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amulMy friends at Moonhowler Productions had an issue with one of their actors, who was hesitant to wear a Hindu-based Halloween costume. For those of you who don't remember, Moonhowler runs the haunted houses for Ocean Park Hong Kong.
The information I looked up might be interesting to those who have been following my Hinduism entries.
One of my Photo Roving actors is a "Indian demon" but I'm sure his is a God. In fact, I think he is supposed to be Kali.
I have only seen part of his costume and his makeup. He has 4 heads on each side, total of 10 arms, one holds a served head. but they haven't finished the head gear or costume.
The makeup is blue, but they gave him a curly mustache, like an 18th century Barber?
The actor playing wants to be respectful of all the the Indian people in HK, so he has no idea how to play it. Any suggestions? He is Photo which means he doesn't have to be scary. Since everyone that has seen him in it so far laughs at him he knows he can't be scary. Help.
From: Amul Kumar
So, Kali is a female with a long bloody tongue, and she likes to dance on top of the corpses of demons and men. So he can't be Kali.
The curly moustache and blue skin is fine and won't offend anyone.
An Indian demon is an "asura." In any depiction of an asura with 10 arms, at least one arm would hold the severed head of one of his enemies. So far, you've only really narrowed it down to the list of demons with multiple heads and arms, which isn't very far.
If I understand you correctly, then you have created a "indian demon" concept, but didn't initially pick a specific demon. Your actor wishes to be respectful of Hinduism, since it is not his religion. Assuming this is correct, here is my suggestion:
Mahabali (aka The Great Bali) is a benevolent demon king. After conquering The Three Worlds (hell, earth and heaven), he ruled wisely and justly, showing proper devotion to the gods. The devas (angels) wanted heaven back, and begged help from Vishnu. Vishnu tricked Bali into giving up his kingdom, but once Bali found out who he was dealing with, was so humble and respectful that after he was vanquished, that Vishnu did him great honor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bali_(demon)
Add a crown to the center (human) head. Give him an ornate mace. Have him threaten men, demanding that they pledge their allegiance to him ("The Great Demon King Bali"), yet be respectful of women and playful with children (both of whom he assumes are his subjects). Put a flower-garland (necklace) around some or all of the heads.
Bali was given permission by Vishnu to return from the dead every year during the Onam festival and see his subjects, which is/was Sept 2-12th of this year. Perhaps his trip was extended for some reason this year?
If you want to be particularly sensitive to the religion, then have him give some kind of treat or paper decoration to little girls.
Remember that hindu demons greet people by performing Namaste:
http://www.aadilandmirra.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/aadil-namaste-hands-small.png
For superiors, bend at the waist while keeping the head rigidly above the hands.
For equals, bob the head briefly over the hands.
Hope this helps.
-Amul
From: Amul Kumar
So, my dad finally got back to me with an answer to your question.
According to my dad, a nine-headed, 10-armed asura holding a severed head would be Ravana, the king of Sri Lanka, who kidnapped Sita from Lord Rama. He had a boon which made him unkillable unless he was shot in the naval. It took Rama 10 shots to hit the target.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravana
I sent off what you last gave me to wordobe. It turns out that they were just mixing and matching any image they could find. I'm having them remove the starts of a skirt made out of severed arms, because I have only seen that on images of Kali.
However the actor will be a little confused because I printed out your first e-mail and gave it to him. So with Ravana will giving paper to little girls matter? Just wondering because he wanted to have a pockets full of them to hand out. He is very concerned about ticking people off.
From: Amul Kumar
Yeah, Ravana is an actual bad guy. He's a prominently featured villain to one of the two great Hindu epics. Playing Ravana as a scary bad guy is totally in character, and shouldn't offend anyone -- especially since he'll know who he is playing and isn't just a "default indian demon guy."
I'd say the thing to do is pick one, either Mahabali or Ravana, and go with it. I think your actor will be more comfortable playing Mahabali, from what you've described.. I guess he shouldn't technically have a bunch of arms and heads, but it isn't a big deal. (Ravanna is specifically 9 heads, 10 arms). If he grooves on giving the paper decorations out, make sure he knows to play the rest of it out too -- this is a demon king who did battle with devas (angels) and conquered heaven. He's super pious, but he's also a badass killing machine.
