The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has strongly protested about the controversial model-actress Poonam Pandey portraying Ravana's wife Mandodari in Delhi's UNESCO-endorsed Ram Leela.
Poonam is infamous for orchestrating scandalous controversies, like promising to strip for the Indian cricket team. Last year, she claimed she was dead to promote cervical cancer awareness.
The Luv Kush Ram Leela at the Red Fort is one of the most celebrated staged interpretations of the Ramayana, 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 Ram Leelas 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.'
Photograph curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff