Mukesh Khanna objects to Sita’s portrayal in Ramayana: ‘Maa Sita was never a fighter’
Veteran actor Mukesh Khanna, who is best known for playing Bhisham Pitamah in BR Chopra’s Mahabharat, has criticised Ranbir Kapoor and Sai Pallavi-starrer Ramayana for distorting the representation of Sita in the film. He questioned the portrayal of Maa Sita as a warrior and accused the makers of focusing on recovering their Rs 4,000 crore budget rather than telling the story authentically.
In his YouTube vlog, Mukesh Khanna questioned the filmmakers about taking creative liberties with mythological epics like Ramayana. He said, “I want to ask Hindi filmmakers: is it fair to distort facts mentioned in Valmiki’s Ramayana, go beyond it to show your vision. Ever since the Ramayana was released, it has stirred a debate on social media and amongst the YouTubers. Everyone is reviewing the film, and no one is sure how much the film will earn. But here, the main agenda has been about recovering the budget of Rs 4,000 crore, not about telling the story most authentically.”
Mukesh specified that he is yet to watch the film and was forming his opinions based on the promos and reviews he has seen so far.
Mukesh Khanna objects to Sita’s portrayal in the film
Sai Pallavi plays Sita in Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana. He objected to her portrayal and said, “People have objected to Sita fighting like the Rani of Jhansi. In the film, she is fighting 2-3 monsters; I cross-checked this in Valmiki’s Ramayana, and this is not there in it. From what I know, Maa Sita never fought. She was never a fighter; had she been one, she would have fought with Ravana when he tried to abduct her. How did he manage to abduct her just like that?”
He further added, “What shocked me was that I saw a post where the producer justified the scene and said that the scene was not taken from Valmiki’s Ramayana, but from another book called Adbhuth Ramayana. There was only one original Ramayana, which was written by Valmiki; whatever is written in it, you cannot go two steps ahead of it. People have written different versions of the Ramayana only for entertainment, not to make a film on it. Can the producer fabricate the Quran or the Bible? If not, then how dare he fabricate the Ramayana? I want to ask: where did he get the scene of Maa Sita fighting from, and why did he put it in the film?”
He then compared the makers of Ramayana to Ekta Kapoor and said that they had changed Sita’s character, just like how Ekta changed the character of Satyavati in Mahabharat. “We have grown up watching that; how can you put a new scene about Maa Sita in that? You should feel ashamed,” he said.
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Sai Pallavi on portraying Sita as a warrior princess
In a chat with comedian Zarna Garg, Sai Pallavi was asked about Sita’s portrayal as a warrior princess and the actor shared, “When it came to fighting with a sword, I did have to take some practice. We had great stunt directors. They wanted to make it look more like a dance, where it looks like a princess who is floating through with her swords. It was an interesting process.” She added, “She added, “We all grew up watching a different version of Sita Maa. So to have this for this generation felt really good.”
About Ramayana Part 1
Directed by Nitesh Tiwari and produced by Namit Malhotra, Ramayana Part 1 stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Yash as Ravana, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Ravi Dubey as Lakshman, Arun Govil as King Dashrath, Lara Dutta as Kaikeyi, Indira Krishnan as Kaushalya, Rakul Preet Singh as Surpanakha, and many more. The film also teasd Sunny Deol as Lord Hanuman, who will appear in the next part. The film’s second instalment, which was to be released in Diwali next year, has been pushed to 2028.
According to reports in industry tracker Sacnilk, Ramayana Part 1 has earned Rs 663.90 crore worldwide in five days. As of Monday, the film collected Rs 346.35 crore net in India; its gross collection was Rs 413.90 crore.
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