Who are some lesser-known characters of Ramayana?

Kumudvati, Chief Queen of Kusha (son of Shri Ram) was a Naga Princess of Sarayu river and her father was killed by Garuda. Naga King Kumud offered her to Kusha in peace alliance when Kusha had almost annihilated the Nagas when Kumudvati took his golden arm- bracelet mistakenly. Kusha married her and she gave birth to his eight sons and a daughter named Champakmalini. Her son Atithi was heir to the throne and when Kusha died, Kumudvati followed him in death like moonshine follows the moon. Her mention is in Raghuvansh and Ananda Ramayana not in Valmiki Ramayana. She was really beautiful, timid and shy and was a young maiden (kanya) when she married Kusha. Kusha had built Nageshwarnath Temple for her near Sarayu river so that she could worship Lord Shiva.

Champika

Champika was the first wife of Kusha and she had chosen Kusha as her husband in her Swayamvara. She was daughter of Maharaja Bhurikirti, King of the lands East of Ayodhya. Rishi Agastya prophesized about her to Shri Ram that she won't be having any sons but daughters. She eventually gave nine daughters to Kusha and their eldest daughter Hema was married to Prince Chitrangad of Avanti after her Swayamvara and a war after which Chitrangad and his son father Ugrabahu were pardoned by Shri Ram. Her reaction to her husband's marriage with Kumudvati is not mentioned but she seems like to enjoy her previous status as the seniormost Queen (Pattmahishi) despite Kumudvati being Chief Queen (Agramahishi or Mahadevi). She was respected in the royal house. Her sister Sumati was married to Kusha’s twin brother Lava.

Kumbhinasi

Kumbhinasi was daughter of Anala, Kaikesi’s younger sister and Vishvavasu. When she was staying in Antahpura of Ravana in Lanka and she was protected as a sister and enjoyed luxuries but she was daringly abducted by a demon named Madhu when others were not around in the palace. When Ravana got to know about this, he got really angry despite himself abducting many women. He went with his warriors to Madhura (Mathura) to kill him but Kumbhinasi pleaded him to not kill her husband. Then Ravana pardoned Madhu and made him his ally. She was mother of Lavanasura who later was defeated by Shatrughna. Shatrughna named the city Surasena after conquering it and the same land became the birth place of Shri Krishna years later.

There are many other characters in Valmiki Ramayana and other renditions which are lesser known like Mahaparshva, Sushena, Vidyutjhiva (husband of Surpankha), Prahasta, Kabandha, Yupaketu (son of Shatrughna in Ananda Ramayana) , Madansundari (princess of Shivkantipuri with whom Yupaketu did Rakshasa Vivah), Kanjanayana (Naga Princess whom Lava married) , etc.

Which actors looked identical to the characters they portrayed in a biopic?

 Hi, these are some photos of celebrities who ended up looking identical to the people they portrayed.

1. Jennifer Lopez as Selena Quintanilla in

Selena

2. Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones as Stephen Hawking and Jane Wilde in

The Theory of Everything

3. Emile Hirsch as Christopher McCandless in

Into The Wild

4. Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in

The Iron Lady

5. Adrien Brody as Salvador Dalí in

Midnight in Paris

6. Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo in

Frida

7. Anthony Hopkins as Alfred Hitchcock in

Hitchcock

8. Charlize Theron as Aileen Wuornos in

Monster

9. James Franco as James Dean in

James Dean

10. Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan in

I'm Not There

11. Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in

My Week With Marilyn

12. Hilary Swank as Amelia Earhart in

Amelia

13. Sienna Miller as Edie Sedgwick in

Factory Girl

14. Audrey Tautou as Coco Chanel in

Coco Before Chanel

15. Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs in

Jobs

16. Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix as June Carter and Johnny Cash in

Walk the line

17. Will Smith as Muhammad Ali in

Who are some of the underrated characters of Ramayana?

 

Shtrughna: Younger son of Dashrath and Sumitra isn't mentioned much but his character in Uttar Kand shines where he defeated Lavanasura, King of Madhupuri (Mathura) and son of Madhu and Kumbhinasi. He established the region of Shurasenas. Shtrughna was deeply devoted to both Shri Ram and Bharat and he was biological brother of Laxman. He was the one who got to know first that Mata Sita had given birth to twins when he halted at Maharishi's Ashram. So , he knew the truth much before than anyone else but he didn't interfere as it was decision of Shri Ram and such a revelation was deeply personal to the couple so he didn't meddle.

Tara- Wife of Vali and later Sugriva is a very intelligent woman in Valmiki Ramayana and Vali says to Sugriva to always listen to sane advise of Tara. Tara is not a flawless woman but she is also not a villain. She drank wine, married two brothers but her intellect and administrative wisdom is praised in the epic. Her true personality is rarely shown in television serials. Tara deeply grieved loss of Vali.

Urmila- She is not mentioned in the epic much but later retellings extensively praises her character and shows her as a self sacrificing woman who let her husband leave and suffered separation for fourteen years. It would have been amazing if the original epic focussed on her POV. The POVs of Mandavi and Shrutkirti are also not given. It's not mentioned whether Mandavi was in Nandigram or not with Bharat. Urmila's sacrifices are highly glorified in later retellings and being daughter of Rajrishi Janaka, it's expected of her.

