With historical and spiritual stories finding renewed interest across films, television and theatre, Arun Mandola, who played Lakshman in Sankat Mochan Mahabali Hanumaan and Vighnaharta Ganesh and recently portrayed Shri Ram in the stage production Ramayan Manchan in Mumbai, believes that makers need to understand the subject deeply before bringing it to the screen.

Speaking about the current wave of historical projects, including Namit Malhotra’s Ramayana and Dr Vishal Chaturvedi’s film on the real-life story of Neem Karoli Baba, Hanuman Ansh, he feels that commercial considerations have sometimes taken priority over research. “Yes, see, it happens that the ones who are making it now, the projects that are coming, and the ones who are copying don’t do research because they are commercialising,” he said. “I am not saying commercialising is wrong, but spiritual depth should be the root of historical projects.”

He believes there was greater depth in some of the earlier historical storytelling. Referring to Ramanand Sagar’s work, he said, “Now you will see Ramanand Sagarji; his projects were not commercialised. In his projects, that depth, that devotion, that spirituality, that research was there.”

He feels some of the newer projects take a different approach. “The rest who are making it now, they are copying and pasting,” he said. For him, research remains essential regardless of how large the budget is. “But in this, I feel that research is very important, no matter how much money you have,” he said.

He cited a ₹500-crore film as an example of a project he had initially looked forward to. However, he felt the film lacked the spiritual depth he expected. “Few filmmakers had the biggest problem. They had 500 crores, but he did not have that spirituality,” he said.

For him, spirituality cannot simply be created through a large budget or explained to an audience. “You can’t explain spirituality to anyone. You can’t tell anyone. You can see it or feel it,” he said.

He believes that while such projects may attract audiences, commercial success does not necessarily translate into a lasting impact. “They are doing it without research. It will work, but it will not leave an impact,” Arun said.