‘Ramayana’, directed by Nitesh Tiwari, was among the most anticipated Hindi releases of the year, and its box-office performance suggests it has lived up to the hype. Starring Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi and Yash, the epic crossed Rs 100 crore in India within two days and Rs 200 crore worldwide. The tale of Ram and Ravana, in which good triumphs over evil, seems to be the flavour of the season.Timeless as it is, the ‘Ramayana’ has inspired numerous stories over the years, with Yami Gautam’s ‘Nayyi Navelli’ being one of the latest films to draw from it. The film begins as a quirky domestic comedy but soon transitions into a mythological story centred on the Kaal Sheel stone, which is linked to Treta Yuga lore and the legend of Ram and Ravana.Veteran actor Susmita Mukherjee delivers one of the film’s standout performances as the Dadi of the Awasthi household in ‘Nayyi Navelli’. In a conversation with NDTV, she opened up about the ‘Ramayana’, the contrast between Lord Ram and Ravana, and one of the trending discussions surrounding the newly released epic.
Susmita Mukherjee on Ravana’s layers
Asked whether she believes Ravana had several layers to his personality, Susmita said, “Everybody’s come for the role. Everybody has chosen what role they want to play. And they play that role in the script of life. Having said that, Ravana is representing the dasa doshas group of Ravana, all the negative. So common man, all the 10 things of Raavan, all the qualities which are inside us. So to be able to identify, to make it scripturally relevant to show good versus evil, you have to create this. But it’s for a discerning audience to understand that. So he’s only there as a mirror to show us evil. We are not there to judge, which is what Diwali, Deepavali, is all about.”
Susmita Mukherjee on ‘Ramayana’ and cultural roots
Susmita believes it is heartening to see people remain so strongly connected to their cultural roots. She emphasised that epics such as the ‘Ramayana’ and the Mahabharata preserve our collective wisdom and contain several layers of meaning.The actor said, “These epics are keeping our wisdom, keeping our culture, keeping– they are actually also, through the tales of Shruti, coming down generations to us. So I think it’s very nice for people to be culturally connected, you know, emotionally connected.”She further added, “And intellect to hey intellect to ka AI ka zamana hai, aap log ka zamana hai. Beyond that lies consciousness, our core consciousness, core values, core understanding. So these epics can really be life-changing for all of us through time, any day, any time, for any generation.”Meanwhile, ‘Ramayana’ arrived in theatres on November 5 and continues its theatrical run. The film features Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram, Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Ravana.