'Raavan Conquered, Ram Set Free'

The Sun God appears on stage to provide answers to the questions that Luv and Kush ask of their father, Ram. He states, "Every story has a hero and an anti-hero.

To know more about Ram, you must know about Raavan." The audience waits with bated breath as the air is filled with smoke. A song begins and a spotlight pierces the darkened auditorium. As Raavan walks up to the stage through the audience, loud applause and whistling echo in the hall.

It is a peculiar sight to see people cheer the entry of Raavan on stage in a play on the Ramayana. Then again, the actor who plays Raavan is the biggest star in the cast-Ashutosh Rana, known for the unforgettable villains he has essayed on screen. An intriguing mix of mythology and stardom is at play as the hall has filled up to watch their favourite anti-hero being played by a memorable villain.

Apeksha Priyadarshini spoke to Ashutosh Rana before his performance in Humare Ram at Kamani Auditorium, New Delhi. Excerpts:

What is it that attracts you to Raavan?

My attraction is towards Ram, but to know Ram, you need to see him through Raavan's perspective. I firmly believe this philosophy. It was to put an end to Raavan that Lord Vishnu had to be incarnated as Ram. If he had to take the form of a human from a formless force, then it must have been for someone so worthy, whose existence cannot be balanced by anyone other than God himself.

So, my interest in Raavan has been in that part of his divinity-his wisdom, his knowledge, his complete surrender and unbounded love and devotion towards Lord Shiva. The question is, even after all his qualities, what happened that Raavan gained arrogance about his knowledge, but couldn't gain the knowledge about his arrogance? When we look at the journey of Raavan, we find that his journey is a lesson for all, including me and you.

The personality of Raavan is very distinguished. What does an enemy do? Raavan was the enemy of Lord Ram.