Bharat Ek Khoj
| Bharat Ek Khoj | |
|---|---|
 Bharat Ek Khoj DVD cover | |
| Genre | Historical drama |
| Created by | Shyam Benegal |
| Written by |
Shyam Benegal Shama Zaidi |
| Starring |
Roshan Seth Om Puri Tom Alter Sadashiv Amrapurkar Naseeruddin Shah Lucky Ali Seema Kelkar Mita Vashisht Pallavi Joshi Anjan Srivastav Sohaila Kapoor Ila Arun Irrfan Khan |
| Narrated by | Om Puri |
| Opening theme | Vanraj Bhatia |
| Country of origin | India |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 53 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Raj Pius |
| Cinematography | V. K. Murthy |
| Production company(s) |
Doordarshan Sahyadri Films |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Doordarshan (DD National) |
| Original airing | 1988 |
Bharat Ek Khoj (Hindi: भारत एक खोज, Urdu: بھارت ایک کھوج, English: The Discovery of India) is a 53-episode Indian historical drama based on the book The Discovery of India (1946) by Jawaharlal Nehru,[1] that dramatically unfolds the 5000-year history of India from its beginnings to the coming of independence in 1947. The drama was directed, written and produced by Shyam Benegal with cinematographer V. K. Murthy in 1988 for state-owned Doordarshan. Benegal's regular script collaborator Shama Zaidi also co-wrote the script.[2]
Overview
The series dramatically unfolds and explores the five-thousand year history of India from its beginnings to the coming of the independence in 1947. Its cast include Om Puri, Roshan Seth, Tom Alter and Sadashiv Amrapurkar. Jawaharlal Nehru was portrayed by Roshan Seth, who had previously portrayed Nehru in Richard Attenborough's Gandhi (1982).[3] While Seth enacted the part of Nehru as the story-teller at key points in every episode, Om Puri provided the narration.
The drama was later aired on DD Bharati and currently runs on Lok Sabha TV.
Cast
| Episode | Title | Cast | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bharat Mata Ki Jai | Roshan Seth | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| 2 | The Beginnings | Pallavi Joshi | Atri |
| 3 | The Arrival of the Vedic People (the Rigveda) | Harish Patel | Draha, a Merchant |
| 4 | Caste Formation | Piyush Mishra | Seepahi |
| 5 | Mahabharata Part 1 | Teejan Bai | Herself |
| 6 | Mahabharata Part 2 | Om Puri | Duryodhan |
| 7 | Ramayana Part 1 | Pallavi Joshi | Sita |
| 8 | Ramayana Part 2 | Om Puri | Ravana |
| 9 | Republics and Kingdoms | Virendra Saxena | Vashithak |
| 10 | Negation and Acceptance of Life | Om Puri | Angulimaal |
| 11 | Chanakya and Chandragupta Part 1 | Mita Vashisht | Suhasini |
| 12 | Chanakya and Chandragupta Part 2 | ||
| 13 | Ashoka Part 1 | Om Puri | Ashoka |
| 14 | Ashoka Part 2 | Om Puri | Ashoka |
| 15 | The Sangam Period: Silapaddirakam Part 1 | ||
| 16 | The Sangam Period: Silapaddirakam Part 2 | ||
| 17 | The Classical Age | ||
| 18 | Kalidas and Shakuntala Part 1 | ||
| 19 | Kalidas and Shakuntala Part 2 | ||
| 20 | Harshavardhana | Pankaj Berry | Harshavardhana |
| 21 | Bhakti | ||
| 22 | The Chola Empire Part 1 | ||
| 23 | The Chola Empire Part 2 | ||
| 24 | The Delhi Sultanate and Prithviraj Raso Part 1 | ||
| 25 | The Delhi Sultanate and Prithviraj Raso Part 2 | ||
| 26 | The Delhi Sultanate and Padmavat | Om Puri | Alauddin Khilji |
| 27 | Synthesis | Pankaj Berry | Lorik |
| 28 | The Vijayanagar Empire | Om Puri | Krishna Deva Raya |
| 29 | Feudalism | ||
| 30 | The Fall of the Vijayanagar Empire | ||
| 31 | Rana Sanga, Ibrahim Lodi and Babur | ||
| 32 | Akbar Part 1 (Din-e Ilahi) | Kulbhushan Kharbanda | Akbar |
| 33 | Akbar Part 2 | Kulbhushan Kharbanda | Akbar |
| 34 | Golden Hind | ||
| 35 | Aurangzeb Part 1 | Om Puri | Aurangzeb |
| 36 | Aurangzeb Part 2 | Om Puri | Aurangzeb |
| 37 | Shivaji Part 1 | Naseeruddin Shah | Shivaji |
| 38 | Shivaji Part 2 | Naseeruddin Shah | Shivaji |
| 39 | Company Bahadur (East India Company) | ||
| 40 | Tipu Sultan | Salim Ghouse | Tipu Sultan |
| 41 | The Bengal Renaissance and Raja Ram Mohan Roy | Anang Desai | Raja Ram Mohan Roy |
| 42 | 1857 Part 1 | Tom Alter | British Commander |
| 43 | 1857 Part 2 | Tom Alter | British Officer |
| 44 | Indigo Revolt | Virendra Saxena | Madhav |
| 45 | Mahatma Phule | Sadashiv Amrapurkar | Mahatma Phule |
| 46 | Sir Syed Ahmed Khan | ||
| 47 | Vivekananda | Alok Nath | Swami Vivekananda |
| 48 | Extremists and Moderates | Mohan Gokhale | Gopal Krishna Gokhale |
| 49 | And Gandhi Came Part 1 | ||
| 50 | And Gandhi Came Part 2 | ||
| 51 | Separatism | ||
| 52 | Do or Die | ||
| 53 | Epilogue |
Production
Noted production designer Nitish Roy along with assistants Samir Chanda and Nitin Desai built 144 sets for the extensive production.[4]
References
- ↑ "What makes Shyam special...". The Hindu. Jan 17, 2003. Retrieved JUne 6, 2013.
- ↑ "Music in her lines". The Hindu. October 1, 2011. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
- ↑ "Roshan Seth waits for right role". The Hindu. November 19, 2001. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
- ↑ "Samir Chanda's death was devasting: Shyam Benegal". The Times of India. Aug 20, 2011. Retrieved June 6, 2013.