Champika- The daughter of Maharaja Bhurikirti and first wife of Kusha is not mentioned in Valmiki Ramayana but in Ananda Ramayana. The woman deserves notice because she was first wife of Kusha and she chose him in Swayamvar. She stayed with him as his dutiful wife in Kushavati and later in Ayodhya. She birthed nine daughters and even after prophecy that she would give birth to daughters and no sons, Kusha remained with her as her support and strength. The respect she had in his home was immense. His second marriage to Kumudvati was out of love and alliance and not because Champika only had daughters. Even after his marriage with Kumudvati, Kusha and Champika’s relationship remained harmonious. It shows how much queens used to sacrifice for their kings and stability of Kingdom. She gave him love and support in his initial life when he was suffering from trauma of losing his mother. Champika's glorious character is like Kaushalya who despite her husband loving another wife remained extremely devoted and supportive. Her sacrifices gave stability to Kusha’s initial reign.

Kumudvati- Again, the Naga Princess is not mentioned in Valmiki Ramayana but in two sources, Ananda Ramayana and Raghuvansh written by Kalidas. She was sister of Naga King Kumud. She mistakenly took Kusha’s golden arm- bracelet gifted by his father and kusha who was sporting in Sarayu with Champika and his other Junior wives and he got angry. He was about to attack Nagas when Kumud came and apologized. The sincere apology, Kumud’s royal demenor and wise nature made them friends. He offered his sister's hand in marriage to Kusha and due to love at first sight and to make a strong alliance, he accepted Kumudvati. She is praised in both sources for saving the Raghkula’s main line by providing sons , specially their first son Atithi who was very handsome, meritorious and extremely wise. Kumudvati and Kusha's surpassed the image of alliance marriage and developed very genuine attachment withel each other. She followed him in death despite being new Rajmata. Kusha built Nageshwarnath Temple near Sarayu river because Kumudvati was Lord Shiva’s devotee and due to remains of this temple, Raja Vikramaditya could find the original location of Ayodhya.

Vanaras- Vanaras as a group are pillar of Shri Ram's victory in every Ramayana. Sushena, Nala, Nila, Hanuman, Sugriva, Angad etc. Without their support, Ram would have difficulty in recovering Mata Sita. Each Vanara (including Jambavant) gave their best to support Shri Ram in rescuing Mata Sita.

Which are your favourite 5 characters played by Paresh Rawal?

 Paresh Rawal is one of the most versatile Bollywood actors.

Characters he had played are truly iconic.

Here are top 5 characters played by Paresh Rawal :-

5. Pinky in Daud (1997)

This is one of the best negative roles Paresh Rawal has ever played. The bald look makes him look so evil. He is a little sarcastic and has a dark humour. He is almost a psychopath. Of course we loved Sanjay Dutt and Urmila Martodkar's chemistry in the film but the movie would have been incomplete without Paresh Rawal playing Pinky.

4. Kanjilalji Mehta in OMG:Oh My God(2012)

This is one of the few movies where Paresh Rawal plays the main character. Kanjilalji Mehta is a small business man in Mumbai. He is an atheist but gradually becomes a believer in higher power when God himself come to him to help him with his problems in court when he files a case against God. The character is interesting and controversial at the same time. His chemistry with Akshay Kumar is awesome.

3. Shyam Gopal Verma(Teja) in Andaz Apna Apna(1994)

One of the most hilarious villains ever. As stupid as a villain can be. He and his two assistants ‘Bhalla’ and ‘Robert’ make the stupidest gang there ever can be.He is the twin brother of Ram Gopal Verma- a billionaire. He relentlessly tries to trick and kidnap Ram's daughters but always fails. The funny part is that the gang is always so close to killing them but always fails because of Bhalla and Robert's foolishness and the main characters don't even know they are being tried killing.

2. Dr. Ghunghroo in Welcome (2007)

This character is naturally funny. Might not be as funny as some other roles he has played but the subtle comedy he portrays in this film is really iconic. His frustrated life because of two gangsters Uday Shetty and Majnu bhai (other two most iconic characters) makes us laugh. Him trying to avoid these dangerous people but winding up back in it is really funny. Probably one of the most iconic character of his life.

Honorable mentions

Radheysham Tiwari in Hungama (2003)

Hasmukhlal in Judaai (1997)

Manilal Patel in Awara Paagal Deewana (2002)

1.Baburao Ganpatrao Apte in Hera Pheri series

There is no Indian who doesn't know this character. Many people know Paresh Rawal as ‘Babu bhaiya’. If a book of most legendary characters in Bollywood was made, this character will definitely be in top 10s. The wierd and stupid nature of Babu bhaiya is very funny. In the first film’ Hera Pheri’, he is the landlord of the other two characters and his controlling nature makes it worth watching. The next film ‘Phir Hera Pheri’ made the character reach different height of stupidity. Babu bhaiya in 2nd film is even more enjoyable. I'm very excited for the next installment ‘Hera Pheri 3’ which will probably release next year.