Hundreds of versions of the Ramayana have been created over the last few centuries. One of the more unusual ones is an animated version of the epic created by an American, Nina Paley, who came across the epic only in her thirties.
Sita Sings the Blues follows the story of Sita’s love for and later abandonment by Rama in parallel with the story of how Paley’s own marriage abruptly ended via email. Unlike other versions that make Rama their main character, Paley centres her version around Sita, the wife who, abandoned once by Rama, chooses to leave him and return to her earth mother when he attempts to repeat the act several years later.
Paley released the film in parts between 2002 and 2008, when the final version premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival. With Sita singing to music by 1920s blues star Annette Hanshaw and an astonishing variety of animation styles even within its 2-D framework, the film was an instant success.
Happy Diwali!
Sita Sings the Blues follows the story of Sita’s love for and later abandonment by Rama in parallel with the story of how Paley’s own marriage abruptly ended via email. Unlike other versions that make Rama their main character, Paley centres her version around Sita, the wife who, abandoned once by Rama, chooses to leave him and return to her earth mother when he attempts to repeat the act several years later.
Paley released the film in parts between 2002 and 2008, when the final version premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival. With Sita singing to music by 1920s blues star Annette Hanshaw and an astonishing variety of animation styles even within its 2-D framework, the film was an instant success.
Happy Diwali!
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