If a new movie comes to theatres, I would watch it on the subsequent Saturday. More than a hobby, it has become a ritual for me. Not going by what the critics have to say, or the ratings the film receives. I am there to watch it and form my own opinion on it. Sometimes, its worth the money spent and sometimes, it is a pinch for every penny spent.
Recently, I saw two movies Rajneeti and Ravaan and found a striking similarity. Both have been inspired by India’s two great epics Mahabharata and Ramayana respectively. Both bring in the essence of these stories in today’s world. This leads to an amazing realization, over the ages in our dynamic and ever-changing world, one thing has remained static - The Human Nature.
In every era, people have shown traits of Ram or impersonated Ravan. Amidst us, there is always a power hungry Duryodhan and an ever plotting Shakuni, a helping friend like Karan, a righteous man like Yudhishthar. The silent suffering Sita and the emancipated Draupadi walk in tandem in our society. Like the predicament, Arjun faced in the battlefield of Mahabharata, we all have our shares of testing times and we all have a mentor like Krishna to give us solace.
For centuries, these epics have been recited in various forms and are an integral part of our society and culture. Thanks to BR Chopra and Ramanand Sagar, we all have these epics in our memory cell scene by scene, episode by episode. We all know that while Ramayana showcases an ideal life, Mahabharata on the other hand shows how to perform ideal actions in not so ideal circumstances.
Yet it is a pity, we have still not been able to imbibe the values and morals the two highlight in totality. The entire crowd gives a standing ovation when Ram’s arrow hits Ravan’s naval at the Ramleela grounds, but we are yet to kill the Ravan inside us. We all despise Dushasan for insulting Draupadi and ill-treating her, but how many Dushasan go scot free in our society after committing horrendous crimes against women. We admire the words of wisdom quoted in these texts but fail to implement them in our lives. I think it high time instead of applauding various narrations of Ramayana and Mahabharata we should start absorbing the lessons they teach.
