Lately, however, Ravan is being portrayed as a Muslim

Illustration/Devdutt Pattanaik

Ravan is a favourite of Bollywood filmmakers. He is depicted variously. We have seen films where Ravan is depicted as a devotee of Shiva (bhakta-Ravan), singing hymns and pleasing the hermit-god in many stories and television serials. Others  have made him the perfect brother (bhaiyya Ravan) in their narrative.They justify his kidnapping of Sita because Ram’s brother insulted and abused his sister, Surpanakha, who simply wanted to have sexual relations with the brothers and could not take no for an answer. 

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Then there are directors who present Ravan as a great king who works in iron mines, not golden cities that remind you of Middle Earth sets of Lord of the Rings (veer-Ravan). Or he is projected as a great lover, a true admirer of Sita,........

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