Years after entertaining us all with his portrayal of Duryodhan in
BR Chopra’s Mahabharat, actor
Puneet Issar played another epic anti-hero in the play titled Raavan Ki Ramayan, which was staged in Delhi recently. Written and directed by
Atul Satya Koushik, the play showed Ramayan from the perspective of Raavan.
Arrogant, but chivalrous RaavanThe play begins with a conversation between Raavan and Shiv, where the former is proud of his bhakti for the latter, and latter suggests the former not be so conceited.
Raavan, who is the antagonist in the epic saga, is shown to be arrogant and vengeful, but not without a reason. Initially, Raavan, a half Brahmin and half Asura, complains about how his clan has been cheated and spited by the devas. Later, when his sister Surpanakha is insulted and disfigured by Lakshman because of her marriage proposal to Ram, Raavan gets hopping mad and vows to teach Ram and Laxman a lesson. Despite being warned by his well-wishers that Surpanakha might just be telling a half-truth, Raavan says he would abduct Ram’s wife Sita to send them a message – humiliating a woman was a crime.
At this juncture comes a dialogue that got the maximum applause. Raavan says, "Kiya kya kritya Ram ne Surpanakha ke saath mujhe gyaat nahin, asamman kare nari ka Raavan ki woh jaat nahin." The scene shows the love Raavan has for his siblings and his chivalry towards women. Also, it shows the possibility of a conspiracy hatched by Surpanakha to get Raavan killed as he had murdered her husband. Surpanakha also makes a pivotal point about men being known to choose beauty over character that’s why ugly ‘Surpnakhas’ will always be jealous of beautiful ‘Sitas’. "It’s a mythological play, but it has contemporary issues embedded in it," an audience member opined.
Won by a loaylist and lost by a traitorRaavan’s wife Mandodari’s helplessness is depicted in a scene where she pleads with Raavan to either forcefully marry Sita or return her to Ram and put an end to her (Mandodari’s) trauma. Here Raavan also tells Sita that she is a trophy wife who was won in a competition and yet again Ram is coming to win a fight and not her.
The play also shows two very surprising elements – Raavan to fulfill his Brahman dharam accepts Ram’s invitation to conduct Shiv puja for him. The play ends with a dying Raavan telling his brother Vibhishan that this war was not won by Ram and lost by Raavan, it was won by loyal Laxman and lost by traitor Vibhishan.
Tip to be an antagonistIssar, as Raavan, impressed the Delhi theatre audience with his debut stage performance, especially with his ability to memorize rhyming dialogues which would have filled more than a hundred pages. Actor Raza Murad used his baritone to play the narrator. Veteran BJP leader
LK Advani came with his daughter
Pratibha to watch the play. Advani said, "I always had a keen interest in plays and cinema and though this one was a bit lengthy, par natak mein dum tha."
After the play, Atul told us, "The challenge was to take religion out of this play. I wanted to show human emotions of the characters. I told the actors to forget about what they knew about Ramayan and perceive it afresh." Puneet, who was delighted with the reception, said, "It’s amazing to perform live and to receive such generous feedback from an intellectual audience. It is gratifying. To play any antagonist you need to feel that he is the protagonist in his own world."