During the last few weeks, Bharat ka Veer Putra —   Maharana Pratap took an interesting action packed turn.  Maharana Udai Singh was to foil Rao Surtan Singh’s attack on Chittor,   and was heading for Boondi, the Machiavellian ruler’s kingdom. Pratap was sent to convince the Bhils to form an alliance with Udai Singh; and not to allow the Mughal army a passage through their forest, which would give    Bahram Khan Access to Mewar. The Mughals had a mole among the tribals, Natha who was dazzled by the gold, and would have secured a passage through Bhil territory for the Mughals to attack Chittor.

Concerned about his queens,   Udai Singh  packs them off to the  friendly kingdom of Bijoria. For their safety, they are to travel incognito. Jaiwantabai is entrusted with leading the party and the royal treasury. Barring Rani Dheerbai, everyone respects Jaywantabai’s leadership and instructions. In Bijolia,  Deeraj breaks Udai Singh’s directive of no communication and remaining incognito as he didn’t want anyone to know the whereabouts of  the queens, and the royal treasury.

Ignoring Jaywantabai’s warnings, she forces the Raja of Bijoria to go with his small army to join  Udai Singh near  Boondi, she also dispatches a fragrant letter to Udai Singh, who nursing his wound at the camp, as Surtan Singh’s army beats a retreat. Surtan Singh, out to kill Udai Singh, is notorious for his sly attacks and   finds himself in Udai Singh’s tent. He intercepts the letter and responds to it. Jaywantbai is furious at Dheerbai’s indiscretion, which has endangered not just them, but also Bijoria.

The battle royale is that between Bairam Khan’s mighty army with its canons, artillery and amassed manpower and the Bhils with Pratap and Guru Raghvendra. The Bhils may lack gun power and weapons, but they use their poison-tipped arrows and guerilla tactics to stave off the Mughals. Pratap fights Bairam Khan, though   at a disadvantage,  he outwits him  several times finally leaving him in disgrace.

Not easy to poise two separate battles,   as well as the action within the Bijoria palace where Jaywantabai gets a women’s corps in readiness. Never has   the viewer been   left guessing. Like a work of tapestry, each thread wove   a complete segment in itself, as the narrative moved to the next thread and the next, seamlessly. Sometimes,   using   three split   screens, between segments and at the end, as a hook, for the next episode segment.                   

Never did the excitement falter, nor was there any confusion as to which battle   was being viewed with a crystal view of the landscape. Even if   for minute, it showed   a cluster of soldiers doing battle, the camera would soon pan on a key figure – Rawat Chundawat, Rao Surtan, the Maharana, Bairam Khan….  The battle scenes were executed with finesse,   bringing the thrills right into the living room,  as Rao Surtan sneaked up from behind or Bairam Khan menacingly held a village to ransom and trained the lumbering cannon on the Bhil forest land. The piece de resistance was Pratap’s shrewd manouvres which were shot with conviction.

All through those episodes, the makers, the action directors  and most importantly the editors of Bharat Ka Veer Putra — Maharana Pratap have come out trumps, having  displayed sheer technical prowess in each of those 24 minutes of brilliant, crisp and action packed narration. Awesome, simply awesome.