The prominent religious organisation Vishwa Hindu Parishad has strongly protested to the controversial, publicity-hungry model-actress Poonam Pandey portraying Ravan’s wife Mandodari in Delhi’s UNESCO-endorsed Ramlila.
Poonam Pandey is infamous for orchestrating scandalous controversies, like promising to strip for the Indian cricket team. Last year she was in the news for falsely announcing she had cervical cancer.
The Luv Kush Ramlila at the Red Fort is one of the most celebrated staged interpretation of the Ramayan held every year during the Dussehra festivities.
VHP’s Delhi region secretary Surendra Gupta, in a letter to the organisers, is quoted as saying, “Artists for Ramlilas should be selected not solely based on acting ability, but also with cultural appropriateness and the sentiments of devotees in mind. Mandodari is a very important character of the Ramayana as she is considered a symbol of virtue, dignity, restraint, and ideal wifely devotion. Therefore, the selection of the actress playing this role should be done with these ideals in mind.”
