My lessons from Padmaavat

Nazam Riar

There was constant pressure from my 12-year-old son to watch the movie Padmavaat from the very first day of its release but I refused to succumb. As the radicals /Karni Sena seemed to have mellowed down after a couple of days (fingers crossed), I gathered the courage to watch it. I am hardly a movie buff but this film was definitely on my watch-list. Apart from the movie's grandeur, I was quick to appreciate Deepika's classic Indian beauty and her intricate lehengas,  Ranveer's larger-than-life act as a Khilji and Shahid's dedication to his principles as a Rajput, the list goes on and on

While many, I assume, were busy absorbing the movie's whole awesomeness, I was looking beyond the lens and taking in the subtle nuances that some scenes had to offer. One impressed me because of its austerity. Shahid falls for Deepika in a jungle while both are on a hunting spree. He is smitten by her beauty. Their eyes meet. He proposes and she sees no reason not to accept it. They tie the nuptial knot like many couples do; nothing unusual about it. But what took my heart away was how a love-at-first-sight kind of moment went on to become an extremely committed relationship!  Shahid fought a battle in her honour and she sacrificed her life by willingly committing Jauhar after his death! It kept me wondering what has gone wrong with the relationships today which don't pass the test of the times, leave apart hardships like theirs. How I wish such times to revive and such love stories to be rekindled!

The second scene which left me pondering was when Ranveer was able to motivate his soldiers to fight a battle of blood under unfavourable conditions for his own ulterior motive while citing his kingdom's pride as the main motive. The lesson learnt was how easy it is to be fooled by a deceitful leader and become a sheep. I was reminded of Karl Marx's famous quote 'religion is the opium of the people'. I learnt the importance of having a mind of one's own and not be blindfolded. It implores us all to beware of the fanatics misguiding our society.

As a matter of fact, every woman watching Rani Padmaavati in the movie hall would have felt empowered and realised her forgotten worth because it rightly shows that a woman can be an excellent administrator and decision maker. It is high time the society looks beyond her beautiful face and realises that behind it lies a whole universe waiting to be unfolded. In today's world stained with jealousy and competition where we are so prompt in proclaiming that women pull other women down, this movie shows us the right path to be trodden, how a woman stands tall for not only for her dignity and self-respect but also for her fellow women. In the end, as always, good prevails over evil and there is no stopping you if you are righteous. There is so much more I learnt from this movie but I think imbibing only a few of its lessons will make our world better and our women happier.