In researching RRR and other Tollywood movies this week, I kept thinking about the ending section of the movie, in which Raju Rama is shown to be an incarnation of the actual Hindu God Rama. In a Western cultural context, this seemed absurd––if a character in an action movie turned out to secretly have been Jesus or Moses the entire time, it would undoubtedly be met with eye rolls and and bad reviews from the audience (if played straight).
In RRR, Raju Rama being Lord Rama just happens as part of the movie. Why? What? I needed to know.
I came across this article, “Hindu Gods smiling on Tollywood” in the Deccan Chronicle. Here’s the short version.
There is no prohibition or social taboo against presenting Gods on screen in South India, and there is a concern that younger people do not relate to Hinduism or it’s Gods. Therefore, to get them back in the fold, and to present broadly-known cultural agendas on screen, there are Gods. A lot of Gods.
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