The Mahabharata of Our Times

Through his choice of cast and aesthetic, brook tries to speak about the world we live in

01 August 2010
The sets and props in Brook’s Mahabharata are artfully minimalist, such as the battered rope and the white Ganesha mask.
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The sets and props in Brook’s Mahabharata are artfully minimalist, such as the battered rope and the white Ganesha mask.
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I WAS SIX YEARS OLD WHEN I FIRST SAW Peter Brook’s Mahabharata. An aunt, knowing of my fascination for the epic, had brought back a copy of the film from England. I was hooked from the very first minute. Initially, my parents were gratified, even proud. Like all ambitious parents, they were constantly on the watch for some sign that I was prodigy material, and my delight in Brook’s film seemed a promising indication of good taste to them. But soon they were worried. Day after day, in the stubborn way of small children, I would bully them into letting me watch the film. If they said no, I would turn to blackmail—I would refuse to eat unless the film was on and I could perch,

eyes a few dangerous inches away from the screen of our 15-inch TV.

Attempts were made to wean me away, but to no avail. As a last resort, my parents tried to interest me in a substitute—another Mahabharata, BR Chopra’s.

Keywords: film Mahabharata Samhita Arni Vietnam War Peter Brook Luis Bunuel Jean-Claude Carriere minimalism adaptation BR Chopra
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