Other day I watched
Rashomon. I wasn't impressed. I suppose I'm sort of saturated with the idea of people viewing any event thro' their own limitations. A day later I read the plot of movie '
Raavan'. It reminded me that I'm still living in
Treta Yuga when it comes to Indian movies. However, I'm not going to be a cynic. I would say that the film still has its merits. It has intellectualism of 20th century if not 21st century in its characters.
I have already mentioned I haven't watched the movie. But after reading the plot, I am sure not watching is not a drawback for writing a review. As I have said I'm going to discuss the the wisdom 20th century in that movie. It's all about racial struggle.
Let's check the names of the characters.
Beera Munda: The main protagonist. Equivalent to Ravana of Ramayana.
In Ramayana: Ravana was a Brahmin. Most likely Indo-Aryan speaker. Supposedly a scholar. Hence Rama, Kshatriya thus lower caste, performed a penance called Brahma Hatya Dosha for the sin of killing a Brahmin (in that case Ravana). The story was good versus evil. The good was a Kshatriya and evil was a Brahmin.
In Raavan: The surname Munda clearly suggests Austro-Asiatic tribal man. Thus an oppressed being and probably illiterate or with a moderate education. He is a diluted version of Ravana of Ramayana in every sense. The story is grey versus grey. The anti-hero is a Munda tribal and hero is a Brahmin.
Serena Munda: Beera Munda's sister. Equivalent to Ravana's sister Shurpanakha.
In Ramayana: Shurpanakha lusted after Rama and Lakshmana. But was disfigured by Lakshmana when she tried to harm Sita.
In Raavan: The name Serena is unique. It's not a common Indian name. However, most of the educated Indians instinctively imagine Tennis star Serena Williams when the name crosses the mind. Thus his sister is a representative of an African woman. Another suppressed population. Here Serena is the object of lust.
Note: While I started this post couple of days I back I found Wikipedia mentioned her name as Serena. Then they changed it to Jamuni. It appears producers announced the name as Serena but later changed it to Jamuni. Anyway, I'll stick with their pre-release name.
Dev Pratap Sharma: Equivalent to Rama of Ramayana.
In Ramayana: Rama was a born Kshatriya. Probably moderately educated. A brave warrior but panicky about purity of his kidnapped wife.
In Raavan: Dev Pratap Sharma is a Brahmin.Ruthless and modern enough to be bothered about purity of kidnapped wife. On the contrary, he coldly uses the purity concept of a woman to his own advantage. He is not a stereotypical Brahmins of yesteryears who were passive and panicky about the purity of their women. He is a modern, educated, liberated counterpart of mythical Rama.
Ragini Sharma: Equivalent to Sita of Ramayana.
In Ramayana: A passive and submissive wife. Always trying to prove her purity under every circumstances.
In Raavan: A passive and submissive wife. Probably even dumber compared to Sita. Confused in front of aggressive males. Also, trying to prove her purity.
