| RAAJNEETI
AND RAAVANAN: THE EPIC ANALOGY |
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When it rains, it pours! That’s
what it seems like now. It has been quite
a while since any of our great epics have
been adapted on screen. And when they
happen, they are releasing within a fortnight
of each other. First, it was Raajneeti;
an adaptation of the Mahabharata and on
the 18th it will be Raavanan; adaptation
of the Ramayana.
Now, how much of an adaptation are these
films; i.e., are they 100% genuine adaptations
of the epics, told in a modern setting
or are they interpretations of the epics
that take a few liberties? This is an
attempt to analogize characters in these
films with their counterparts in the epics.
This is purely imaginative/analytical
and is not authoritative information on
the film or the epic.
Raajneeti:
The modern Mahabharata. In the film, as
in the real epic, the issue is the power
to rule. In the epic, the cousins fought
over kingdoms while in the movie, the
fight is over the authority in a political
party.
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Kaurava group:
Unlike the epic, this group does not have 100 brothers.
But, the mastermind and lead of them all is there,
Duryodhana, which is the character of Virendra played
by Manoj Bajpai. Strongly objecting when his father’s
younger brother is given the reins of power; scheming
the ouster of his cousin from the party and resorting
to all kinds of unethical tactics to get the better
of them in the elections.
The other main character on the Kaurava side that
actually belonged to the Pandava clan by birth is
portrayed by Ajay Devgn as Sooraj. Most of you might
not have much difficulty in guessing the character
from the epic which Sooraj represents; the highly
respected Karna; the man who gave more importance
to his friendship and loyalty rather than any blood
relation. He who chose to stay alongside his ally
and friend even at the cost of being killed by his
younger brother. The man who always stood true to
his word. And he who wears the ‘kundalas’
on his ears. Karna is perhaps the character that has
been most earnestly adapted from the Mahabharata into
Rajneethi.
The Pandava group:
Here too, unlike in the epic, there aren’t five
brothers; only two. Which two brothers are being depicted
here?
The elder brother, played by Arjun Rampal, can be
considered as Yudhishthira by the virtue of being
eldest. But, the characterization does not fully represent
Yudhishthira in the way he has been shown in Mahabharata.
Yudhishthira is known as the most righteous and just
of all the Pandavas. He is also the only Pandava to
survive the final trek through the Himalayas. These
traits are not associated with the character in the
film. Yet, as the eldest and the rightful heir to
the throne of power, Arjun Rampal’s character
will be that of Yudhishthira. The younger brother,
played by Ranbir Kapoor, is no doubt Arjuna. With
his razor sharp brain that devises tactics, his proximity
to the character of Krishna who is always ready with
his advice and his ultimate slaying of Duryodhana
and Karna, the character of Arjuna has been faithfully
adapted.
Krishna:
One of the most important characters in the Mahabharata;
the God who gives moral strength and courage to the
Pandavas; Lord Krishna, played by Nana Patekar as
Brij Gopal. He constantly advices Arjun about political
tactics and at the end tells him to cross the line
of ethics when it comes to putting an end to one’s
enemy.
Dritharashtra and Pandu:
The younger brother handed over the rein after the
elder suffers the stroke is the father of the Pandava
side and should thus be Pandu. The elder stroke ridden
and paralyzed brother is the father of Virendra (Duryodhana)
and should thus be Dritharashtra. Furthermore, he
is a silent spectator to all the proceedings from
his hospital bed; much like Dritharashtra who was
blind and helpless. It also goes without saying that
the mother of the Pandava side is Kunti, who is also
shown in the film to have given birth to Karna and
then set him afloat in the waters of Ganga for their
family’s charioteer (car driver) to find him.
Other characters:
There are some characters from the Mahabharata who
could not be detected in Raajneeti. Some of them are
pivotal characters in the great epic; like the great
Bhishmacharya, the wily Shakuni, Dronacharya etc.
Now to the other film and the other great epic; Raavanan
and the Ramayana It would be unwise to guess the nature
of the characters even before the film releases, especially
knowing Mani Ratnam’s style of film making which
leaves nothing predictable. But, if Raavanan is indeed
an interpretation of the Ramayana, then there are
certain things that should be the way we assume.
Raavanan:
The title role of the film, being played by Vikram
in Tamil and Abhishek Bachchan in Hindi. There is
no doubt about the nature of this character. The extremely
powerful, daring asura who kidnaps the wife of Rama.
It is obvious that Prithviraj plays Rama in Tamil,
while Vikram is Rama in the Hindi version. And, it
goes without saying that Aishwarya Rai portrays Sita.
Now, these are the pretty obvious characters. What
about the other important characters? Here is a guess.
The trailers have shown Prabhu as a part of the tribal
clan, with quite fierce expressions. This leads to
thinking that he should be a strong character on the
Raavana side. So, we thought (no connection to his
physique) that he could be playing the character of
Kumbhakarna. While Munna who has also been shown as
part of the tribal clan might be Vibhishana, who joins
hands with Rama in the end. Priyamani too has been
shown as part of the tribal clan and it is being speculated
that she could represent Surpanaka. But, it is not
clear whether she plays Raavana’s sister, which
also leaves the possibility that she could be Mandodari.
Another key actor who has not yet featured in the
trailers is Karthik. Going by reports, he plays the
role of a forest officer. A wild guess from this small
piece of information leads us to three possibilities.
Karthik could be any one out of Hanuman, Sugriva or
Jatayu.
Is our guess right? Let’s wait and watch.
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