Mandali: First-ever film on Ramleela set to release on 27th October in cinemas

Mandali revolves around exploitation of Ramleela play by incorporating obscene dances in small towns for financial gain.The movie stars actors like Abhishek Duhan, Aanchal Munjal, Rajniesh Duggall, Brijendra Kala, which is helmed by actor and writer-director Rakesh Chaturvedi Om, who is best for his performance in Padman and Kesari among others and produced by Prashant Kumar Gupta, Geetika Gupta and Neetu Sabarwal of Reltic Pictures.

Rajniesh Duggall shared, “I will be playing the main antagonist in the film. The film focuses on how politicians or influential individuals utilize Ramleela and their artists to engage and sway people in small towns. It’s a highly debated subject, yet crucial to discuss. The story centers on how emotions related to faith are exploited to garner support from the community.”

Writer-director Rakesh Chaturvedi Om who has previously directed BHK [email protected] and Bolo Ram opens up about 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.”

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.