“She is so feisty and wants to take her own decisions, just refuses to leave things to fate.”

Mani Ratnam has transformed Indian mythology’s best known damsel in distress into a feisty tigress. She braves wind and rain and storm and even a hostile jungle terrain in a bid to escape her captor instead of waiting for her husband to come rescue her

She's a far cry from the traditional idea of Sita who pins all her hopes on Ram. And Aishwarya’s version of Sita in the form of 'Ragini' has captured the Indian woman’s imagination.

And the Indian film industry too seems to be warming up to the idea of a gutsy independent heroin.

“She is thrown into a physically demanding situation where she has to fend for herself. The gender divide is fast blurring and characters are getting more space to react more naturally,” says noted script writer Anjum Raballi.

“Gone are the days of the damsel in distress. Today’s woman rejects that idea and is not going to take things lying down. She’ll fight back or even flee but not be afraid,” adds Psychiatrist Y A Matcheswala.
 

And though the film Raavan may have opened to lukewarm reviews, we're sure Ragini will leave a lasting impression on the viewers imagination.