, But you forget about dhrishtadyumna and kripacharya. . . Bheeshma take his vow in front of satyawati father. Not in front of satyawati.

Threat to the originality of the GREAT EPIC

[stutitripathi-1994 · 3/10 · 1 April 2014]

It is extremely disappointing to see the soul of the epic being teased by the trp freak team of the writers who not only have manipulated the originality of this epic but also spoiled it with typical saas- bahu melodrama. I really cant see this much extent of damage to the truth.. :( Extending every episode with the much useless emotional dramatic scenes, adding false and imaginary melodrama scenes that never happened just serve as a source of worry for the young generation that are constantly misguided about this great epic..!! I hold a strong resentment for the whole script as well as maker team.. :@ I don't mind dragging them in the legal proceedings, if needed, for the sake of preserving some part of "truth" and "dharma".(that this serial was expected to preserve -_- )

Must watch

[rokingaditya-18175 · 9/10 · 25 May 2020]

Art of story telling at its best. Previous versions just taught what happened in epic but this one also taught why it happened and what can be the interpretations. Though some characters were missing and the story seems little different thn previous ones this was the only version that made me cry nd also helped me getting better as a human being.

Awesome

[anandbirajdar-85310 · 10/10 · 4 May 2020]

Its awesome Mahabharat serial.... And its not ekta Kapoors Mahabharat.... Specially all actors work is awesome.... Specialy krishna (Saurabh jain) acting looks lk real...