New Delhi: We live in mythical times. As the sky lights up with pyrotechnics this Diwali, the legend of Raavan, the feared King of Lanka, will be revived through 21st century cutting-edge technology as Shah Rukh Khan fights the ancient battle of good and evil in his sci-fi film 'RA.One'.
Raavan, the beloved king, mighty protector of his people and the vengeful lord has been portrayed time and again in films that mostly projected him as an embodiment of vices that stem out of societal conditioning.
A derivative of 'Ra' or the Sun and 'Vana' or generation, historians and Raavan theorists say the Ramayana antagonist ruled Lanka over a period of 40 years and was a devout follower of Shiva. While he is depicted as the corrupter of innocence in popular literature, the myth of the ancient 10-headed 'Brahma-Rakshasha' is revived in mainstream cinema as a powerful adversary.
Raavan, as the omnipresent antagonist that lives on in the fear psychosis created by him in the mind of the invaders of his kingdom, is the subject of innumerable debates as Ram is shown as the good and just king fighting for the life and honour of his abducted wife.
The legend of the anti-hero as a local Robinhood was played by Abhishek Bachchan in Mani Rathnam's 'Raavan'. The story of retribution begins with the abduction of Aishwarya Rai, the wife of a police officer, hot on the trail of the absconding anti-hero. Despite a slightly deranged demeanor, Bachchan holds the reigns of a village where he is seen as a local hero.
The conflicting, and hence interesting interpretation of the Lankan King that many consider tragically wronged in the Ramayana narration, is once again seen in Shah Rukh Khan's superhero flick RA.One.
In the age of the simulated reality and state-of-the-technology, a father desperately tries to fit into his young son's world by developing a game in which the antagonist is perhaps more powerful than the hero. The story is the tangential reference to a King many consider defeated by destiny and foul play rather than in a glorious battle fought out between two great but terrible characters.
Shah Rukh was quoted as saying "Ra.One is the modern, new age technology version of our mythological 'Raavan', who was a mixture of ten different evil characters."
You are fighting RA.One, you just don't know it yet
RA.One (played by Arjun Rampal in the film), has overwhelmed potential audiences in every aspect of their lives. It is a daily combat dodging his ammunition, sometime in the form of commercial products, sometime as cartoons, bicycles, toys, advertorials (overt and covert), and promotional paraphernalia.
He is on every social networking website that you are a part of. He is chatting at your Google Plus Hangout. He is on your primetime television shows. He is the mutant worm that spreads through jokes and viral videos and pictures. He is hard to be rid of.
Yes, Raavan lives on. In the minds of those who believe in respecting the might of the powerful and learned antagonist, as a mirror to society and now in swanky merchandise too expensive for the common man.
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