Buddha (TV series)

Buddha - Rajaon Ka Raja (titled as Buddha - The King of Kings) is a historical drama on Zee TV and Doordarshan, produced by Bhupendra Kumar Modi, under the banner Spice Global. The creative producer of the show is Shetall Siingh.[1][2][3][4][5] The show first aired on Sunday, 8 September 2013 at 11:00 am on Zee TV and Doordarshan.[6][7] The programme stars Kabir Bedi in a cameo role as Asita Muni, the sage who announces the coming of Gautama Buddha.[8] The story of the serial is based on the life of Buddha that shows how a prince, Siddhartha, became a Buddha.[9][10][11][12] The role of Mayadevi - scheduled to be played by Sameksha Singh - was replaced with Deepika Upadhyay.[13][14] Himanshu Soni is playing the lead role of Buddha,[15][16][17][18] while 2010 Miss India top ten finalist, Kajal Jain is playing role of Siddhartha Gautama's wife Yaśodharā.[19][20] Earlier, Ashutosh Gowariker wanted to collaborate with Shekhar Kapur for a television series on Buddha.[21]

Buddha - Rajaon ka Raja
GenreHistorical drama
Written byGajra Kottary
Prakash Kapadia
Puneet S. Shukla
StarringHimanshu Soni
Kajal Jain
Gungun Uprari
Sanket Choukse
Kabir Bedi
Sameer Dharmadhikari
Jagat Singh
Reshmi Ghosh
Siddharth Vasudev
Amit Behl
Hemant Choudhary
Country of originIndia
Original language(s)Hindi
No. of episodes55
Production
Producer(s)Bhupendra Kumar Modi
CinematographyVeer Dhaval Puranik
Running time1 hour
Release
Original networkZee TV
Doordarshan
Original release8 September 2013

Cast

Plot

Born as Prince Siddhartha in the 6th century BC, after years of waiting and yearning, on a full moon night, to his parents King Shuddhodana and Queen Mahamaya, he was a unique child, even at birth. Carrying the 32 signs of greatness and predicted to be the savior of humankind by some, and a mighty king of kings by others, Siddhartha proved both the prophesies to be true. In his growing years, he was the ideal warrior prince, the pride of his father’s eyes and later to his lovely wife Yashodhara, he was the devoted and sensitive husband that all women dream of, but few are blessed with. Despite his father’s extreme protection of him from seeing suffering of any kind, lest he move towards fulfilling the latter prophecy of him being a thinker and philosopher, even as a child, Siddhartha, by his very nature, ever-questioned and pondered about all phenomena around him.

Siddhartha wondered about all things- from social to physical and natural to man-made, and he was hugely compassionate and uncompetitive by nature. Siddhartha’s questions were not born out of the natural curiosity of a young boy about the world around, but of a deeply rational yet philosophical concern for the state of the world that he saw around him, and his devastation was compounded in his youth when the wall of protection from seeing suffering that his father had built around him, crumbled.

It was an enlightenment, that shone not only his path on earth, but also showed the way forward for all mankind, that would illuminate the world with his teachings for thousands of years to come, as it gave birth to the Buddha-a word that today symbolizes truth, peace, love, compassion and righteousness that he stood for, like no other. It is no wonder then that there is a revival of the relevance of Buddha’s teachings and beliefs in the modern world.

Most of the early episodes in the series center around the plotting of Dronadhan, Mangala, and Devadatta - the uncle, aunt, and cousin (brother) of Siddhartha - to undermine King Shuddhodana and kill Siddhartha. Their plots always fail, and the goodness of Siddhartha always wins and grows. Much of this drama as shown in the series is not actually part of the Buddha historical writings. Though Devadatta did have a rivalry with Siddhartha, it wasn't to the extent as shown in the series, where Devadatta and his parents abuse and kill numerous people. The series also shows an extreme rivalry between Siddhartha and Devadatta for the hand in marriage of Yashodhara, even to the point of a fighting contest to determine the best warrior. However, in genuine history, Yashodhara was actually Devadatta's sister. Still, the character of Siddhartha is dramatic and moving in many ways, and shows his deep respect for all life, whether it be a person, cheetah, duck, ant or scorpion, to whom he always shows forgiveness and mercy.

Production

Nidhi Yasha (costume & jewellery) and Varsha Jain (set designer) are main crew behind the sets and costumes on the show.[31][32] The first shot of Buddha was taken at the magnanimous set created at the Film City in Mumbai on the auspicious occasion of Buddha Purnima on 27 May 2013.

International broadcast
Country Network(s)/Station(s) Series premiere Title
 CambodiaSEATV[33]2016ពុទ្ធប្រវត្តិ (Buddha Pravotte)
 South KoreaBTN[34]May 2015드라마 붓다 (Drama Buddha)
 Sri LankaTV Derana[35]March 2014ශ්‍රී ගෞතම සම්බුද්ධ (Sri Gauthama Sambuddha)
 ThailandWorkpoint TV[36]
Zee Nung[37]
CH3 Family		March 2015
2016
2018
2020		พระพุทธเจ้า มหาศาสดาโลก (Phra Phutta Jao Mahasaatsataalok)
 PeruPanamericana TV[38]November 2015Buddha
 GermanyZee.One[39]August 2016Buddha
 United States/ CanadaNetflix[40]2017Buddha
 United KingdomNetflixMay 2017Buddha

Controversies

The cable operators of Nepal banned the series' telecast as it had announced in promotional materials that the Buddha was born in India.[41] Following outrage on Nepalese social media, Zee TV and Kabir Bedi later apologized for the mistake.[42][41]

Other controversies related to the television series involved several details that were never mentioned anywhere in the Buddhist scriptures, such as:

  • The first wife of king Shuddodhana, a sterile woman, being able to bear a child after a yajna was held.
  • The name of Shuddodhana's brother being Durnodhan.
  • Everywhere, the existence of a Brahmin is shown in the serial. The 'Digha Nikaya' of the 'Tri Pitaka' scriptures mentions that one person asked the Buddha, "Why did the residents of Kapilavastu do not respect the Brahmins?" This suggests that the people of Kapilavastu, the city of King Shuddhodhana, were atheist, like the sage Kapila himself and his followers. Kapila was considered as a predecessor of the Buddha.

