Written and directed by one of India’s most acclaimed directors Ketan Mehta, Rang Rasiya is based on a classic Indian novel ‘Raja Ravi Varma’ written by the highly acclaimed, award winning and popular Marathi novelist and playwright ‘Ranjit Desai’. The novel is woven around the life and times of the great Indian painter of the 19th century, ‘Raja Ravi Varma’ and deals with religious intolerance and denial of freedom of expression by fundamentalists and hardliners -sadly a fact and truth of even present times.
Raja Ravi Varma (1848 – 1906) – “The Painter amongst Princes, The prince amongst painter”
Born in an aristocratic family of Travancore, Ravi Varma was a child prodigy, his inherent talent was recognized very early in childhood and he received the patronage of the King Ailyam Thirunal of Travancore. At the Trivandrum Palace he came in contact with the Indian and European painters and learnt to use oil paints. In 1873, he won the Governor’s gold medal at the ‘Madras painting competition’ and soon he was awarded the title of RAJA by King Ailyam Thirunal and became famous for his portraits paintings of the Indian royals and British officers.
Acknowledged as the father of Modern Indian Art, he evolved a unique painting style merging the traditional Indian style of painting with the European classic realism. However after the death of his patron king, Ravi Varma left Travancore and arrived in Bombay. As his reputation spread, so did his desire to explore and expand the horizons of his art. He was the first to give a face to Hindu Gods and Godesses by creating their realistic images. He gave them their identity.
Under the patronages of Maharaja Sayaji Rao Gaekwad of Baroda, he created a series of paintings based on the great Indian legends and stories. Like Leonardo Da Vinci and Michael Angelo in Europe, his mythological paintings from the Indian epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, paintings like Sita Swayamvar, Sita bhumi pravesh, Draupadi cheer haran, Nal-Damayanti, Harishchandra-Taramati, Arjun Subhadra etc. brought alive the ancient cultural heritage of India. These paintings were like a quest, as if he was searching for the soul of India.
He was a true visionary and a pioneer. He dreamt of liberating art from the confines of the temples and palaces and reaching out to the common man. With help of a German Master Printer, Fritz Schleicher, he introduced printing technology in India and soon his art reached homes throughout India. Raja Ravi Varma is the highest priced Indian painter. Recently one of his paintings was auctioned for over seven crore rupees.
Raja Ravi Varma was the first to depict Hindu Gods and Goddesses in realistic paintings. His paintings based on stories from Indian mythology and classic literature created a pan Indian iconography which became the basis of an Indian identity. Over half a billion people pray in front of colourful prints of Gods and Goddesses inspired by Ravi Varma paintings.
He, with a German master printer ‘Fritz Schleicher’, started one of the earliest Lithographic printing presses in India. His colourful prints became a rage and sold all across India. He is acknowledged as the father of modern Indian art and the originator of what is called ‘Calendar Art’.
Ravi Varma traveled all across India in search of the ideal attire for the heroines of his paintings. He finally fixed upon the ‘Sari’. The women of India accepted it whole heartedly. ‘Sari’, the attire of the Indian women, famous the world over, was in fact popularized by him.
Dada Saheb Phalke, considered the father of Indian cinema started his career as an apprentice with Raja Ravi Varma. Early Indian cinema derived its imagery primarily from Ravi Varma paintings. His popularity reached such proportions that a special post office had to opened, just to handle his fan mail. Recognising his fame and influence, the British Govt. awarded him the highest civilian honour of ‘Kaiser – e —Hind’.
His colorful depictions of themes from Indian mythology have created a pan Indian iconography which continues to be the basis of an Indian identity even today.
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
I first saw Ravi Varma’s prints as a young film school student and was struck by their colourful exuberance and expressive quality. It became evident that this was the starting point of the modern sensibility in Indian Art, the beginning of popular culture and it had deeply influenced early Indian cinema.
As I heard and read about his life, the mesmerizing story of his struggle to express his art became an inspiring tale to me as a film maker.
Once I started making films and suffered various self righteous censor boards, I found my mind being drawn again and again to Ravi’s life.
Today Raja Ravi Verma seems relevant to me not just as an artist but as a metaphor for creative freedom itself. The papers are full of news about numerous fundamentalist factions, in various parts of the world, deciding what is wrong and what is right, what can be expressed and what can’t be expressed. Are there any limits to creative freedom and freedom of expression, Ravi Verma paid dearly for testing those very grounds.
KETAN MEHTA
