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Rani to Devi


First of all, the movie Padmaavat is not a love story. It a story about a battle between Dharma and Adharma.

The fight for dharma is led by the Rajputs - Raja Ratan Singh and Rani Padmavati. Raja Ratan Singh comes across as a maryada purshotam kshtriya - a king who lives and prefers to die by following his dharma rather than violating it. Rani Padmavati's character begins as a warrior princes which then transforms into a devi or a shakti by the end of the movie. The movie portrays both of them in shades of Ram and Sita from Valmiki's Ramayan. 

Allahudin Khilji is depicted as a lunatic pyscho. Khilji is portrayed as a bisexual predator who kills for fun, captures and molests Hindu princesses and even shares a bathtub with his male slave Mallik Kafur. There are scenes which showcase Khilji indulging in domestic violence and even marital rape.

The movie is all about the transformation of a Rani to Devi. The first test of Padmavati is when a princess becomes a queen. The queen, when told that she is all beauty, showcases her intelligence by outsmarting a cunning advisor Raghav Chetan. Next Padmavati beats Khilji in the battlefield to rescue Raja Ratan Singh. By the last 5 minutes of the movie, she is now a Devi or a Shakti worthy of worship.

This movie destroys the stereotypical image of Indian women - behind the 'ghunghat',  docile followers of family/society diktats. Padmavati and the Rajput women are showcased in all aspects - intelligence or courage as equal or greater than men.

The last 5 minutes of the movie are bone chilling. The Johar scene will continue to haunt you after the movie is over.

Historians in India tell us that Khilji won the battle. I think they have completely missed the purpose of the battle. The fight was not for a fort or a palace but to protect dharma. Devi Padmavati with her actions protected dharma. Thanks to her actions a Rana Pratap was born. When you go to the final resting place of Rana Pratap, you will see written at the entrance.

"Jo dridh rakhe dharm ko tahi rakhe kartar"

It means that dharma protects those who protect dharma. A rani became a devi for only one reason - she protected dharma.










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