Mythological serials rules Kannada small screen

It’s mythological serials which are treating television viewers in prime time today. Serials like

Shani

, Ughe Ughe Mahadeshwara, Jai Hanuman and Shree Vishnu Dashavatara have struck a chord with television audiences. With well etched characters and grandeur making, they are ruling the roost on Kannada small screen.

The challenges of

mythology

Kannada General Entertainment channels, which were flooded with soap operas and reality shows, seem to have taken up the mythological route to offer new and refreshed content to Kannada viewers. A spokesperson from the channel, however, points out, “Making mythological serials has its own pros and cons. In mythology, we already have our characters set, but we need to be careful with the casting and the dialogues need to be well written to ensure they leave a mark on viewers’ mind. In soap operas, the characters are developed based on viewers’ response as the story progresses, and therefore, the script is not concrete. This is not the case with shows based on mythology. Budget wise too, putting together a show based on mythology costs a lot more than one would spend on a daily soap opera. And most importantly, the show has to be factually right at all times. Any errors and you could end up huring audiences’ sentiments.”
Taking mythology to future generations
Director Mahesh Sukhadhare, who has directed movies like Sarvabowma, Sainika and Ambareesha is currently directing weekend mythological serial Ughe Ughe Mahdeshwara which narrates the story of lord Mahadeshwara. Mahesh says, “I am proud to be working on the folk serial Ughe Ughe Mahadeswhara. The reach of the small screen is bigger than that of the silver screen. Along with visual appeal, we are taking folk tales to future generations. Male Mahadeswhara devotees strongly believe and worship Mahadeshwara as a part of lord Shiva. The story of Shravana, a cruel King, being defeated by Male Madeshwara in the form of Linga is being narrated in Ughe Ughe Mahadeshwara.”

Viewers' connect
The makers of Shree Vishnu

Dashavatara

had organised a special premiere show before the launch of the serial. Director Dheeraj Kumar and creative director Sanjay Guptha, for this show, tell us, “It’s always a challenge to narrate a mythological story as the whole team needs to dig deep and do a thorough research to get every aspect of the characters in the story right. We have used high quality graphics (computer generated imagery) in every action and love sequences so that viewers can connect with the characters.”