Ramanujan said, “no text is original, yet no telling is a mere retelling –and the story has no closure, although it may be enclosed in a text” (46). Based on the reading, depending on the region, the Ramayana presents various beginnings, endings, messages, and character attributes/characteristics. For example, in some versions, such as “the Adbhula Ramayana and the Tamil story of Satakantharavana even give Sita a heroic character…Rama cannot handle this new menace, so it is Sita who goes to war and slays the new demon (43-44). Sita? In Valmiki’s version, the one we read, she is a submissive puppet of Rama, but she is definitely not in these versions. Additionally, a regional version considers “Sita as unfaithful…she is seduced both by Ravana and by Laksmana” (44). According to Sita Sings the Blues, Sita has multiple names, such as “Janaki and Vaidehi.” Also, she is more respected in this movie than in certain versions of the Ramayana. It presents a feminist perspective by focusing on the trials of Sita. It even includes “Sita” in the title. For example, the modern couple represents Sita and Rama. “Nina” or “Sita” is infatuated by “Dave.” She even follows him to India, like Sita followed Rama into the wilderness. Dave doesn’t provide her with attention, though, and treats her poorly. Eventually, they break up, but, in the end, she ultimately appears content.
Other variations include the distinctions of and opposing outlooks on characters, like Ravana, Hanuman, and Rama. Even endings vary amongst the ones “in Sanskrit and in the other Indian languages” (39) versions, such as “one ends with the return of Rama and Sita to Ayodhya” and in the other “Rama hears Sita slandered as a woman who lived in Ravana’s grove, and in the name of his reputation as a king…he banishes her to the forest” (39). Every Ramayana has unique qualities, such as in the movie, one shadow puppet narrator informs the others of Hanuman being an incarnation of Siva. They were unaware of this. Possibly, their regional version didn’t mention this feature. Also, this version includes the ending where Sita is banished, which is a version not applied by all.
Overall, Sita Sings the Blues depicts various images of the popular story itself, such as the different depictions of Rama and Sita. One version of Sita is a cartoon jazz singer and another is Nina. I believe this correlates with the different regional versions of the Ramayana. Each version is quite unique.