It is popularly said that God created man in his image.
And man has been creating the imagery and imagination in which the God is visualized.
There are many traditions particularly in India that invest heavily in creating images and myths around divine figures. And since cinema became a popular medium of story-telling and spectacle, there was an obvious interest to bring the Gods to the screen that generations of Indian cultures have imagined and re-imagined.
But the very divine characteristic is that it is metaphysical and not something that simply exists like a regular physical entity. Cinema, on the other hand, is something that captures physical life. So the Gods had to be recreated as per the necessity to realize the grandeur of divinity on screen, that is convincing enough.
Here are some characteristics of godliness that filmmakers have tried to incorporate to make successful screen depictions of the almighty.
God as Omnipotent
A key idea that films have expanded upon is the notion that Godly manifestations have unbounded power.
Mahabali Hanuman PosterUltra Media & Entertainment
Since myths around Gods are full of instances of exceptional strength, devising such instances on-screen convinces the viewer that he/she is not seeing a mortal actor, but a manifestation of a divine figure.
God as a Magical Being
Along with unparalleled power, films have also devised on-screen (with the help of special-effects techniques) the miracles which are said to be performed by the divine figures.
Shree Krishna leela by Homi WadiaUltra Media & Entertainment
These magical abilities have been much talked about in the tale-telling traditions of theology.
God as a Miraculous-Progeny
Religious accounts speak of manifestation of Gods as exalted human incarnations.
So, one important characteristic at the disposal of the filmmakers is to illustrate the exceptionally unusual capacity of the God, when he was still a child.
Shree Krishna leela by Homi WadiaUltra Media & Entertainment
This would often bring a perplexing paradox.
In the instance of the revelation of a child's miraculous capacity, the elders nursing the child (like the mother), would end up being seen under the guardianship of the child.
God as an Unwavering Commitment
Apart from canvassing limitless power and magical abilities of the celestial figures, films also borrowed from the mythology, the idea that supernatural beings are people with uncompromisable ethics and unfaltering devotion to truth and justice.
Hanuman CharitraUltra Media & Entertainment
Hanuman, as an unshakable devotee to lord Ram, remains in this unique position of not just being a God but being a God who is an 'idol-devotee' first.
God as Someone Conscious of Women
Another important characteristic of the sacred beings that films invoke, apart from their metaphysical wonders, is their ardent reverence for women.
Maya BazaarUltra Media & Entertainment
This, in fact, is a basic yard-stick that distinguishes God, Man and the Evil in the mythologies.
The evil disrobes the woman, man remains incapable of saving her honour and amidst this, the God emancipates the disrobed woman from getting denuded.
God as a Human
So apart from magic, virtue has served as an equally important characteristic to mark a spiritual incarnation.
Swayamvar Jhale SitecheUltra Media & Entertainment
And since virtue is something that even human beings can harness, the folklore is full of creating projections of virtuous human beings as the ultimate manifestation of the sacred force.
Human Triumph over Gods
Interestingly, virtues are given such a high premium in the religious narratives, that at occasions, virtuous human beings, particularly women, have even won over the Gods to decide upon the fate.
Maha Sati SavitriUltra Media & Entertainment
Filmmakers have of course found this cinematically desirable and duly delivered this aspect in their screen-renditions.
These depictions not only address the problem of cinema being an 'image of something physical' and 'God being something metaphysical', but through them a higher realisation has been made possible.
If the Gods created man in his image; then by projecting divine characteristics as a feature of a virtuous person, the man has returned the service by creating God in the image of a living virtuous human being.
Text and curation: Abhishek Kukreja
