A letter To Bollywood.

Editor's Note: The following piece is presented in the author's own words to honor their sincere expression of faith and cultural concerns. These views represent the author's personal religious perspective. We value providing space for heartfelt community voices on matters of spiritual and cultural importance.

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya

I watched the teaser trailer for the new upcoming movie where an actor who says he's a "big beef guy", is playing Paramatma Shri Rama.

And let me tell you. It was blasphemous from the start to the end. There are several points which I'd like to bring to the attention of the general viewer who may be completely ignorant to the gravity of the situation.

Distortion of Vedic Shastra.

It displayed Ravan alongside the words, "Power & Revenge." The sheer audacity to conjure such nonsense about Ravan on a global stage is a matter of great concern. It's not power & revenge. It's ARROGANCE & LUST. Ravan was so 'powerful' that he got manhandled by both Vali & Kartaviryarjuna, such was his 'power'. The only reason for his success were boons attained through Tapasya.

And revenge? Seriously? His sister had to talk him into going to Janasthan by describing Mata Sita's beauty, egging his lust and making up a false story that she was trying to abduct Mata Sita for him.

Showing Ravan's side of the story as one of power & revenge shows the creators lack of understanding of the Shastra, or malicious intent, or both. Distorting these facts of our Shastra is a direct blasphemy and can not be tolerated under any circumstances.

Disregard For Religious Sentiments.

There are several cinematic psychological cues throughout the entire teaser where Paramatma Shri Rama was belittled and outright insulted, such as showing Ravan in a cosmic form standing tall above Paramatma Shri Rama; such a depiction is downright blasphemous even if it is for a teaser and marketing purpose.

Paramatma Shri Rama is omnipotent and omniscient, He's all-pervading, with everything under His control. In Ramayana, whenever Ravan's commanders would come to battle there would be bad omens all around such as lightning, tremors and chaotic weather, the commanders' eyes and hands would suddenly start twitching and trembling, showing Lord Shri Rama's all-pervading nature and control over Prakriti, which is none other than Mata Sita.

Showing Ravan in a cosmic form standing tall above Paramatma Shri Rama is an insult to this beautiful message and deeply hurtful to religious sentiments.

Taking The Spotlight Away From Paramatma Shri Rama.

If you're familiar with cinema, you'd know just by watching a trailer who's being highlighted or being given more importance, to make them stand out.

Imagine your most anticipated movie is releasing. The trailer drops. You watch the trailer. And the character who the creators want as the main attraction of the film, comes in at the last second on the screen, highlighting them and giving them more importance. In the teaser trailer, Ravan was saved for the last second, sidelining Paramatma Shri Rama, giving Ravan the spotlight and more importance. This is unacceptable as it draws attention away from our Lord.

Paramatma Shri Rama alone should be the highlight of any film based on Ramayana and the spotlight and effort to exalt anyone in the film should be on Him alone.

And yeah, I know that's how movies are made and it's just to show the big threat in the story, but our Shastras are not something to be toyed with like this. They're not entertainment. Nobody is a threat to Lord Shri Rama. Ravan is not a threat. He's a nuisance to Paramatma Shri Rama.

Dishonest portrayal.

Paramatma Shri Rama's physical appearance is described by Sri Madhvacharya in Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya, in verses 75 - 87 as, “The hair on His head was covered by a crown which was shining like a thousand suns; His beautiful face was covered by thick hair (beard) which was radiating like a thousand moons...” “His two thick and long shoulders are capable of supporting the entire universe…” “His thighs are like the tusks of an elephant and yet are soft…” And Brhmrishi Valmiki describes Him as, “a dark brown complexioned man” in Valmiki Ramayana. But yet, Ravan is shown with a beard and brown skin.

This is how Lord Shri Rama would look like. Though our Murtis don't show him as such, and they're not supposed to, as their objective is to make one focus on Paramatma's Nirakara Gunas, which are beauty, bliss and eternal youth. But when it's about Nataka (theatre) it's about Paramatma's sakara lakshanas, which needs to be accurate to the smallest detail.

