The Ramayana trailer was released today.
An ambitious project – a supposed budget of 4000 crore rupees for both parts, an ensemble of actors and technicians, effects by 8-time Oscar-winners DNEG…the works.
A project on this scale will always attract both praises and brickbats. Purists will cry foul at depictions, advocates will praise it to the skies.
The Ramayana has this effect on most Indians, since it is very personal. Everyone knows the story, yet it has been told and retold for thousands of years, across generations, countries, civilizations. And it remains as fresh as it possibly did when it was first narrated over 5,000 years ago.
No other epic, with the sole exception of the Mahabharata (which is an even bigger, by orders of magnitude, endeavour), commands such reverence and wonder. Anyone attempting a retelling thus automatically takes on a huge risk – yet they continue to do so, for it is the lure of the tale that is irresistible.
I liked the trailer. Did I love it? Maybe it will grow on me. I am giving it a chance, and so will 1.5 billion Indians and many others – close to 20% of humanity actually. Will it strike a chord? Maybe. Will it be revered, remembered for years and years to come? That remains to be seen. For this to happen, it would have to evoke a powerful feeling in its viewers.
That feeling is Bhakti. Surrender. Complete and unconditional love. The 1989 Ramanand Sagar version was such. It stopped a nation in its tracks – every Sunday morning was devoted to this serial. Arun Govil, the man who portrayed Prabhu Shri Ram then, and who portrays his father Dasharath now, still finds himself blessing ardent devotees who fall at his feet…just because he was Sri Ram. Will Ranbir evoke the same feelings? Maybe not. His last movie was Animal, for god’s sake:))
The world may have moved on. Its natural. But, if the movie manages to do what I said it could, this would a phenomenon that would be spoken about for decades possibly.
Let’s see, this Diwali, we hope to witness a spectacle. But more importantly, we hope that we can surrender to it.
You can view the trailer here.
And here is the Nama Ramayana – a shorter, but distinct version, for your reading pleasure.