Nothing in the world sells better than religion. A beautiful film about the life and fate of the great Indian artist of the 19th century, about his love for his muse, a simple girl named Suganda, whose beauty inspired him to create many paintings. He saw in her the face and soul of the goddess - Sacuntali, Urvashi, Sita, Draupadi, Menaki Many erotic paintings are in private collections of many world collectors and are rarely exhibited. And also about the whole era in which the artist lived, worked, loved and fought.
There is no description here, so I will tell you a little about the artist himself, and about the film in brief. Ravi Varma was born on April 29, 1848 in the princely palace of Kilimanur, in an aristocratic family of the rulers of the state of Travancore. Already in early childhood, he showed considerable abilities to draw, which were actively supported by his uncle. From the age of 14, Ravi Varma studied traditional Indian painting in the Prince’s Palace, and in 1863, for a month took lessons in European painting from the British portraitist Theodore Jensen invited to the court. In 1873, Ravi Varma took part in an international art exhibition in Madras, where his painting Lady Nair at the Morning WC was recognized as the best. World fame came to the artist after an exhibition held the same year in Vienna, where he also received the main prize.
Ravi Varma never held the official title of Rajah, but became known in Europe as Rajah Ravi Varma, a prince-artist. He created paintings on his favorite themes, most accurately reflecting Indian culture - "Ramayana" and "Mahabharata", depicting only gods and goddesses. His heroes are dressed in national costumes, they are surrounded by national Indian landscapes, national architecture. The works of the artist were very popular. But in the future, studying Indian culture, the life of his people, Ravi Varma, inevitably encountered the negative aspects of this life, saw poverty and poverty prevailing in the country. This involuntarily forced him to turn to a different topic, and among his works appeared works, the hero of which was a poor, poor and deprived person. This is about the life of a real artist
Now about the movie. The film, if not a masterpiece, is at least close to it. Artists are not of this world, they live in their own world. And of course, a lot of people don't like it. It really shows how religious fanaticism can destroy a person’s life... but Raja Ravi Varma was able to resist it, rise above religion and show beauty. The only way to kill an artist is to destroy his creations, because it is impossible to repeat this. This is only given once.
And about religious fanaticism, I didn't like how religious figures got into art. Previously, statues of gods and goddesses were only inside temples and palaces of maharajas, and here they became available to all people of the country, even untouchables, who were able to see the gods in paintings. And these figures, frightened by the people who were leaving their possession of the minds, brought the artist to court, for the fact that he “dared” to depict goddesses with a female face, and then the same woman posing for the image of goddesses, depicted with naked breasts, barely covered with a sari. Allegedly, it causes irreparable damage to Indian culture. And this is in the land of the Kama Sutra, where there are sexual poses in stone (one Kojuraho temple is worth what). Hanji.
Initially, the director invited Ajay Devgan and Madhuri Dikshit to the main roles, but Madhuri refused to star in too frank scenes as a model. Then in the role of Suganda, starred Nandita Sen (she agreed to appear on the screen in semi-naked form), and the role of the artist performed Randip Hood. This film Ketana Mehta was shown at the Cannes Film Festival. He has also been at film festivals in London, New York, Oslo and Sri Lanka. In December 2009, it was shown in Florence at the opening of the festival "River to River". Only in India, the film could not find its way to the audience. For a long time it was forbidden to show in cinemas. Only five years later, Indian film censorship in the person of the Central Board of Film Certification finally gave permission to show this masterpiece in cinemas, during the celebration of Diwali.
Randip Hood is as good as ever. But Nandita Saint dared the devil to appear on the screen... even in semi-naked or even in body art... this courage is not needed. Even now, in the 21st century, not every Indian actress would do that.
The landscapes are breathtaking, just breathtaking from such beauty. About Passion. I read that the film lacked the passion between a man and a woman. But I saw this passion. Not an animal, like sex. The passion between the artist and his creations, the artist and his muse, his struggle with prejudices, etc. This is not a dance in the woods or on the lawn. This is the passion of man for life. And paintings are the life of the artist.
"Flowers of Passion" - a colorful celebration. The director deserves applause for a bold portrait of the great artist. He skillfully blended a biopic with a historical one, adding a love story and social criticism. Philosophy, science, free love - everything was intertwined in an ephemeral combination, like on the canvases of the artist himself, whose favorite colors were red, black, orange, green, pink and gold. These colors he considered the colors of passion, most suitable for the depiction of gods and goddesses.
"Rang Rasiya" is literally translated from Hindi as "Color of feeling". In principle, the name proposed by Russian translators is also quite suitable. Although the film can be translated as "Painter", which is also suitable. The film is not perfect, but deals with many important topics related to art, tradition and position in society. And it is safe to say that this film is about the eternal.
This film is more suitable for creative people who believe in the freedom to express their feelings. But I liked the way the artist expressed his feelings in the paintings, the way he portrayed it. There was nothing “dirty” in his work. I have seen more frank paintings of European artists depicting absolutely naked women, and men too, in very frank poses. And they hang in the best galleries in the world, and everyone admires and admires them. And here, only slightly the breast of the woman is depicted, and such a butchu was raised, especially the so-called religious figures who allegedly tirelessly care for the moral foundations of the Indian youth.
9 out of 10
