Ram Rajya (1943) :
Brief Review -
Perhaps the best film ever made on Ramayana, and much before we thought of magnum opuses like Maya Bazaar & Mughal-e-Azam. Ramayana is such a great epic that even the second half of the story can make into a complete film. Ram Rajya starts when Lord Ram and Maa Sita return to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana. For the sake of people's happiness, Ram has to part ways with his beloved wife, even though he knew that she was "pure" and a "one man's woman." You know the rest of the story of Luv and Kush's birth and how they meet their father, Maharaj Ram, after years, and Sita descends herself into earth's womb. Ram Rajya is too grand to imagine as a Bollywood movie made in 1943. We still call the likes of Maya Bazaar and Mughal-e-Azam as the greatest Magnum Opus ever made in Indian cinema, but believe me, the kind of grandeur Ram Rajya has achieved in 1943 is actually comparable to those two great films. The film has stupendous sets of Ayodhya Nagari, the palace, and then Valmiki's hut. The war sequences are mind-blowing. It's shocking to learn that a Bollywood film had achieved such war scenes in the 40s with all those visuals of weaponry arrows and chariots. It's simply wonderful. Now coming to a couple of flaws: the film has some language issues. I can't believe that some boys spoke like slum boys in Valmiki's ashram, such as "Ae tere ko baap ka naam nahi pata." That's too chapri for a film based on the Ramayana, right? The second big flaw is the climax when Maa Sita bids goodbye to everyone. From what I have heard it read, most of the stories tell us that Sita was asked to give another agnipariksha, so she finally decided to end things by leaving this immoral world, which doubted her purity again and again. That's one of the greatest things from Ramayan and this film skipped that. So sad. Vijay Bhatt will forever remain the greatest Bhatt of Bollywood. Period. Just go through his filmography, and you'll know why. Overall, a fantastic film for its time.
RATING - 7.5/10*
By - #samthebestest.
