"Scion of Ikshvaku" (A Book Review)

It is not easy to fictionalise Ramayana. Not that there are not enough versions or variations  already. The same Valmiki Ramayana has been represented in different tones by the writers in South India. So, Amish Tripathi’s fictionalised novel on Ramayana raised sky-high expectations. Here is an author who put mythology on steroids in the Shiva trilogy and became one of the biggest  sensations in the history of Indian Books publishing. Difficult to believe how every major publisher rejected his first book “The Immortals of Meluha” before Westland took the plunge. The Shiva series has since sold over 2.5 million copies. Naturally, the publisher and the author went for an unprecedented print run of 6.5 lakh copies - this beats the record of Chetan Bhagat who’s last book “Half a Girl Friend” had a print run of 4-5 lakh copies. To stoke demand for the new series on Ram Chandra, a cryptic announcement was made by the author at Jaipur Literary Festival this year and a month later, the publishers announced the launch date of the first book in the new series as June 22nd. Amish Tripathi mentions the series on Ram may have five books overall. 

How Good is the book? Amish makes a decent attempt at pumping up adrenalin through the otherwise sober character of Lord Ram but the output falls short on expectations and misses major opportunities to build up muscular narrative and tension typical of Amish. The story opens with Ram and Lakshman’s hunt for the elusive deer that ensnared Sita in the forest of Chitrakoot and then flashbacks the part of Ramayana that begins with Ram’s birth and ends with Swayamvar. Of course, the flashback ends at the moment when Ram and Lakshman find a wounded Jatayu signalling the chopper  carrying off Sita to Lanka. A pretty simple retelling, you thought. No, Amish builds a palpable drama that is part fiction and part re-imagined interpretation of the events and economic conditions of the time, circa 3400 BCE in India. Without revealing much, Amish builds an energetic pace in the first 150 pages giving a detailed overview of the kingdoms of Ayodhya, Mithila and Lanka. He gives a rich re-interpretation of what drove kingdoms to become satellites and what made satellite kingdoms depend on powerful allies, builds plot points across the first four Kandas (starting with Bala Kanda and ending with Aranya Kanda), twists many characters including Dasharath, Manthara, Kaikeyi, Bharat, Shatrughan and even Ravan but more or less keeps the principal characters of Ram, Lakshman and Sita with reverential authenticity. 

What elevates the book is the degree of detail and imagination into an era that is mostly shown as cardboard cutouts in films. What happens when arrows are shot at animals? (Someone has to bring it back and clean it and put it back in the quiver) What was Ram Rajya like? (It had as much decadent society as the present with more good men who take up justice for gang-rape victims, intact, an incident truly inspired by the Nirbhaya incident forms the nub of the narrative giving life and depth to the chivalry of the four brothers of Ram, Lakshman, Shatrughan and Bharat). What was the Gurukul atmosphere like? (Hint: It was as exciting as any modern-day school). Why did Bharat ask for Ram’s sandals when he was coronated as King of Ayodhya? (The reasons pertain to concerns for safety and security of Ram during his Vanvaas). How were missiles used and how was the forest life? (There were equivalents of Hydrogen bombs used but with rules for using on civilian targets and procedures for atonement…) What are the reasons for the conflict between Devas and Asuras? (Surprise, Devas are not all that menacing…). Why was Urmila left out of the VanVaas? (Hint: She was tricked!) On the whole, Amish attempts a realistic portrayal of an era that is seldom shown in three-dimensional depth even in mythological films in Indian Cinema.

But what is to be faulted is the liberty Amish has taken with many of the aspects of Ramayana that are burnt in our consciousness, atleast in the manner that narratives by devout poets and writers have led us to believe. In the process of building an exciting narrative, I am afraid, Amish has broken many stereotypes that Ramayana-reading folks soaked up for generations. For example, Dasharath is seen as a virulent, ambitious and arrogant king who hates Rama for causing much collateral damage from the day he was born. This is quite different from the “Gummadi” stereotype we know of, from films. Another example, Manthara is not shown as a vile woman in the book, she has depth and reasons solid enough to make Kaikeyi banish from the kingdom. Shatrughn is a voracious reader and the wikipedia of sorts for all the brothers, Bharat is a serial lover and an eternal flirt. Kaushalya, contrary to the epic, is shown as the most insecure. And Kaikeyi is shown as an eternal Rama-hater, unlike what we know of her. Stuff like this gets to your nerve while the author assiduously works on the plot and punctuates the story more ore less on the lines of the epic but keeping the three principal characters true to the original epic - Ram, Sita and Lakshman. That is the saving grace which probably saved the book from getting stuck in controversies. Overall, the book is a passable attempt at re-presenting Ramayana for the modern generation but I am not happy with the treatment of some of the characters and some of the marquee sequences - like the Swayamvar, or the marriage or the manner in which Kaikeyi gets her boons granted by King Dasaratha. 

From his own track-record, this book will be a notch down as the expectations raised were epochal but the prose despite being virulent lacked depth, variety and novelty. What Amish did well admirably is to research some of the circumstances and the characters seldom highlighted like Urmila, Shatrughn, Dhenuka (Wasn’t  he a Brahmin killed by Rama?) and weave modern-day situations like gang-rape and missile wars to concoct. As long as one gets piqued by the book to get back to the original epics, Amish deserves to be well-read but if we get alienated from the original mythology with the concocted wildness floating out of Amish’s imagination, then the book is no different from a work of fiction. There have been many who have benefited from Ramayana and the essence of Ram and Sita for generations. There have been writers after Valmiki too who continue to rev up fervour and devotion towards the magical characterisation of Ram and Sita. C Rajagopalachari’s Ramayana has sold over 1.3 million copies, RK Narayan’s Ramayana has sold several lakh copies. Devout Pattnaik’s “Sita” has also been a best-seller. There have been many film-makers like Bapu who adhered to the original characterisation, as borne down from generations. But Amish is a writer who wants to mix mythology with verve, inject a massive steroid dose and then re-enact the scenes based on today’s interpretation. That way, he can write another five tomes on Ram Chandra series and probably has enough to plunder from Indian Mythology to write for another generation writing on Ganesha, Hanuman, Krishna, Vishnu, Lakshmi, etc. But varying some of the revered plots with ploys to make them entertaining can be self-defeating, even if it is self-serving. Indian publishing is alive to a generation of writers following in the steps of Amish writing on the most popular as well as the least-mentioned characters of Indian Mythology - like “Urmila”, “Karna’s wife’, “Vishwamitra”, “Ajaya”, “Duryodhana” and so on. This is definitely welcome but writers must feel responsible to uphold the mainstay of the Indian Mythology - the values it embodies and the essence of its goodness; you can shun its stereotypes but don’t give your spin on it. The original writers won’t claim your royalties, it is you who is making a career and a royalty out of them. I am happy reading the books by Amish and others for fun but dread the situation when people stop reading the original renditions or translations by writers like Bibek Debroy and Rajagopalachari and flock to these remix versions. 

My rating: 3/5

#Amish #ScionOfIkshvaku #RamChandraSeries #IndianMythology

"Julayi" Movie Review (Telugu)

“Julayi” is definitely one of the most anticipated movies of 2012. It is an acid test for more than a threesome – Director Trivikram who struggled with form in “Mahesh Khaleja” , Allu Arjun who didn’t deliver a hit for a while, Producer Daanayya who’s missing his crores and dusky actress Ileana D’Cruz who is unable to capitalize on her early successes in Tollywood. All four of them needed a hit to resurrect their fortunes . I can’t say whether it’s a hit but the movie doesn’t disappoint – it is quite a wholesome family fare that’s worth a watch.

Director Trivikram Srinivas is one of the star writers who sharpened his narrative skills to make an Olympic triple jump into the hall of fame in Tollywood with terrific screenplay sense, story-telling with verve and an ability to weave many genres into one film. Besides, he can write dialogues that tug your hearts and make  classes and masses clap. Naturally, he is so skilled at writing, screenwriting and directing that one of the three has to outshine the other two. It started to happen around the time when he stopped writing for others (except “Teenmaar” recently) and went into directing. There’s an eclectic mixture of Western cinematic sensibilities with Telugu nativities in most of his narratives where he played a pivotal role in giving a tailormade script. “Manmathudu” drew inspiration from Mel Gibson movie “What women want”. “Athadu” which is a gold standard in modern Tollywood DVD collection is inspired from “Assassins” and so on.

