Ok, a PJ before I start:
If Ravan had a twin brother, what would he be called?
Ans.) Ra-two. Y'know...like Ra-one, Ra-two..hyuk hyuk!
Seriously though, my association with Indian mythology is limited to the 'Kumbhakaran' tag that's been slapped upon me for my proclivity towards somnolence. Which means I sleep a lot. Stop judging me will ya? WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME HUH? WHAT DO YOU
WAAANNT???
*composes self* Waking up at 5 bloody 30 requires loads of motivation (and about 243 alarms). But the prospect of visiting Ravan's 'Lanka', even for a press conference, was motivation enough. The Lanka in question has been set up at Umergaon, a sleepy little town in Gujarat (about 4 hours away from Mumbai), where the sea kisses placid shores and orchards thrive in serenity.
Random Trivia: Umergaon is quite close to Sanjan, the place where the Parsis first landed at in India, and brought with them sugar, crankiness and Cyrus Broacha. Random trivia ends.
So like I was saying..peace and serenity. Hardly the image you'd associate with Ravan. But then there are a lot of things you probably didn't know about him. For example, Ravan was born in what is now known as Australia. Which would make Nicole Kidman his direct descendant, which in turn would explain her scary face. ( It all fits! I'm a genius..take THAT Darwin!!) Also, apart from holidays like Dussehra and Diwali, Ravan also gifted to us the art of palmistry, which is still used by...
lukha loverboys as an excuse to hold girls' hands. And the most interesting (and debatable) statement that I heard - Ram and Ravan share the same bloodline.
Of course, before all these revelations were made, the presswallahs were welcomed to 'Lanka' in grand style. This included a flower shower, unlimited beer and erotic massages by Swedish chicks in black leather. Ok I'm kidding - there was no beer. And a bunch of unit guys kept throwing flowers at women only. In keeping with this lecherous trend, the JAM photographer was hit upon (twice!) during the press conference. They really don't get to see many women around there, poor fellows.
Conclusion: Fascinating concept, crappy execution. Multiple zoom-ins, each glare, stare and turn of the head accompanied by a 'thisssshboombang' sound and flashing lights - it's like a friggin' disco! I say avoid, but if you're a sucker for mythology, catch the show on Zee TV, Saturdays, 9:30 p.m. Don't say I didn't warn you though!
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" We aren't trying to glorify Ravan“, says Gulshan Sachdeva, the producer. "We want to tell people the untold story of Ravan. We want to show how a devout bhakt of Shiva, a learned ruler, loved and respected by his subjects, turned into the demon he's known as today." The first episode of the 52 episode series shows...
Ravan being informed about his son Meghnad's death, and Ravan himself meets his end in the third episode, after which the story focuses on his life - his family, his youth and his transformation from ‘Mahamanav to Danav'.
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