Mandali: Not a Regular Musical, This Ramleela, Starring Brijendra Kala, is a Satire on Everyday Morales and How

'Mandali' is an upcoming movie about the blurring lines of virtue ad righteousness in this modern-age world portrayed through the characters of Ramleela.

It is true that time passes really fast and changes a lot of things including an individual’s way of thinking and living. It is a rite of passage and we flow with changing time and tide. In a race to stay updated, in a race to live up to the hustle culture, sometimes lines blur when it comes to our morals. Bringing a similar story on screen, Director Rakesh Chaturvedi is here with his film ‘Mandali’ – a unique Ramleela starring  Brijendra Kala, Abhishek Duhan, Aanchal Munjal, and Rajniesh Duggal.

Film Mandali revolves around exploitation of Ramleela’s play by incorporating obscene dances in small towns for financial gain.  In the race to be the best and gain acceptance in this modern world, we are neglecting our ethics and values. The greed has taken over our minds and we often struggle to choose the right path which our culture teaches.

Another piece of art by the exceptional Writer-director Rakesh Chaturvedi Om who has previously directed BHK Bhalla@Halla.Kom and Bolo Ram opened up about the message in the film. He stated, “Mandali mirrors the journey of a man and his struggle to uphold righteousness in times of diminishing social conscience and downfall of cultural and traditional values through the protagonist Pursottam Choubey aka Puru. He is an artist who plays the role of Lord Laxman in Ramleela (A musical stage performance in the heartland of India, based on Hindu Scripture, Ramayana) and considers it bigger than his life; breaks down badly while fighting against the evils that degrade its sanctity, but with the strength of his faith rises again like a phoenix from the ashes to keep his dream/passion alive.”

Mandali Showcases the Message Through the Life of a Ramleela Artist

Speaking about the film’s USP, producer Prashant Kumar Gupta of Reltic Pictures who has previously backed films like Holy Cow, Indo Nepali movie Premgeet 3, stated, “The story of the Hindi film “Mandali” revolves around the artists who work in the musical drama Ramleela, which is based on the ancient and sacred Hindu scripture Ramayana. It resonates with the conflict between Artists’ deep belief in their craft and faith in Ramayana, and the powerful people of society who exploit Ramleela for their financial and personal gain by incorporating obscene dances to attract the audience. Mandali is about Power v/s Faith.”

The film also stars an ensemble cast of Vineet Kumar, Kanwaljeet Singh, Alka Amin, Ashwath Bhatt, Saharsh Shukla and Neeraj Sood. Set to release on 27th October in cinemas, Mandali is touted to be based on the lives of Ramleela actors, both on and off stage.