There was some trouble with “Jalsa” and “Mahesh Khaleja” because he was carried away by the star charishma of Pawan Kalyan and Mahesh Babu and the result was either a concoction of neo-Indian pseudo-mythologicals (like an Amish Tripathi novel) or an an urbane take on Naxalism and other economic issues. At heart, Trivikram is a socialist who is inspired by an array of writers from 1920s onwards and all his movies bear a stamp of egalitarianism, inclusive growth and a society that should benefit many not just a chosen few. In between, Trivikram can pack a punch of dialogues that spark off uproarious laughter with both senior and junior artistes. Over the few films he has made, Trivikram has graduated from making unoriginal, punny, school-boyish. joke-book-collection of snippets into more classy, ingenious and Wodehousian sense of humor that sticks. Nothwithstanding this long digression into Trivikram’s style and its origins as seen by a consummate bystander, “Julayi” is an outcome of a renewed Trivikram who has learnt from his experiments that were indulgent in the past. It shows Trivikram’s amazing sense of dialogues that are sharper, wittier and also a return to responsible film-making - a'la the likes of Sreenu Vaitla and Shekar Kammula. However, unlike Shekar Kammula, Trivikram has the ambidexterous knack of appealing to A-class audiences while giving what the masses want to see – non-preachy entertainment, plenty of action, dances and romance that sizzles.

“Julayi” is a balanced film in all of that – it has a huge starcast from Brahmanandam, Ali, Tanikella Bharani, MS Narayana and Kota to veteran Rajendra Prasad, Sonu Sood besides Allu Arjun and Ileana. The story is quite average but the narration is pulsating. Ravi (Allu Arjun) is a naïve youth who believes in making money in a non-linear route; he bets with his father one day that a 10k bundle of cash can be converted into 100k in just two hours. Obviously, Ravi had plans to bet on the IPL matches when he challenged his dad with the deal. His bravado leads him to an episodic run-in with professional killers led by Sonu Sood and Kota Srinivas Rao who plan to usurp a bank’s millions. It sets him off as a cat amongst pigeons because the villains realize that Ravi is a smart aleck who needs more than their mite to be outwitted. The ending is happier even if smaller - the hero polishes off the villains and returns to a cosy job that nets a salary of 25k per month. The message is loud and clear: – hardwork and accumulation of money through self-effort is sweeter than Manna from heaven or mad pursuit of speculative endeavours. The movie has  dramatic flashes of car chases, stunts and a sweet romance with Ileana and oodles of comedy with Rajendra Prasad, Brahmanandam and gang. Allu Arjun is clearly a striking style icon who has finally got a plot that showcases his acting prowessand a director who will give the outreach that he deserves. He is at ease with himself and with the mature starcast that shares the screen. According to me, he is the best dancer in Tollywood and his dancing skills need no attestations. In this movie, DSP’s music has given enough footage to Allu Arjun to get foot-loose. He excels himself again but the dance movements could have had a better frontal view than a sideward, silhouetted slideshow. He could have bettered there.

DSP’s music has topped the charts well before the movie and he has created just the right moods for all the songs. Picturisation of the songs could have been better for a couple of songs. The song before climax and the song before interval are quite vivid and memorable. Ileana would have wanted this movie to give a fresh lease of life. Unfortunately, her acting skills and the range of expressions never permit this – she is stubbornly stale and hopeless. The outage of glamor we saw of Ileana after “Kick”, I am afraid will continue nothwithstanding her role in this film. Rajendra Prasad stands out with a full-length performance that almost runs parallel to the hero – this should be heartening to all his fans.

One last word on the flaws of the film. Trivikram sometimes takes logic to onerously outlandish levels for one part of the story while implanting inscrutable logic to other parts. The manner in which the heist is done by the villains of a bank and their escape from custody with lot of bloodshed is illogical even as the hero Ravi tries to second-guess every move of the villain even as the police look downright dumb beats sanity out of mind. Nevertheless, Trivikram has taken the genre of entertainment to new highs with his characteristic ease of blending action and intelligent-looking plots with a rich ensemble of talent and still penning dialogues that haunt you forever. Even the best writers need better editors , Trivikram will realise– but for now, even 160 minutes of a not-so-sublime plot is good enough reason to open the champagne for those who like to see his report card. He’s earned an A not an A-plus and I will give atleast 3.5 out of 5 for the film.