The Perfect Man

Namaskara!
I had set up this blog very long back but had not added anything to it since a very long time. I was recently going through my facebook page and I realised that, 'Hey! I have a blog with a cool title. So might as well share my thoughts with you good folk.'

How does one play the role of a God? This question has been bugging me for the past 6 months. I mean, how do you do it? What is the characterisation like? I refuse to fall prey to the tried and tested formulae which have now become slightly jaded stereotypes in my opinion. Advice! I get a lot of it. Some of it very helpful, some of it, just plain ignorant. But I welcome advice. So tell me, if you were given the opportunity to play the role of a human being who is perfect in every single way, is considered a God and is worshipped by billions of people, how would you go about building the character?

Ok, let me make this easier for you. I have the honour and privilege of playing the role of Lord Rama, a mythological character in India who is worshipped as a God even to this day. Let me give you a character sketch. He is someone who always does the right thing, says the right words, reacts the right way. All in all, HE IS ALWAYS RIGHT. Can you imagine this? I am sure none of us, mortal human beings, can know what is the right thing to do in every situation. One very common piece of advice which I usually get is that Rama is God, he knows everything and ergo, nothing that happens around him affects him in the least. So he should always be smiling like nothing ever happened. I have seen other actors' portrayal of this divine character and they almost seem indifferent and obtuse to whatever is happening around them in an attempt to depict omniscience. So, whenever I see Rama on screen, I always feel he is someone who just does what he is supposed to do instead of believing strongly in every single action of his. Like a very efficient machine.

In these few months of me playing the character, I have built this character which, in my opinion, holds the most water regarding the character sketch of Lord Rama. He is someone who feels all the emotions a normal human being feels but only when it is absolutely appropriate. Walking on the path of righteousness is so important to him, that he is willing to do anything, including exiling his pregnant wife to the forest in order to uphold righteousness. He feels happy, sad and angry only when it is the right thing to do. Not someone who knows everything, thereby not letting anything affect him. The difference is where he does not allow anybody or anything to affect him adversely. He has utter faith in his actions and can justify every action with the compelling argument of Dharma. An obedient son to his parents, a humble servant to his elders, a just ruler of his people, a caring and adoring husband to his wife, a role model to his brothers and peers, all in all, what everyone in this world can only hope to be.

This is character I have to play. I believe in destiny and fate and I think it cannot just be attributed to luck that I have been given the divine opportunity to play this role. But, this great opportunity comes with a herculean task of living upto the image of the perfect human being. And that's tough. So I want you guys to give me your opinions as to how to go about 'Building a Character' in the words of a visionary, Constantin Stanislavski. Please leave comments or contact me via email.
Until next time, KEEP IT DRAMATIC!!