~Ashish Sharma~New show Discussion Thread#5 - Page 117

There have been several adaptations of the Ramayana on TV, but most of them have shown Ram's perspective, feel those from TV who've been part of such shows. Ramlilas taking a lead in depicting Ramayan from Sita's perspective is a positive change, they feel.

Debina Bonnerjee, who has played Sita in a 2008 TV adaptation of Ramayana, says, "There are so many things that have been written in Ramayana, but we can't show them because Ram is seen as the eternal hero. Sita is the heroine, but the male perspective is given more weightage.

In our version, there were many dialogues that Sita instead of Ram was asked to say, keeping his image in mind. Ram ke munh se directly nahin bulwaya ki 'Sita, tum agnipariksha do'. I went to Ananda Sagarji (son of Ramanand Sagar), who has done a lot of research on Ramayana, to ask why, and he said, 'Ram is the eternal hero and we cannot show him saying any negative things'. So I feel this is a welcome change - that at least Ramlila is being shown from the perspective of Sita. If her viewpoint is being shown, it's a mind-blowing change."


Neha Sargam, who played Sita's role in Ramayan: Sabke Jeevan Ka Aadhar, which was on air in 2012, says, "There are other versions of the same story - a Sitayan and even a Lakshamanayan. But people usually don't make shows about it. That's probably because people are not ready to see things from Sita's perspective. But if a feminist Ramlila is happening, it's commendable."

Sohanna Sinha, producer of an upcoming adaptation of Ramayana called Siya Ke Ram, a retelling of the story from Sita's perspective, opines, "This is the first time I am hearing about Ramlilas doing something like this.

Usually, aap Ramayana mein dekhte hain how Ram breaks the dhanush to win over Sita, or how Raavan ne Sita ka haran kar liya, but the focus is not on Sita's journey as an intelligent person in her own right. I am glad that now, both stage and screen versions of the tale are starting to explore that angle."