Binary Opposites in Films

In both Bollywood films Ra.One and Dishoom we see a clear binary opposite between the protagonists and antagonist which hold certain values that fortify their roles. 

Firstly, although Ra.One and Dishoom are of different genres they both conform to the Todorov structure of narrative and hence the villains in these films cause disequilibrium. The villain Ra.One in the film Ra.One has many layers and shades as a character. The name itself is an informal spelling of the Hindu mythical demon Ravan who holds great importance in Hindu mythology, hence naming the villain Ravan creates a highly powerful villain. Like Ravaan in Hindu Mythology, Ra. One is capable of shapeshifting. The sci-fi genre of the films allows this to be acceptable and so the character makes full use of the context in which he is presented in. He is scheming, cunning and extremely vitriolic despite being a character within a game. Wagah, in dishoom is a different type of villain in a sense that firstly he is real and secondly he is a kidnapper. The human traits make him far more understandable as well as relatable and so we fear him to some extent during the course of the film. Wagah like many other villains brings disequilibrium to the narrative by kidnapping certain characters who are vital to the narrative. 

The mise-en-scene for both characters is extremely different and reinforces how despite being villains, they both possess stark qualities. In Ra.One we are taken into this dystopian society during the gameplay sequence. The lighting, angles and composition all highlight and embody this evil cyber villain who does not die despite being killed multiple times. This links in context with Ravaan who did not die until he was shot with an arrow in his naval. The modern blend within this film is remarkable as the makers take certain aspects from the base narrative ‘The Ramayan” and repackage it as a sci-fi film. With Wagah in Dishoom we see that the composition, lighting and camerawork all conform to stereotypical Bollywood thriller film where the villain is not revealed at the first instance. Wagah isn't shown at first instances and so a mysterious element is constantly being churned around this character. We don't know as to how powerful the character is going to be and so we assume him to be even more powerful than he is. 

The hero’s on the other hand are truly binary opposites and hence they highlight the reoccurring theme of Good vs Evil. In Ra.One, the main hero is G.One, again this is an informal spelling of a Hindi name “Jeevan” which means life. The naming of both Ra.One and G.One clearly emphasis and continually reinforces that it is a story at the simplest levels of Good vs Evil. G.One is not afraid to fight against Ra.One hence he is brave. G.one doesn't resort to evil actions so he is righteous. Both these traits are similar to Lord Ram in the Ramayan. The costume for G.One has an element of blue and green in the most minimalist ways that at first audiences do not recognise that he is the sci-fi version of Lord Ram. These small similarities create a very interesting binary opposite that allow us to read the film and producers meanings in various ways. G.one gives life and possesses these heroic characteristics and so we can assume that he is a divine human as he is able to continue to follow the path of goodness despite physically looking smaller in size and having less powers. 

The two heroes in Dishoom are Kabir and Junaid which split up the primary heroic characteristics. Kabir is a no nonsense police officer who is stern, physically muscular and taller whereas Junaid is a light hearted character who is a rookie police officer. Despite there being 2 heroes within the film they both in reality portray the universal hero and are able to defeat Wagah. The different characteristics of both heroes allow audiences to view heroes in different ways and so we do not assume them to be the same. It may suggest that the film maker wants to highlight that heroes do not have to be perfect and so this is enforced as Kabir lacks Junaid’s emotional streak and Junaid cannot be serious during important times. Despite having their flaws they both are heroes and that is what the film maker must be suggesting. Heroes to have flaws. 

Overall, we can see that in both of these films the protagonists and antagonists have stereotypical attributes which highlight how there are usually binary opposites within films.