Therefore, the existence and guidance of Brahmins at every stage of Buddha's life, or by his father's, is away from the truth. Rhys Davis, a researcher in the subject, has mentioned that "there was not any Brahminical influence in the Sakya and Koliyas. There was not any caste system. There was not any King in Kapilvastu. There was no worship of human gods in Kapilvastu." (Part I and II)[43]

Critical reception

Daily News and Analysis praised the performances of all the actors of Buddha, says Sameer Dharmadhikari aka Suddhodana Acting is first rated.[44]

gollark: You didn't ask me but I have strong opinions on this anyway.
gollark: Maybe you're just a RTL8188EUS.
gollark: Like I'm going to *sleep* now.
gollark: I don't know. You're being unclear.
gollark: Sure, why not.

See also

References
  1. "Will 'Buddha' oust 'Mahadev' as the hottest God on TV?". Ibnlive.in.com. 13 October 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  2. "Buddha is a global subject: B.K. Modi - The Times of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  3. "Buddha is a global subject: B.K. Modi". Zeenews.india.com. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  4. "Buddha - The King Of Kings will impress youth the most, says producer | NDTV Movies.com". Movies.ndtv.com. 3 September 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  5. "Buddha Serial - Upcoming on Zee TV". Archived from the original on 6 September 2013.
  6. IANS (10 October 2013). "Buddha to be unveiled at Sarnath - Times Of India". Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  7. "I turned monk for two months: Kabir Bedi - The Times of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 11 September 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  8. "Sameer Dharmadhikari joins Kabir Bedi for Buddha - Times Of India". Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 23 May 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  9. Ians (27 August 2013). "Nigaar Khan in 'Buddha – The King of Kings' - | TV | MSN India Entertainment". Entertainment.in.msn.com. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  10. "Nigaar Khan in awe of her character in 'Buddha'". Mid-day.com. 4 September 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  11. "'Buddha' as a mega tele serial - Times Of India". Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 11 May 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  12. "TV show on Lord Buddha". Hindustan Times. 10 May 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  13. "Mahadev's Ganga (Deepika Upadhyay) bags Buddha! - Times Of India". Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  14. "Samiksha Singh & Gungun Uprari in Buddha! - Times Of India". Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 27 May 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  15. "Jaipur boy Himanshu Soni to play Buddha - Times Of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  16. "Himanshu Soni is the new Buddha". Hindustan Times. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  17. IANS (14 October 2013). "I want to be remembered as Buddha: Himanshu Soni - Times Of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  18. "I want to be remembered as Buddha: Himanshu Soni". Zeenews.india.com. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  19. "Himanshu Soni to essay 'Gautama Buddha' on TV show". Business Standard. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  20. "Kajal Jain - Times Of India". Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 24 November 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  21. "From Bollywood to small screen". Mid-day.com. 2 October 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  22. "Actor who was finally zeroed in to play Buddha on TV". Mid-day.com. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  23. S. M. Aamir (18 October 2013). "Getting into the role". The Hindu. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  24. "Miss India finalist makes her TV debut - Times Of India". Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 17 October 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  25. "Resshmi Ghosh replaces Nigaar Khan in 'Budhha' - The Times of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 1 January 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  26. "Nigaar Khan opposite Siddharth Vasudev in Buddha! - Times Of India". Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  27. "Nigaar Khan in awe of her character in 'Buddha'". Ibnlive.in.com. 4 September 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  28. "Sareeka to enter Maharana Pratap and Buddha". TellyTRP.in. 11 June 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  29. "Vishesh Bansal bags Buddha! - Times Of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  30. "Amit Behl & Surbhi Shukla bags Buddha - Times Of India". Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 5 June 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  31. "'Buddha': A glitzy costume drama". Zeenews.india.com. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  32. "Buddha- A glitzy costume drama". Zeenews.india.com. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  33. https://www.facebook.com/1445174415699561/photos/pb.1445174415699561.-2207520000.1464592441./1717598941790439/?type=3&size=610%2C335&fbid=1717598941790439
  34. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXm4-e2Wey8
  35. http://www.derana.lk/index.php?route=programs/programs/programdetails&pid=230
  36. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fho2Eomde-Q
  37. http://zeenung.com/betaweb/cinemainner.php?cinid=279&slotid=
  38. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpF52InDRPk
  39. "Buddha" (in German). zeeone.de. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  40. "Buddha" (in German). netflix.com. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  41. "Maoists block Indian channels over Buddha row". Hindustan Times. 13 September 2013. Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  42. Chaya Unnikrishnan (30 December 2013). "Biggest TV shockers | Latest News & Updates at". Dnaindia.com. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  43. http://buddhaserial.blogspot.in/
  44. Chaya Unnikrishnan (28 September 2013). "Show review: 'Buddha' | Latest News & Updates at". Dnaindia.com. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
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