One Shot is a series that seeks to find an essence of cinema history in one single image of a movie.
Kanchana Sita (1977) by Govindan Aravindan, one of the most lyrical Indian filmmakers and one known for experimenting with narrative and form, is the director's mystical interpretation of the last portion of the ancient epic, Ramayana. In it, Rama, the king of Ayodhya, has abandoned his chaste wife, Sita, in the forest to satisfy his subjects. The title alludes to the golden image of Sita, which Rama uses as a substitute for her presence in the “Ashvamedha Yaga” (the ritual sacrifice of a horse to Agni, the god of fire). Sita is never actually seen in the film, but her virtual presence is compellingly evoked through the different aspects and moods of nature. The meditative and philosophical film provides a strong counterpoint to Rama's authority and elucidates the complexities of a ruler's moral duty towards his kingdom and the personal sacrifices it demands by adhering to it. Credited with being at the forefront of a trend towards independent filmmaking in South India, the film humanizes its characters, contrary to the way divine characters from Indian mythology are usually depicted. Aravindan was accused of blasphemy for casting tribals in the roles of the epic heroes, Rama and Lakshmana. He interweaves the Samkhya-Yoga philosophical concepts of Prakriti-Purusha bonds throughout the film. Purusha is conceived of as the masculine transcendental self (Rama) while Prakriti as the female animating power of the universe (Sita). It emphasizes the idea of Purusha ultimately dissolving into Prakriti. This notion is clearly brought out in the film's climactic shot when Rama immerses into the Sarayu river with a sacrificial fire in his hand and becomes one with Sita, the all-pervading nature.