Page - 42 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 07/02

42 | Genoveva Castro www.jrfm.eu 2021, 7/2, 31–53 that he has done. After kidnapping Rāginī (Sītā), he falls in love with her, yet he is always respectful and never touches her. Although the Rāmāyaṇa tradition is diverse, “standard” retellings depict Sītā and Rāma as constituting ideals of womanhood and manhood. In Rat- nam’s adaptation, however, Rāma is pushed to the background, while Sītā and Rāvaṇa are foregrounded through both story and songs. Rāginī (Sītā) is a high-caste educated woman from an urban setting. She is a classical Indian dancer and is shown teaching girls her art (fig. 1). Rāginī’s refined nature con- trasts immediately with the poor area in the forest to which she has been tak- en. The villagers are trying to fight for their rights against the establishment which has not helped their development. Suffering in the inclement jungle, Rāginī gains insight into the difficult life in these remote villages. Ratnam thus transforms Sītā into a woman awakening to a different social reality. The portrayal of female characters such as Sītā and Śūrpaṇakhā is key to the narrative, and in text and on the screen, the relation between Rāma and Sītā is often represented as an example of perfect love.41 Yet that is not the case in Raavan (2010), where the romantic relation between Dev and Rāginī does not take center stage. Instead, the movie shows the humanization of Rāvaṇa, and for that purpose, the transformation of the character of Jamu- niyā (Śūrpaṇakhā) is essential. She is the victim of a rape perpetrated by the policemen. Horrifyingly, the rape of women by police in remote forest areas 41 Pauwels 2008 discusses this topic and compares textual sources and the TV series by Rāmānand Sāgar. Fig. 1: Sophisticated Rāginī teaches Indian classical dance. Film still, Raavan (Mani Ratnam, IN 2010), 00:37:32.