From correspondents in Delhi, India, 03:01 PM IST
The popular mythological love story of Shakuntala and Dushyanta will now come alive on Indian television in STAR One's new show 'Shakuntala' that begins Feb 2.
'Shakuntala is one of the most passionate love stories ever written. Nowhere else will you see the agony and ecstasy of love as intense and compelling as in Shakuntala. We are proud to present this masterpiece in a daily half hour format,' said Ravi Menon, executive vice president and general manager, Star One.
Bringing the epic alive on television would be Sagar Pictures, which has to its credit the popular mythological TV serials 'Shri Krishna', 'Ramayan' and 'Prithviraj Chahuan'.
'We were very excited to develop this subject because the story is something that people have only heard of and we took it up as a challenge to unfold this eternal saga on television,' said Moti Sagar from the production house.
As per mythology, Shakuntala was born to celestial nymph, Menaka, and sage Vishwamitra and was abandoned by her parents right after she was born. She grows up to be a striking beauty and in a chance encounter she meets king Dushyanta, with whom she eventually falls in love. The trials and tribulations of their love story form the rest of the story.
'Shakuntala' will begin Feb 2 and will air every Monday-Thursday at 9.30 p.m.
The story is also based on ancient Sanskrit writer-poet Kalidasa's play 'Abhijnanashakuntala' (The Recognition of Shakuntala).
The story was also adapted into a Malayalam movie in 1965.
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One good feature of the TV medium in India is its telecasting programs that depict original Indian culture as depicted in the two epics (Mahabharata and Ramayana)and other classics of India. Because of this the vulgar stuff which fills the channels most of the time can be excused, so to speak. India has been the centre for the whole world, with its spiritual message. In particular, its spirituality informs all areas of life, so that whether the lowly peasant or the affluent sections, all are all able to fuse great family values with pursuit of modest materialistic status. Quite tragically, the present generation of youth is exclusively obsessed with mere materialistic progress but get deluded when such senseless pursuits of sensory pleasures leave them high and dry, once the youth come out of the portals of education carrying a 'work permit' of a degree or a high school graduation. They also get inexorably drawn into false notions of premarital love and even in some cases extra-marital affairs, blissfully unbothered to understand and apreciate the glory of love and the family institutions. Depiction of true love as in Shakuntala, will possibly awaken the youth to the glories of our spiritual culture.
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