Bulbasaur

First half of Ramayana done, some random thoughts All this chest beating about Ravana being glorified is nonsensical. Both the Valmiki and Kambar Ramayanam have Ravana aura farming so much that the movie doesn't even do 1/100th of that. Yash REALLY owns it, and I would happily watch a prequel which is only about Ravana and his rise. Back to the OG texts, When Hanuman first catches a secret glimpse of Ravana sleeping in his palace in Lanka, he is completely transfixed by Ravana’s radiance. Valmiki describes Ravana not just as a monster, but as a being of immense physical majesty glowing with the residual fire of his severe austerities (tapas), resembling a smokeless fire. Valmiki’s Ravana carries the heavy, unyielding aura of an emperor who has conquered the three worlds. His presence in court commands absolute terror; his multiple heads and arms symbolize a concentrated hubris, yet his intellect and physical splendor remain formidable until his final breath. When he steps onto the battlefield, even the celestial deities watch in tense apprehension. Kambar elevates Ravana even more, painting Ravana with an almost operatic intensity. Even though he is driven by catastrophic lust for Sita, his royal bearing, his fierce devotion to Shiva, and his refusal to bow down to anyone create a dark, magnetic aura. In the final battles, Kambar depicts Ravana standing alone against Rama's army like an unyielding titan, maintaining his majestic defiance to the very end. Why? Simple narrative brilliance, at the end of the day, both Valmiki and Kambar were writing an epic tale, and what better way to elevate Rama than giving him a rival who was any ways his equal. Not to take anything away from Yash though, never watched the slop that was KGF or Toxic... This is the first movie of his I am watching, and he is so so so good. The cgi worked well for me, but the world simply doesn't look lived in, like idk the capital city in Bahubali looks...real, Ayodhya doesn't. They do capture the beauty of Mithila very well though. Ranbir plays the stoic Rama very well, but again I really really wish they had gone closer to OG sources. Rama was a very sensitive, emotional young prince. Another random thought is, I wish they had spent a few minutes exploring Manthara. Esp from Kambar. Rather than a generic bitter crone, Kambar is very conscious of portraying her as an instrument of destiny. Kambar portrays her actions as part of the grand cosmic design. Deities and cosmic forces subtly cloud her mind to set in motion the exile of Rama, which is necessary for the destruction of Ravana and the upholding of cosmic order.