Buddha (TV series)

Buddhaa-Rajaon Ka Raja (titled as Buddhaa - The King of Kings) is a Historical drama on Zee TV and Doordarshan, produced by B. K. Modi, under the banner Spice Global. The creative producer of the show is Ridwana Khan.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} The show first aired on Sunday, 8th 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 was earlier scheduled to be played by Samiksha 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 Yasodharā.^[19][20] Earlier, Ashutosh Gowariker wanted to collaborate with Shekhar Kapur for a television series on Buddha.^[21]

Cast

• Kabir Bedi as Asita Muni
• Himanshu Soni as Prince Siddharth / Buddha^[22][23]
• Sameer Dharmadhikari as Śuddhodana, Buddha's father
• Deepika Upadhyay as Maya, Buddha's biological mother
• Gungun Uprari as Prajapati, Buddha's step mother and second wife of Suddhodana
• Kajal Jain as Yasodharā, Prince Siddharth's wife^[24]
• Jagat Singh as Devdutt,
• Sanket Choukse as Channa, Buddha's best friend and charioteer.
• Siddharth Vasudev as Dronadhan, Śuddhodana's second brother
• Nigaar Khan/Reshmi Ghosh as Mangala, Buddha's aunt and Dronadhan's wife^[25][26][27]
• Hemant Choudhary as Mahamantri Udyan
• Sareeka Dhillon as Maanvika^[28]
• Ghanshyam srivastva brahaman magadh rajguru
• Vishesh Bansal as 10-year-old Siddharth^[29]
• Amit Behl as Guru Vachaspati
• Surbhi Shukla as Loshika, Dasi of Yashodhara^[30]
• Devyansh Tapuriah as Devdutt, son of Mangala
• Vandana Lalwani as Suddhodana's sister.
• Mayank Arora as Prince Ananda

Plot

Born as Prince Siddhartha in the year 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 saviour 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 symbolises 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.

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
Cambodia	SEATV[33]	2016	ពុទ្ធប្រវត្តិ
Sri Lanka	TV Derana[34]	000000002014-03-01-0000March 2014	ශ්‍රී ගෞතම සම්බුද්ධ (Sri Gauthama Sambudda)
Thailand	Workpoint TV[35] Zee Nung[36]	000000002015-03-01-0000March 2015 2016	พระพุทธเจ้า มหาศาสดาโลก
Peru	Panamericana TV[37]	000000002015-11-01-0000November 2015	Buddha
Germany	Zee.One[38]	000000002016-08-01-0000August 2016	Buddha

Controversies

→On the very first day of the series launch, the cable operators of Nepal banned the series to be telecasted all over Nepal as the series previously announced that Buddha was born in India.^[39] Later the team behind the series had changed the supposed details of birthplace.^[40]

→It is shown that the first wife of king Shuddodhan is Sterile woman, incapable to bear the child. Later a Yagna is held and she bears the child.

Objection- There is no such mention in the Buddhist Literatures.

→The name of Shuddodhan's brother is shown as Durnodhan.

Objection- As per Buddhist literature this name is no where mentioned.

→Everywhere an existence of Brahmin is shown in the Serial.

Objection- As per the Book 'Digh Nikaya' of 'Tri Pitika' the City of King Shuddhodhana, Kapilvastu is named after a great sage Kapila, who was predecessor of Buddha. He was atheist. His all the followers were atheist and on his name only the city of Shuddodhana was named as Kapilvastu, i.e. Kapila+Vastu. There is another reference in the same book that Buddha is asked by one person, "Why the residents of Kapilvastu do not respect the Brahmins?". This proves that the people of Kapilvastu were atheist and did not respect the Brahmins. Therefore the existence and guidance of Brahmins at every stage of Buddha's life or by his father is away from the truth.A great researcher Rhys Davis 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)^[41]

Critical reception

Daily News and Analysis praised the performances of all the actors of Buddha, says Sameer Dharmadhikari aka Suddhodana Acting is first rated.^[42]

See also

• Buddhacarita
• Krishna (TV series)
• Amrapali
• Aamrapali (TV serial)
• Chanakya
• Chanakya (TV series)
• List of Chanakya episodes
• Little Buddha

References

External links

• Official Home Page
• Official Twitter