Nevada
(US),
(ANI):
The
Matrix
star
Keanu
Reeves
will
play
Rama
in
an
upcoming
movie
titled
Hanuman,
according
to
reports.
Gary
Oldman
(Nil
by
Mouth)
will
reportedly
play
Ravana,
while
Aamir
Khan
(Lagaan)
has
supposedly
been
approached
to
play
lead
Hanuman.
Search
is
still
on
to
find
an
international
face
to
play
Sita
in
this
movie
reportedly
being
directed
by
Chuck
Russell
(The
Mask)
and
produced
by
Uru
Patel
(Cyborg
2).
Shooting
is
reportedly
expected
to
start
towards
the
end
of
this
year
in
Rajasthan
(India),
while
the
rest
will
be
made
in
Hollywood
studios.
However,
the
film
reports
have
let
Hindus
in
a
fix.
Acclaimed
Hindu
statesman
Rajan
Zed,
in
a
statement
in
Nevada
(USA),
said
that
if
makers
of
proposed
movie
Hanuman
intended
to
base
the
storyline
on
epic
Ramayana,
make
references
to
it,
or
portray
Hindu
gods/goddesses
in
the
movie,
they
would
urge
the
makers
to
stay
true
to
the
story
and
the
spirit
of
the
timeless
epic
and
other
Hindu
scriptures.
Zed,
who
is
president
of
Universal
Society
of
Hinduism,
further
said
that
Ramayana
was
a
highly
revered
scripture
of
Hinduism.
Hollywood
was
welcome
to
make
a
movie
about
Ramayana
but
the
final
product
should
be
the
true
depiction
of
it
and
not
a
fantasized
or
a
re-imagined
version
to
fit
the
Hollywood
machine,
which
was
likely
to
hurt
the
Hindu
sentiments.
Moreover,
as
Hinduism
was
largely
misunderstood
outside
India,
the
distortion
would
add
to
the
confusion.
Hinduism
was
the
oldest
and
third
largest
religion
of
the
world
with
about
one
billion
adherents
and
a
rich
philosophical
thought
and
it
should
not
be
taken
lightly.
Zed
further
said
that
Ramayana
was
an
integral
part
of
Hinduism
and
was
held
in
such
reverence
that
Hindus
believed
that
simply
reading/hearing
of
it
showered
blessings
upon
the
reader/listener.
Rama,
the
hero
of
Ramayana,
was
incarnation
of
Lord
Vishnu,
and
was
worshipped
by
Hindus.
Ramayana,
an
ancient
Sanskrit
scripture,
consists
of
24,000
stanzas,
explores
various
themes,
including
human
existence,
concept
of
dharma,
etc.