I know that most westerners don't care for Hindu films, particularly because most of them are the same tired formula of singing, dancing, and boy-loves-girl-but-parents-hate-boy storylines. Well, Vishwamitra is about a king of ancient India who, when he tries to assault a sage, is defeated by the sage's divine abilities. He then schemes to become as powerful as the sage, learning some very hard lessons along the way. It's a story that shows how even anger and ambition, if given proper direction, can lead one to bettering oneself. The cinematography's incredibly good for a 1980's Indian film, and the actors are, for the most part, superb.

There is however, the role of Narada. Narada is the Hindu Hermes or Mercury, a celestial messanger who spreads mischief and information throughout the cosmos. He is, however, respectful and pleasant. It's not the easiest role to fill, and it's not done well by the actor in this movie by any stretch of the imagination. He is incredibly memorable, however, in that same way that Homestar Runner's cast is memorable. "Narayana", another name for Lord Vishnu, is said to be frequently on Narada's lips. In the case of this actor, it's said with a cheesy smile, and sounds more like punctuation than actual respect. Take this for instance:

Narada: "Sage Vishwamitra, do you not think that the court of Indra is beautiful? Naaaarayana? Do you not think it is impossible to match the radiance of Heaven? Naaaarayana?"

Yes, so... I've seen actors who can play Narada very well, and some who play him very badly. This is the latter, but memorable in the way that you'll be quoting him for the rest of the week. Outside of him, the actors for Indra, the king of the gods, and the Apsara (celestial dancer) Rhamba aren't the greatest either. Indra has a double chin, and Rhamba feels like an amateur effort. Everyone else does their parts splendidly, especially the actor in Vishwamitra's part, who also did a stellar job as Grandsire Bishma in the less-than-stellar television adaptation of the Mahabharata.

Well, that's all I have to say about the miniseries right now. It's four DVDs of fairly good quality with English subtitles.