Dr. Suneel Mehmi
09.11.2026
The Mahabharata raised me.
We would watch it every single weekend on Channel Four in the UK. Out of the towering epics of the Subcontinent, the Mahabharata was our choice, not the Ramayana. It was the rebellious, mischievous and ever smiling Krishna who I am named after that was our guide, not Vishnu in the guise of Rama, the sober one. It is the Mahabharata that I have read and studied later in life, that I have thought about over and over again. My grandfather told me that all that there was was in the Mahabharata.
What did I, the follower of the Mahabharata, know then about the Ramayana before I watched the film on the auspicious day of Diwali? My grandfather had told me that Ravanna the villain of the tale was not purely a bad man. He had ten heads because he was wise. And he came from us. He came from the low castes. He was one of us. And so he faced the prejudice that we faced. And what about Rama? What did I know about Rama? That he was ‘Maryada Purushottam’ (“the perfect man who is supreme in honor” https://siddhashram.com/why-lord-ram-known-maryada-purushottam/ ) It is this phrase that I have repeated to myself throughout my life since my grandfather, the Sanskrit scholar, taught me the words. It is this phrase that I wanted to become ever since I was a child. To be maryada purushottam like Rama.
The film itself had been criticised thoroughly before it had been released. I myself shared the opinion that Ranbir Kapoor was not worthy of being Rama. But then, who was? Certainly, I had not managed to become Rama myself, despite all of my efforts.
But then, I gave it a chance. A chance is what we would all want out of this life. Just that one chance. At least I could say that I had watched The Ramayana in the cinema.
Let me tell you. It is one of the best Hindi films I have watched.
I was fully immersed in the story which we have heard thousands of times, which has been adapted to countless Hindi films such as the Oscar winning RRR which I watched just last week or Sunny Deol’s Jatt which ranks as one of my favourite action films. It was well told. Just like the Ancient Greeks, we knew all the stories of the epic as it unfolded. But just like the Ancient Greeks and with Euripides, there were new insights into the tale. Sita as a warrior goddess rather than the demure victim. Laxman revealed as the impulsive protector of the sister-in-law that is his mother, since she is the wife of his elder brother (who therefore stands in for Laxman’s father).
The acting was superb, including that by Ranbir Kapoor. It is widely known that Yash has shone as Ravanna. Some say too brightly, that he glorifies the villain, garners too much sympathy for him. But this is to forget the tradition of worshipping Ravanna too. That is one tradition of how he is perceived. And certainly, they played on this in the movie, where one that is born in royalty calls Ravanna someone that came from slaves.
The one that is born in royalty also says that Ravanna is arrogant. The question is, are we supposed to agree to this statement? This equation of poverty and arrogance has also been explored in the film ‘Dhadkan’, where the villain Sunil Shetty (called ‘Dev’ or ‘god’) tries to ‘abduct’ the heroine of the film who has married a character called ‘Ram’. But it is funny how the rich and privileged think of us from poor backgrounds as arrogant, isn’t it? When it is them that have the arrogance of their rank.
The visual spectacle and the martial action were incredible. I was particularly impressed by the action sequence between Ravanna and Jatayu in the air.
The problem with the film? It reflects the class culture of Indian. All the bad thoughts, resentment and jealousy are strongly associated with the servants and the dispossessed like Ravanna, the Asuras or Keikei’s servant (although Vidyujjihva is royal born and also expresses such emotions, he is already on the side of Ravanna and the Asuras). The one exception to this seems to be Laxman who violates the beauty and honour of a woman Shurpanakha and is berated by Ram and Sita for doing so.
The Ramayana makes an enduring and ancient story fresh again. It makes the story beautiful again. It is a sublime cinematic experience. And the movie, the most expensive Indian film ever made, shows the ambition of the new India. The desire to bring our stories to the whole of India and the whole of the world. The world has been slow to listen to our stories and this is proving to be the case with The Ramayana. However, it is not often that such a tale has been told. I will remember watching this movie on Diwali the rest of my life. And it has rekindled that desire to be Rama, the Supreme Man. Maryada Purushottam. This is the eternal power of the Ramayana.
