EPIC TWIST TO STORYTELLING
Mythological tales have always found favour in India, and now their various interpretations, too, are being translated for the screen
Indian audiences have always been fond of mythological tales. Almost every region has its own, slightly different, version of the Ramayana and Mahabharata. While the epics are an integral part of popular culture, visual arts, Indian TV and cinema are only gradually shedding their inclination to follow mythology to the letter, and drawing inspiration from its spirit instead. Popular web series Sacred Games, which is returning with a new season, skillfully employed mythological narratives. The titles of the episodes in the series are closely tied to aspects of Hindu mythology. Film-maker Kunal Kohli is helming a film based on Ramayana, titled RamYug. Actor Sonam K Ahuja has acquired the rights of The Aryavarta Chronicles, a modern-day Mahabharata, penned by Krishna Udayasankar, a Singaporebased writer. Aamir Khan, too, has voiced plans to make a movie based on Mahabharata.
TIME TO REVISIT THE PAST
Film-maker Shyam Benegal, whose Kalyug (1981), was one of the earliest to draw from mythology, says, “They say what is not there in Mahabharata is not worth knowing. It deals with all aspects of life — human elations, personal ambition nd power. I don’t think any iece, not even the [Greek epic oem] Iliad, is comparable to he Mahabharata. So, it has ways been a subject of eatest interest to me. What I ok from it was the element of e fight between cousins. In ahabharata, the story was out kingdoms, and Kalyug d an industrial backdrop.”
Kunal, however, finds it difficult to understand why film-makers are not approaching this subject matter more aggressively. “I don’t know why film-makers have stayed away. I think, with all that is happening around us, now is a good time to visit our past, scriptures and mythology. We must leave something behind for our future generations,” he says.
So, what is making Bollywood go back in time? Kunal says the relevance of such stories even today, is one of the main reasons why he decided to make RamYug. “This idea came a few years ago. I took long to start shooting as I didn’t want to compromise on research,” he says.
MULTILAYERED STORIES
Varun Grover, a writer for Sacred Games, says India has a great resource of mythological stories but they’ve been used tackily on TV, “devoid of all the philosophies, they are only about plot”. He feels that mythology has layers and great literary quality, which is perfect for the visual medium. “We adapted a novel. There are mythological elements in the novel but we extrapolated that. We wanted something people would immediately relate to,” he explains.
Trade analyst Amod Mehra says it is too early to call it a trend. “Using mythological elements doesn’t mean it will work always,” he says. But Udayasankar thinks otherwise. “Myth can be interpreted in many ways and there is always something in
there for everyone,” she says.