Believer in the principle of Advaita to present to the audience the work done by the great philosopher Adi Shankaracharya, who protected and restored the culture of peace, non-violence, love and humanity through his Advaita principle, from a historical rather than a spiritual perspective. The organization 'The Art of Living' and writer director Omkarnath Mishra are coming up with the web series 'Adi Shankaracharya', the first season of which is ready for release this week.
Films have been made on the subject of Adi Shankar before but could not leave any significant impact on the minds of common people. Perhaps one reason for this could be that Adi Shankar's life span was short but the works done by him are so important, detailed and historical that it would be extremely difficult to include them in the format of a film. Keeping this problem in mind, writer director Omkarnath Mishra has made a beautiful effort to tell the story of the first 8 years of Adi Shankaracharya's life in the first season of his web series.
Story:-
The first season has a total of 10 episodes which are given different names according to the story contained in them. Such as Arrival (Episode 1), The Prodigal Child and the Alien Conspiracy (Episode 2), Retribution and Foreshadowing (Episode 3), Entering the Gurukul (Episode 4), Kalaripatthu and the Chinese Martial Arts (Episode 5), The First Miracle ( Episode-6), The Amazing Disciple (Episode-7), The Second Miracle (Episode-8), Urge for Sanyas (Episode-9) and Sanyas (Episode-10).
In the first episode, the historically important events from the birth of Adi Shankar and the contemporary historical events up to 1000 years before his birth are presented in a sequential manner. From the beginning of the Maurya period BC, corrupt practices started in society/religion, as a result of which Buddhist and Jain sects emerged and the era of communalism, new gods and forced religious conversion began. More than 72 religious sects emerged in India. Influenced by Buddhist non-violence philosophy, Emperor Ashoka stopped funding the army. The army became weak and gradually India got divided into more than 300 states, which led to war against each other.
Finding India weak, the Arabs attacked Sindh in 712 AD and after winning, they tried to enter Central India by force and South India as traders by sea route. It was an era of complete social, political and spiritual darkness. Under these circumstances, Adi Shankaracharya was born in 788 AD as the son of Shri Shivguru and Goddess Aryamba. They were a childless couple who prayed to Lord Shiva for 48 days at the Vrischachal Temple in Thrissur, Kerala, seeking the boon of having a child. Pleased with his devotion, Lord Shiva appeared to Shivguru in a dream and blessed him with an omniscient but short-lived son.
Due to his extraordinary talent and qualities since childhood, Shri Shankar soon became the center of attraction for the people of the area. At that time Kerala was becoming the center of anti-India activities. The Arab conspirators were coming in the guise of traders. Their aim was to enslave India at the ideological level by destroying the knowledge and faith of the Indian people. After taking a vow that they would be ready to make sacrifices at any time to protect the country and its culture, Lord Parashurama settled 64 Brahmin families from the banks of Narmada and Kaveri in his holy place Kerala. Later, these dedicated disciples of Parashurama came to be known as 'Namboodiris' and Acharya Shivguru (father of Adi Shankar) was one of their descendants. Realizing that the time had come to fulfill his vow, Sivaguru decided to expel the Arab conspirators from Kerala.
Similarly, the story progresses according to its theme, enlightening the audience along with entertainment and in the 10th episode, after a fierce fight with the crocodile, 8 year old boy Shri Shankar took the blessings of his mother and left his home to find his Guru Shri Govindpada. Set out on a journey to Omkareshwar.
Writing and Direction:-
Seeing the way director Omkarnath Mishra has made a great effort to show the historical aspect with facts in this series, it seems that he has done deep study and research on this subject. In order to present the image of 8th century India, the social fabric, environment, way of life, dialect, clothing and attire, mutual behaviour, conduct and thoughts along with other small things of that time should be well described. Care has been taken. There is no flaw visible anywhere. While watching the series, it seems that Omkarnath Mishra has used a time machine and taken you to the same era.
Acting:-
The choice of Arnav Khanijo in the lead role of 8 year old boy Shankar has been successful. He looks quite impressive. The necessary calmness, seriousness and aura are visible on his face which easily attracts.
Famous TV actress Suman Gupta and Krishna serial actor Sandeep Mohan have made full use of their experience in the role of Adi Shankar's parents and have been successful in connecting the audience with their characters.
Actor Rajiv Ranjan Acharya impresses a lot with his dialogue delivery and facial expressions in the character of Vibhuti. Ranjan has proved why he is called a versatile actor with his serious and natural acting in the character of Acharya Vibhuti. Yogesh Mahajan has presented a very natural and natural acting in the character of Acharya Dharmadhwaj.
Shivendu Omshainiwal in the role of Raja Dahir and actor Hitendra Upasani in the role of Detective Muktimani have hypnotized them with their impressive acting skills in their small roles. Both these actors have played their characters with such intensity that after watching this small scene, you will be mesmerized. The king will be filled with respect and pride for Dahir. Veteran TV actor Gagan Malik has presented Emperor Ashoka effectively on screen. All the remaining actors have done complete justice to their characters and have been successful in connecting the audience with the story.
music:-
The series also has music necessary for the story which gives a divine feeling. There are many songs which the audience would definitely like to hear in the form of bhajans. The prayer made to divert the flow of the village river and Shivoham Shivoham have become very sweet.
conclusion:-
Apart from being entertaining, the series-2 is also quite informative and many incidents are shown and told which will open your eyes. This is a must watch web series that gives you an opportunity to be proud of our golden history and also learn from the mistakes made by our rulers in the past.
The web series 'Adi Shankaracharya' will be released on November 1 in a total of 8 languages (Hindi, English, Bengali, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam), so that it can be seen all over India and not just the cinema of a particular region. Will be able to. Viewers will be able to watch it for free on the OTT app of Art of Living.
Web Series Review: Adi Shankaracharya
Cast: Arnav Khanijo, Sandeep Mohan, Gagan Malik, Suman Gupta, Yogesh Mahajan, Rajeev Ranjan,
Director: Omkar Nath Mishra
Producer: Nakul Dhawan, Omkar Nath Mishra
Rating: 3.5 stars
Hindustan News / Lokesh Chandra Dubey
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