In Vedic view, a man with a beard is looked at as being one with Prakriti and as someone who has shed himself from Maya. In Ramayana and Mahabharata times, a man who didn’t keep a beard was called in slang as a, tuvara, for not going along with Prakriti and being materialistic.

They were looked upon as sort of like a child who’s always clinging to his mother’s bosom, symbolizing a man who needs material possessions and worldly pleasures to go through life.

In Ramayana, Mandodari, Ravan's wife, describes Ravan's face as 'soft with glossy cheeks.' He didn't have a beard, he was a tuvara. Showing Ravan with a beard feels like the creators are making an attempt to take the actor who's playing Ravan, Yash, and use his anti-hero persona for his roles as Rocky in movies like K.G.F and K.G.F: Chapter 2 and turn Ravan into an anti-hero pop culture figure.

Why couldn't he have played Paramatma Shri Rama?

He's a perfect fit for the role and is an icon amongst the country's youth. His massive fan base would've been a perfect audience to draw attraction towards Paramatma Shri Rama as a role model to impersonate and follow Sanatan Dharma. Taking all this into account, one can't help but think that this movie is not being made to glorify Paramatma Shri Rama, but more of a public stunt to draw attraction towards Ravan.

This is vile, malicious and outright blasphemous, mistreatment of religious sentiments, and is deeply hurtful to devotees of Paramatma Shri Rama.

Subversion Through Music.

And the icing on the cake of this diabolical endeavour, Hans Zimmer was roped in to score for the movie. And if you think there's nothing wrong with it, think again. An artist will create according to what he feels, which is based on what they're understanding is on the topic at hand. The creators of the movie and their lack of knowledge of the Shastra will impact the creative thinking of the person who's in charge of the music for the film.

For example, just listen to Hans Zimmer's theme for Christopher Nolan's Batman and then listen to Zimmer's theme for Zack Snyder's Batman. Same artist but the two themes are world's apart from each other because of different creative ideas from two different directors.

Take into account Zimmer’s christian roots and you’d find the odds stacked against us. Christians, I strongly believe, however secular and open minded, always advocate healing through faith. Why does that matter? Because christian faith is about belief in one god and opposing pagan gods. And anyone who opposes the pagan gods is held as a hero by them and as someone to look up to. Ravan being someone who opposed the Devatas, who’s looked up to by the Dravidian christians for the same reason, will undoubtedly have an impact on Zimmer’s periphery thoughts as a man opposing a Pagan God.
 
Music holds a great level of sway over people to the extent that they're not even aware of it. It can make them sad, joyous, or convey a message to them subconsciously. Zimmer's exceptional talent and skill, mixed with the wrong understanding of the Shastra by the creators of the film, is a recipe for disaster that will further distort our beautiful Itihasic Shastra Ramayana on a world stage.

Final Thoughts.

These aren't allegations against anyone.

This is simply stating how deeply hurtful it is to religious sentiments. Such depictions are considered blasphemous and in no way are an honest portrayal of the Ramayana. Even though the movie is yet to be released the creative decisions taken up until now show a perverted picture of our beautiful Shastra, which will have a long lasting effect on the Indian psyche, and have been very callous regarding the sentiments of Devotees.

A movie based on a true story about a tailor’s life, who was beheaded by muslim men for speaking the truth, is held in contempt and opposed by the Indian muslims and forced into being taken off of the screens. And a movie on our most sacred Shastra is depicted in a blasphemous and distorted way, yet, it’s endorsed by Hindus. Can somebody stab me?

As a Madhva Vaishnav, my appeal to people is simple. Boycott this movie. Don't watch it. Discourage others from watching it.. Spread this message to your family, friends and colleagues. Boycott this movie by the masses.

“What is the meaning of a prowess, however great, of that weak minded man who does not, by his might, wipe out the insult fallen to his lot.” - Lord Shri Rama.