Bharat EK Khoj 1988 (TV)
by
Shyam Benegal
Roshan Seth looks more Nehruvian than Nehru. Om Puri could be mistaken for Ashok, Aurangzeb,Duryodhana, Ravana, Alauddin Khalji or Rajaraja Chola. Salim Ghouse has played Krishna marvellously, perhaps even better than what Nitish Bhardwaj managed to do in BR Chopra's Mahabharata. He has also played Ram and Tipu Sultan with aplomb. Nasiruddin Shah plays Shivaji. In a small segment, Puneet Issar as Pratap and Surendra Pal as Maan Singh set the screen on fire. Aloke Nath plays Vivekanand.Anang Desai, Pallavi Joshi, KK Raina and Virendra Saxena play many important roles.
But it is not just about perfect acting performances. The camerawork by VK Murthy is top class. Scripting is good, Music by Vanraj Bhatia just grips you. To achieve such a herculean task in the early days of TV was a great triumph of Shyam Benegal.
There are some inherent ideological issues with the show, but they can be pardoned. There is too much of conversational Urdu which seems rather indulgent. The script seems hell-bent on proving equivalence between Hindus and Muslims wherever possible. It tries to pass off the Muslim invasion of India as a Turkish-Afghan one. Islam is always given the benefit of doubt. But I can forgive you such ideological transgressions since you have taken pains to bring alive Teejan Bai, Bakhar, folk songs, Kanthapura and many other cultural aspects of this country.
Bharat Ek Khoj was a triumph. Make no mistake about it.
Is it an essential watch? If not this, what else is?
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