Page - 37 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 07/02

Validating Demons | 37www.jrfm.eu 2021, 7/2, 31–53 their eviction, although at the end he is killed. Nevertheless, Kaala’s legacy lives on in the subsequent protests of the slum dwellers. The film provides an optimistic alternative to the Dravidian counter-myths of the Rāmāyaṇa in which Tamilians lose.24 Thus, the Rāmāyaṇa continues to provide a vehicle for storytelling with a political message. The Production of RAAVAN (2010) and RAAVANAN (2010) In the remainder of this article, Ratnam’s movie will be discussed as an ex- ample of a narrative that subverts the stark opposition between Rāvaṇa and Rāma. Mani Ratnam is a renowned and prolific Tamil film director, screen- writer, and producer with over 25 films in his œuvre. Although most of his films are in Tamil, he has directed a handful of movies in Hindi as well. Given the great linguistic diversity in South Asia, choice of language matters in movies. For one thing, it can determine consumption, although many movies are dubbed to reach wider audiences. Film industries are separated by lan- guages and regions, but they also intersect. Ratnam gained national acclaim with his movie Roja (Mani Ratnam, IN 1992), a romantic story in which a Tamil couple goes to Kashmir, where the husband participates in a military operation against terrorists. The enor- mous popularity of the film and the fact that it was made shortly after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi by a suicide bomber from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have been widely discussed.25 Years later, Ratnam started directing movies in Hindi with the great movie stars of the mo- ment. In his engagement with diverse industries, languages, and identities, Ratnam’s movies “have squarely placed Tamilians within the discursive and representational framework of the Indian nation”.26 Ratnam has simultane- ously shot movies in Tamil and Hindi and perhaps this capacity to work in a diverse framework can be considered one of his main accomplishments. Collaboration with the celebrated Tamil musician A. R. Rahman, initiated with Roja (1992), has been key in the success of some of Ratnam’s movies. In Indian films, the songs are crucial and can help a movie thrive. Felicity Wilcox describes the work of A. R. Rahman in the following way: 24 Manoharan 2021, 61. 25 Dirks 2001; Benjamin 2006; Devadas/Velayutham 2008. 26 Devadas/Velayutham 2008, 167.