Written By Sayantan Mondal
Can We All Become Ram?
I am currently obsessed with the ‘The Life of Ram’ Song from Jaanu. The song has a life of its own. Once hooked, it is bound to stay with you forever
The Life of Ram (both in terms of lyrics and visuals) introduces us to the world of Ram, his philosophy, and the way he survives. Yes, there’s sadness but not an iota of bitterness. But how he manages to do that, we don’t know – it’s never revealed. Probably that’s how some men are. But the way things are right now with news of harassment and abuse rampant on social media and off-social media, Ram appears to be an anomaly. I have seen online debates where people have tried to justify that such a character can never exist in real life. But Ram is an antithesis of his mythological counterpart who threw out his wife on the mere words of a washerman.
But not our Ram – who carefully preserves every memory of his Jaanu. That’s his greatest strength. And there’s no harm to hold on to something to make things easy. Would Ram want a different outcome? I guess anyone will, but Ram teaches us how to live when the circumstances are not really in our favour. It’s a struggle, and he goes through it every day. Probably there have been days when he might have felt he should try and get back Jaanu, talk to her, and make her know everything. But no, he himself has drawn a boundary and he stays within that. And I believe it’s a very normal behaviour and that’s what exactly the movie tries to project.
Is Ram’s sacrifice special, at least based on the dynamics of on-screen hullabaloo, or how have we shown relationships in our movies? Yes, it is. Now there are other characters who have done the same, but not in the same manner. It, of course, depends on the director and his vision, and as we have ended up glorifying the likes of Arjun Reddy/Kabir Singh, it’s time we try and imbibe some traits of Ram. I know, I understand it’s never easy to let go of the person you love but the definition of love doesn’t include the words – ownership or possession. Sometimes letting go is for the best
