Page - 44 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 07/02

44 | Genoveva Castro www.jrfm.eu 2021, 7/2, 31–53 In Ratnam’s film, Rāvaṇa is the leader of the dispossessed, an individual who fights against those in power. The abode of Rāvaṇa is not a palace filled with luxuries, as in many narratives, but rather a region where people are destitute. The world of Bīrā revolves around revenge and insurrection, but also seeks fairness. Through dance and music, the song “Ṭhok de killī” (“Hit the nail”) invokes a culture of masculinity and combat (fig. 2). The Tamil version of “Ṭhok de killī” is entitled “Kōṭu pōṭṭā” (“If one draws a border”) in Raavanan (2010), and the lyrics talk in extraordinarily strong terms about conflict and revenge: If one draws a border, kill him! If one builds a fence, cut him into pieces! Until yesterday, your law prevailed, from now on it will be our law, We were bent into submission, We stood up for ourselves.44 As the song “Kōṭu pōṭṭā” shows, both versions of the film evoke a social and political reality. Amit Basole suggests in his review of the movie that the story alludes to the conflict between ādivāsīs and the Indian state.45 Although the film does not give specifics about the agenda of the ādivāsī 44 Raavanan (Mani Ratnam, IN 2010), 00:52:09. 45 Basole 2010, 25. The term ādivāsī means literally “first dweller” and it is used for minority groups in India. Fig. 2: Aggressive Bīrā in a masculine dance of combat. Film still, Raavan (Mani Ratnam, IN 2010), 1:08:29.