Shri Krishna (1993 TV series)


Shri Krishna, also known as Krishna is a 1993–1999 Indian Hindi-language television series, created, written and directed by Ramanand Sagar. It is an adaptation of the stories of the life of Krishna, based on the Srimad Bhagavatam, Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Harivamsa, Vishnu Purana, Padma Purana, Garga Samhita, Bhagavad Gita and Mahabharata. The series has a total of 221 episodes.
Shri Krishna was first broadcast on DD Metro in 1993 and it continued on through 1996; it later continued on DD National in 1997, but as DD refused to stream Gita Sermon, Vajranabha, and Banasura's Ego-Breaking, it was completely re-telecasted on Zee TV in 1999, It also streamed on Sony Entertainment Television in 2001, It was later re-telecasted on DD National in the lockdown after Ramayan and Mahabharat ended. It surpassed both the serials in terms of TRP, and was re-telecast on public demand during the lockdown in 2020 due to COVID-19 after the completion of Ramayan, Shri Krishna aired on DD from 03 May to 16 December 2020, this serial was made in Hindi but has also been dubbed in languages like Telugu, Tamil etc. This serial enjoyed number 1 in terms of TRP till the 21st week of airing.
According to The Hindustan Times, "Shri Krishna was one of the biggest grossers for Doordarshan during the seven years it was on air.”

Premise

This series covers various aspects of Krishna's life, including his birth, childhood antics, his role in the kingdom of Mathura, his teachings in the Bhagavad Gita, and his crucial role in the Kurukshetra War, a central event in the Mahabharata. It also delves into his relationships with characters like Radha, his childhood friend, and his interactions with other gods, demons, and mortals.
In the first episode Ramanand Sagar talks about the beginning of the Kali Yuga period, and about king Parikshit being the last king who followed principles of Dharma and his encounter with Kali. It also shows a glimpse of the Mahabharata War.
Then the series starts focusing on Shri Krishna's life like his childhood antics, and dives into his relationship with Radha, and Balrama's marriage with Revati, Nara-Narayana, Syamantaka incident, Satybhama, Jambavati's Marriage to Krishna, Rukmi's antics and Krishna's Marriage to Rukmini, Yudhishthira being declared as the crown price of Indraprastha, Lakshagriha incident, Meeting of Krishna-Sudama, Pradyumna's lifestory, Paundraka Vasudeva's torture on Veermani and Tara, Draupadi's Disrobing, The Mahabharata war, Vajranabha's life, Aniruddha-Usha marriage, Banasura-ego breaking.

Cast

Main

Shri Krishna was produced by Ramanand Sagar, Subhash Sagar, and Prem Sagar under the banner "Sagar Enterprises" and directed by Ramanand Sagar, Anand Sagar, and Moti Sagar. The role of young Krishna was played by Swapnil Joshi and adult Krishna was played by Sarvadaman D. Banerjee. Govind Khatri was initially roped in to play the role of Dushasan, however later ended with the role of Karna.
Filming took place in Gujarat, in particular in Umbergaon and Vadodara, where "huge sets" had been installed.
Ramanand Sagar's television serial "Shri Krishna" made history in advertisement revenue for DD by earning the highest ever advertisement revenue by a single serial for DD by crossing the Rs. 70 Crore mark It was the no.1 TRP while on the metro channel, It earned a record of Rs.14.31 Crores as advertisement revenue for DD Metro in the first year run on the network
”The national broadcaster had a limit on the number of episodes it could air in the ’80s, but the ’90s brought about a change in these rules. A producer could now make a show for a longer duration.”, commented Kavita Awasthi in The Hindustan’Times.

Direction

Shri Krishna was produced by Ramanand Sagar and Prem Sagar under the banner of “Sagar Enterprises” and directed by Ramanand Sagar. The series was shot at Vrindavan studio, Umargaon studio and then later at the Sagar Film City, Vadodara. It was a massive family effort especially the entire Mahabharata war sequences were shot by multiple camera using multiple creative direction from Sagar Family members.
"The visual depiction of the Bhagwat Geeta by late Dr. Ramanand Sagar is a treat to watch for film-makers, on how an abstract and philosophical subject like the Geeta can be re-told in for a mass media communication."- quote from the directors
The role of young Krishna was played by Swapnil Joshi and adult Krishna was played by Sarvadaman D. Banerjee. Both the actors became hugely popular after the telecast. Swapnil Joshi is still an actor in the Marathi film industry, and Banerjee quit acting and now teaches meditation in Rishikesh. He supports the NGO "Pankh", which provides free education to slum children and livelihood skills to underprivileged women of Uttarakhand.
The salary for one episode was ₹3500, and every month, this salary increased by ₹1000

Home media

In 2014, Reliance Home Video & Games and Moser Baer released it on DVDs.

Reception

The series was a popular success to the point that, according to Kavita Awaasthi in The Hindustan Times, "Swapnil had a huge fan following because of the show. People thought he was Krishna."