As a kid, you must have loved the animated movie: Ramayana The Legend Of Prince Ram. This masterpiece was released in 1993 and directed by Yugo Sako and Ram Mohan. In the opening scene, the demons terrorize the sages by attacking and killing them mercilessly. Sage Vishwamitra prays to God, and then the former is instructed to seek the help of Ayodhya’s prince Lord Rama.
The Brilliance Of Ramayana The Legend Of Prince Ram
Sage Vishwamitra takes Lord Rama and his brother Lakshman with him to the forest to fight the powerful demon, Tatakha. Rama successfully defeats the demon and his son, thus, freeing the forest from all the demons. Ramayana revolves around the story of Lord Rama, about his exile and life in the forest. The movie is directed so brilliantly that the viewers still remember every scene distinctly. Now let’s talk about the animation springing life into these mythological movies in detail.
Animation Springing Life Into Mythology
Of course, people are obsessed with the human live-action version of Ramayan that aired in Doordarshan for a long time. But the animated movie Ramayan has its own charm and holds a special place in the heart of every kid who grew up watching this movie. Moreover, this animated movie attracted people of all ages, from kids to adults to older adults. Everyone enjoyed the movie.
A genius collaboration between Indian and Japanese animators – Ram Mohan and Yugo Sako made this film very simple yet elegant to watch. The animation techniques used in Ramayana were way ahead of their time. The beautiful fusion style of animation blew minds and made the characters seem so lively. Technicalities of art wonderfully portrayed the theme of good over evil so well that it appealed to both kids and adults. The authentic storytelling and screenplay did the rest of the magic.
The parts covered in Ramayan Legend Of Prince Ram.
At the movie’s beginning, Lord Rama, accompanied by Lakshman, is taken to a forest by sage Vishwamitra to fight the demon. Upon defeating Tadakha and many other demons, Lord Rama and Lakshman are awarded divine weapons by the sage. The three then head to the Mithila kingdom, where Lord Rama impresses the king as well as the princess, Sita. He does so by lifting the divine bow of Lord Parshuram, which no other prospect could, and gifts it to Sita. Soon they fall in love and get married; along with them, Rama’s three brothers and Sita’s three sisters get married to each other.
After returning to the kingdom, Ayodhya, Dasharath announces that Rama will be his successor, which Rama obliges. With this decision, everyone seems happy except for a maid, Manthra. She then goes to Dasharath’s second wife, Kaikeyi.
Manthra provokes Kaikeyi, saying that Lord Rama doesn’t deserve to be the king and that it’s supposed to be her son, Bharat. Kaikeyi tells the king and reminds him of the two boons he owed her. The first boon was to make Bharat the next king, and second, send Rama into exile for 14 years. This upsets the king greatly. Rama hears these wishes and happily decides to move to the forest without feeling bad for Kaikeyi.
During their long exile, Supanakha meets Rama and is enamored by his beautiful face. She proposes to him for marriage, but he rejects her as he is truly devoted to his wife. She then goes for Lakshman, and he, too, rejects her. She then turns into a demoness and attacks Rama and Sita. Lakshman saved them by cutting off Surpanakha’s nose.
The injured Surpanakha returns to her brother crying and telling him about the whole incident. Her brother, the king of Lanka, is enraged and vows to kill Rama. Surpanakaha, however, convinces her brother to torture Rama by kidnapping Sita, and when he arrives to rescue her, Ravana can kill him. Ravana recruits Maricha to help him kidnap Sita.
Maricha turns himself into a beautiful golden deer to attract Sita. Rama then goes to capture the deer as requested by his wife. He asks Lakshman to take care of her while he’s out. Soon Rama realizes the deer is a demon and kills him. The deer screams in Rama’s voice for help, and upon hearing this, Sita asks Lakshman to rescue her husband.
Lakshman then draws a Lakshman Rekha (enchanted spell) to protect Sita. While Lakshman is out, Ravana disguises himself as a sage and asks Sita for alms. Sita is initially adamant about crossing the enchanted line but is forced to do so by Ravana. The sage then turns into Ravana, grabs Sita, and takes her away.
Ravana takes Sita to his kingdom and imprisons her in the castle garden. Sita yearns for Rama and desperately wants him to rescue her. Meanwhile, Rama meets Sugriva and Hanuman, and with their help, he collates an army to rescue Sita. Hanuman reaches Lanka and finds Sita, only to be told that Rama must kill Ravana.
Rama and his army reach Lanka to negotiate, but Ravana expresses his desire for war. Soon the battle begins between both the allies, and many people get injured and die in the battle. Rama and Ravana then get into the battlefield, and Rama kills the latter. After a long battle, he unites with his wife Sita, thus, bidding farewell to his army and returning to Ayodhya.
The Nostalgic Trigger
It has nearly been three decades since its release, yet every scene is fresh in people’s minds, making them feel nostalgic. The beautiful songs still reverberate in the ears of every 90’s kid who watched the movie. The song “Janani Mein Ram Doot Hanuman” and the chants of “Jai Shree Ram” still ring in the ears of every child who grew up watching Ramayana on Cartoon Network. The main characters had a significant impact and are still deeply loved by the people.
Bottom Line
The movie not only inspired and taught humble things to every 90’s kid but also represented the rich cultural heritage and moral values in a very authentic way. Over the years, the frequency of this movie broadcast might have been reduced, but you can still watch it on various online platforms.
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