Maggie and I will be watching the Malayalam movie Empuraan
tomorrow. The tickets are booked. The movie has created a lot of controversy in
Kerala and the director has decided to impose no less than 17 censors on it
himself. I want to watch it before the jingoistic scissors find its way to the
movie.
It is surprising that the people of
Kerala took such exception to this movie when the same people had no problem
with the utterly malicious and mendacious movie The Kerala Story
(2023). [My post on that movie, which I didn’t watch, is here.]
Empuraan is based partly on the
Gujarat riots of 2002. The riots were real and the BJP’s role in it (Mr Modi’s,
in fact) is well-known. So, Empuraan isn’t giving the audience any
falsehood as The Kerala Story did. Moreover, The Kerala Story
maligned the people of Kerala while Empuraan is about something that
happened in the faraway Gujarat quite long ago. Why are the people of Kerala then
upset with Empuraan? Because it tells the truth, Maggie says. Yes, truth
hurts. The Kerala Story was dismissed by Malayalis as utter rubbish,
while the truth of Empuraan hits the increasing right-wingers right in
their sternum.
I will bring here my review of the movie tomorrow.
And from the day after, this blog is going to deal with
the great Indian epic, Ramayana, in 26 posts that will appear
from 1st to 30th April as part of an A-to-Z challenge
that I have taken up. Since I have to comply with the requirements of the
English alphabet, my posts won’t be in the chronological order of events as
they happened in Valmiki’s narrative. The first post will start thus: The
Sarayu carried more tears than water. Ayodhya was a sad kingdom. My reading
of the epic has the Sarayu as a sad observer as well as helpless participant of
the whole panoply of actions perpetrated with the intention of upholding Dharma.
Is Dharma more important than love and relationships? Well, wait for the letter
D.
I’ve not done any scholarly study of
the epic. My childhood was replete with stories from the Ramayana
because Malayalam literature had an abundance of them and I, like all my
contemporaries of the Baby Boomer generation, studied them at school. Later, when
I was teaching at Sawan Public School, Delhi, I was gifted a copy each of the Ramayana
and the Mahabharata written by C R Rajagopalachari. I read them happily.
Now, as a retired man in his mid-sixties, I have had ample time to study the tragic
story of the seventh incarnation of God Vishnu in sufficient detail.
My reflections on the epic are literary
and not spiritual. One of my friends warned me of the rising Hindu
fundamentalism in my own state of Kerala when he came to know my theme for the
A-to-Z. “You have a peculiar knack for hurting people’s sentiments,” he
cautioned.
I don’t intend to hurt anyone’s any
sentiment. My intention is to understand the epic from my point of view. The
only genuine way of understanding any book is that, I believe: from one’s own
point of view. Rama emerges as a tragic hero in my understanding. Like the
Shakesperean tragic heroes, Rama has an inbuilt flaw which even Valmiki acknowledges.
Rama was not only a god but also a frail human being.
In my second
post, Bharata asks the earth to split and
devour him as it did for Sita. “Is this the same Maryada Purushottam whose sandals I placed
on the throne, acknowledging my unworthiness to rule as long as he lives?” Bharata is
stunned by Rama’s demand of Sita to prove her purity yet again, years after her
ascetic life in the forest with sage Valmiki and her twin sons. The Sarayu
carries Bharata’s tears too.
The Sarayu’s
sorrows are what I bring here from April 1.
x
Hari Om
ReplyDeleteNo doubt your review of the movie will be frank... did you see the first of the series (as I understand this is Lucifer 2)? I would not watch such movies, where the baddy is made the hero and justifies evil actions, simply because they are only slightly less bad than other baddies. It is quite a different thing from where sometimes reprehensible actions are required in order to preserve virtue. (For example, a surgeon is not accused for using his knife as its intention is good, as opposed to the street thug whose intention with the knife he wields is anything but.) It will be interesting to read if you find any redeeming features for the main character and story thread, irrespective of any 'insult'.
As to assessing the Ramayana as a literary v spiritual excercise, I suspect you will find yourself splitting hairs. My breath is bated.... YAM xx
I watched Lucifer and wrote about it too:
Deletehttps://matheikal.blogspot.com/2019/04/lucifer-and-some-reflections.html
About hairsplitting, no, I'm more likely to be poetic. I find many things very amusing and baffling.
A former student of mine counsels me not to waste time on this movie which he says is no better than a 3-hour instagram reel.
DeleteApart from all buzz about and around, I have a hunch that your student is right, given its mega-budget and the disproportionate propaganda around. Also gross and grotesque distortion of historical events. Perhaps also disingenuous mixture of politics and religion. Awaiting your promised review. I was thoroughly bored with Bahubali.
ReplyDeleteBahubali didn't interest me either. This one may have brought in the ugly politics with commercial interest. But the fact that the Gujarat riots changed India's destiny for ever cant be ignored. Let me see how this movie deals with it all.
DeleteI hope you enjoy your movie.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Deletehe Mahabharata enchants me more due to its human-centric portrayal of characters, contrasting with the Ramayana's divine focus. This makes me eagerly anticipate your A2Z series to read your perspective. Our epics' generosity towards critics and retelling keep them alive even today. Your recent Twitter post has already triggered my interest. I'm looking forward to the full picture! All the best.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. The Mahabharata has more human interest. Too many gods and superhuman rakshasas make Ramayana an exotic tale belonging to another world altogether. I'm not approaching it as a critic, however, but as a learner. But i do have a terrible critic within me who I hope will be subdued this time since I'll be dealing with someone who is a god for millions of people and these millions now decide what others can think, write, do, wear, eat...
DeleteFor me movie with lot of buzz I seem to disappoint in them.
ReplyDeleteYou're right too because at our age we'd prefer more contemplation than action perhaps.
DeleteIntrigued by the upcoming tale of Sarayu’s sorrow. Every time I read the Ramayana from a new perspective, I discover something new. Excited to read your take on it!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're going to be here with me in April.
Delete