The information I looked up might be interesting to those who have been following my Hinduism entries.
One of my Photo Roving actors is a "Indian demon" but I'm sure his is a God. In fact, I think he is supposed to be Kali.
I have only seen part of his costume and his makeup. He has 4 heads on each side, total of 10 arms, one holds a served head. but they haven't finished the head gear or costume.
The makeup is blue, but they gave him a curly mustache, like an 18th century Barber?
The actor playing wants to be respectful of all the the Indian people in HK, so he has no idea how to play it. Any suggestions? He is Photo which means he doesn't have to be scary. Since everyone that has seen him in it so far laughs at him he knows he can't be scary. Help.
From: Amul Kumar
So, Kali is a female with a long bloody tongue, and she likes to dance on top of the corpses of demons and men. So he can't be Kali.
The curly moustache and blue skin is fine and won't offend anyone.
An Indian demon is an "asura." In any depiction of an asura with 10 arms, at least one arm would hold the severed head of one of his enemies. So far, you've only really narrowed it down to the list of demons with multiple heads and arms, which isn't very far.
If I understand you correctly, then you have created a "indian demon" concept, but didn't initially pick a specific demon. Your actor wishes to be respectful of Hinduism, since it is not his religion. Assuming this is correct, here is my suggestion:
Mahabali (aka The Great Bali) is a benevolent demon king. After conquering The Three Worlds (hell, earth and heaven), he ruled wisely and justly, showing proper devotion to the gods. The devas (angels) wanted heaven back, and begged help from Vishnu. Vishnu tricked Bali into giving up his kingdom, but once Bali found out who he was dealing with, was so humble and respectful that after he was vanquished, that Vishnu did him great honor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bali_(demon)
Add a crown to the center (human) head. Give him an ornate mace. Have him threaten men, demanding that they pledge their allegiance to him ("The Great Demon King Bali"), yet be respectful of women and playful with children (both of whom he assumes are his subjects). Put a flower-garland (necklace) around some or all of the heads.
Bali was given permission by Vishnu to return from the dead every year during the Onam festival and see his subjects, which is/was Sept 2-12th of this year. Perhaps his trip was extended for some reason this year?
If you want to be particularly sensitive to the religion, then have him give some kind of treat or paper decoration to little girls.
Remember that hindu demons greet people by performing Namaste:
http://www.aadilandmirra.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/aadil-namaste-hands-small.png
For superiors, bend at the waist while keeping the head rigidly above the hands.
For equals, bob the head briefly over the hands.
Hope this helps.
-Amul
From: Amul Kumar
So, my dad finally got back to me with an answer to your question.
According to my dad, a nine-headed, 10-armed asura holding a severed head would be Ravana, the king of Sri Lanka, who kidnapped Sita from Lord Rama. He had a boon which made him unkillable unless he was shot in the naval. It took Rama 10 shots to hit the target.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravana
I sent off what you last gave me to wordobe. It turns out that they were just mixing and matching any image they could find. I'm having them remove the starts of a skirt made out of severed arms, because I have only seen that on images of Kali.
However the actor will be a little confused because I printed out your first e-mail and gave it to him. So with Ravana will giving paper to little girls matter? Just wondering because he wanted to have a pockets full of them to hand out. He is very concerned about ticking people off.
From: Amul Kumar
Yeah, Ravana is an actual bad guy. He's a prominently featured villain to one of the two great Hindu epics. Playing Ravana as a scary bad guy is totally in character, and shouldn't offend anyone -- especially since he'll know who he is playing and isn't just a "default indian demon guy."
I'd say the thing to do is pick one, either Mahabali or Ravana, and go with it. I think your actor will be more comfortable playing Mahabali, from what you've described.. I guess he shouldn't technically have a bunch of arms and heads, but it isn't a big deal. (Ravanna is specifically 9 heads, 10 arms). If he grooves on giving the paper decorations out, make sure he knows to play the rest of it out too -- this is a demon king who did battle with devas (angels) and conquered heaven. He's super pious, but he's also a badass killing machine.
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Date: 28 Sep 2009 12:59 (UTC)no subject
Date: 1 Oct 2009 20:38 (UTC)