Sita can single-handedly improve Namit Malhotra’s . The filmis less than a month away from releasing across theatres, and while fans have a lot to look forward to, Nitesh Tiwari’s film is no different from the other adaptations. Valmiki’s Ramayana has had thousands of adaptations and projects inspired by it.
Each new piece comes with the promise of being greater than the rest, and the Ranbir Kapoor film’s selling point has been its budget of ₹4000 crores and its impressive CGI. Another company may come in the next ten years and make a better one with updated technology. What it can do to stand out is change the way the stories portray Sita.
Sita is Not Ramayana’s Damsel in Distress, Mary Sue
Credit: Prime Focus Studios
Regarded as an incarnation of the Goddess Lakshmi, Sita is also the daughter of the earth. She was a warrior princess who got married of her own will, getting to choose who she wants to be with and how. The Agni Pariksha is one of the most humiliating things she has to endure, not once but twice. Her self-respect makes her return to her mother, Bhumi, after enduring not just the insulting sight of Ravana but also of the people of Ayodhya, with her husband, Rama, choosing to listen to his people rather than his own wife.
There is a scene in the trailer of Ramayana that shows her wielding a sword. Unlike most adaptations of the story, Nitesh Tiwari’s film could choose to respect her and show her as the confident woman that she was. character can single-handedly make sure that the film is marked as one of the best adaptations out there.
On various occasions, she rejected Ravana’s advances and also chose to fight his grip while he was abducting her. Jatayu alone could not have fought him off, and Sita wasn’t one to simply stand by either. Even works like The Forest of Enchantments, The Liberation of Sita and more choose to tell her story with dignity.
Most portrayals of the story refuse to take that risk, painting her as a symbol of purity, self-sacrifice and the embodiment of the perfect wife. These perspectives forget that she was a person, a goddess reincarnate who could stand her own ground.
Sita is a Divine Force
Credit: Prime Focus Studios
She constantly challenges in the Ramayana, making sure that she isn’t intimidated by his power. She isn’t a princess with no will of her own. She has agency and the courage to face the unknown.
The Adbhuta Ramayana has also depicted her as the one who defeated the thousand-headed Ravana rather than the ten-headed one that her husband, Ram, had defeated. In another retelling, she was said to be the first child of Ravana, destined to destroy Lanka once, and for all. That fear had forced him to abandon, her and she was later adopted.
Sita is not a damsel and the biggest way Namit Malhotra’s Ramayana can stand out is by fixing this misconception.