The Mahabharata (1989 film)

In general terms, the story involves epic incidents between two warring families, the Pandavas (representing good) and the Kauravas (representing evil). Each side, being the offspring of kings and gods, struggles for dominion. They have both been advised by the god Krishna to live in harmony and abstain from the bloody lust for power. Their fights come to threaten the very order of the Universe. The plot is framed by a dialogue between the Brahmin sage Vyasa and the Hindu deity Ganesha, and directed towards an unnamed Indian boy who comes to inquire as to the story of the human race. ==Cast==

• Robert Langdon Lloyd as Vyasa • as Boy • Bruce Myers as Ganesha/Krishna • Vittorio Mezzogiorno as Arjuna • Andrzej Seweryn as Yudhishthira • Mamadou Dioumé as Bhima • Georges Corraface as Duryodhana • Jean-Paul Denizon as Nakula • as Sahadeva • Mallika Sarabhai as Draupadi • Miriam Goldschmidt as Kunti • as Dhritarashtra • Hélène Patarot as Gandhari • Myriam Tadesse as Gandhari's servant • Urs Bihler as Dushasana • Lou Elias Bihler as Young Karna • Jeffrey Kissoon as Karna • Maurice Bénichou as Kitchaka • as Drona • Sotigui Kouyaté as Parashurama / Bhishma • Tuncel Kurtiz as Shakuni • Ciarán Hinds as Ashwatthaman • Erika Alexander as Madri / Hidimbi • as Kindama / The Sun / Rakshasa / Ghatotkacha • Tapa Sudana as Pandu/Shiva/Salya • Akram Khan as Ekalavya • Nolan Hemmings as Abhimanyu • Hapsari Hardjito as Utari (Abhimanyu's wife) • Mas Soegeng as Virata • Yumi Nara as Virata's wife • Amba Bihler as Virata's daughter • Tamsir Niane as Urvasi • Lutfi Jakfar as Uttara • Gisèle Hogard as 1st princess • Julie Romanus as 2nd princess • as Salvi • Ken Higelin as Deathless boy • as Amba / Sikhandin • Joseph Kurian as Dhristadyumna • Clément Masdongar as Gazelle • Leela Mayor as Satyavati • Velu Viswanathan as The hermit ==Production==

The French and eventual English version of the Mahabharata took several years for Brook and Carrière to write and bring to the stage. Three years before the film version was made, Peter Brook staged their adaptation in French at a quarry in Avignon, France. This and the eventual filmed version were the first time that the entire (albeit abridged) story of the Mahabharata was brought to the stage and made into a feature film. The series was produced by new French company Les Films du Troisième Etage as well as international co-producers including Britain's Channel 4 Films, France's La Sept, Brooklyn Academy of Music and Mahabharata Limited, a company involving Brook. ==Reception==

The film version of the Mahabharata received a 20-minute standing ovation at the 1989 Venice Film Festival and received an Emmy Award after the film was aired on TV. The production's use of an international cast caused heated intercultural debate. On the topic of the multi-racial cast, Mumbai-based writer and critic Sanjukta Sharma writes: "The epic becomes intelligible and universal – and tells us why something as captivatingly human as the Mahabharata should not belong just to one nation or race." ==Awards==

In 1990, the film won the award for Performing Arts of the International Emmy Awards and the Audience Award for Best Feature at the São Paulo International Film Festival. ==References==