The Ramayana has inspired many a movie, where characters, plots and themes have been adapted and adopted. Here's a look at how the villain, Ravan, has galvanised filmmakers

Sheetal

Vijayadashami, Dasehra, Dasara or Dashain… based on the epic Ramayana, this is a day that reaffirms our belief in the victory of ‘good over evil’. Many Bollywood movies have been based on the concept, but this Dasehra here is a look at various avatars of the eponymous villain, Ravan, adapted by filmmakers on to the screen.

Modern twist

Adipurush was one of the most-anticipated films of 2023, which the director claimed was inspired by the Ramayana. However, National Award-winning director Om Raut wasn’t able to do justice to the topic and fans were left a disappointed lot. All it did was provide enough fodder for meme-makers on social media! Even during the trailer launch, many reacted to Saif Ali Khan’s look as Ravan and the poor VFX of the film, which is available on Netflix, was taken to task.

Other films that have borrowed themes from the Ramayana and given them a modern twist include recent Telugu releases, Ravanasura and Dasara. Though Dasara’s director Srikanth Odela named the main characters as Dharani (played by Nani), Vennela (Keerthy Suresh) and Chinna Nambi (Shine Tom Chacko), there is no denying that these are based on Ram, Sita and Ravan, respectively. Available on Netflix, the dubbed Hindi version of the film was also well-received by the audiences.

On the other hand, 2023 release Ravanasura is a psychological action thriller by Sudheer Varma, adapted from Bengali film Vinci Da (2019). It stars Ravi Teja in the lead role and only the title, Ravanasura, has been stolen from the Ramayana. Ravi commits crime under 10 different guises just like Ravan had 10 faces!

Old is gold

The first film on Ravan was titled Raavan (1984). Directed by Johnny Bakshi, it starred Smita Patil, Om Puri and Gulshan Arora. SRK-starrer sci-fi movie Ra.One’s main antagonist, Arjun Rampal, was modelled after Ravan.

In 2010, director Mani Ratnam simultaneously released Raavan (Hindi) and Raavanan (Tamil). The Hindi film starred Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan. Actor Vikram played a cop, Dev Pratap, deployed in a Naxalite area whereas Bachchan played Beera, nicknamed as Ravan. As the film progresses, it actually questions whether the true demon lies in Beera or Dev. Also, Beera kidnaps Ragini (Aishwarya), who is Dev’s wife, which is again inspired from the Ramayana. In the Tamil film, Raavanan, Vikram played the character of Veera (Ravan-inspired) whereas actor Prithviraj essayed Dev. In both the films, Aishwarya played the role of Ragini.

In the making

There has been quite a buzz about upcoming film Sita: The Incarnation. Directed by Alaukik Desai, the screenplay is by Baahubali creator, KV Vijayendra Prasad, father of SS Rajamouli. Kangana Ranaut will play the lead role. The movie is based on the life of Sita before her marriage to Lord Ram. Waiting to see who would play Ravan in this one!