Not many of us know that the familiar image of the Goddess Lakshmi that we pray to on Diwali was designed by the Father of Modern Indian Art, Raja Ravi Varma. The acclaimed filmmaker Ketan Mehta has made a film on him titled Rang Rasiya, starring Randeep Hooda. Talking to us about it, his wife and producer Deepa Sahi said, “A couple of years ago at Diwali puja, as we stood in front of a framed image of Goddess Lakshmi with folded hands, trying to appease her to come visit us, Ketan remarked, 'That is the print of Raja Ravi Varma's painting.' I said, 'What?' I asked him, 'Do you know what that means? It means that over a 100 crore Indians bow their heads in front of his work and that will qualify him as the single most popular artist on earth.' Ketan said, 'I have long wanted to make a film on him.' There was no question - a film had to be made on Raja Ravi Varma.“

CONSIDERED THE FATHER OF MODERN INDIAN ART, RAJA RAVI VARMA HAS MANY FIRSTS TO HIS CREDIT:
1. THE FIRST MAN TO GIVE FACES TO THE INDIAN GODS:
Before him, there used to be sculptures and miniatures in the pad kathas as the gods as we see them everyday were visualised by him making him the most powerful influence on our civilization's culture.

2. THE FIRST MAN WHO MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR UNTOUCHABLES TO PRAY IN FRONT OF IMAGES OF GODS:
Prior to his time, they were not allowed into temples.

3. THE FIRST MAN CREDITED WITH MAKING THE SARI AS WE KNOW IT TODAY.

4. THE FATHER OF CALENDAR POP ART:
He was the first commercial artist who brought the confines of temples and palaces to the common man. He felt art should be everywhere and so he printed it on mithai and match boxes, calendars, posters and even saris.

5. THE FIRST MAN TO START A COLOUR PRINTING PRESS:
He brought technology into art and became the first man to have started a colour printing press.

6. THE HIGHEST PRICED INDIAN PAINTER EVER:
The art world prices some of his historic works as high as even Rs 30 crores.

7. THE ONLY MAN TO HAVE A SPECIAL POST OFFICE TO HANDLE HIS MAIL:
He was so popular that he would get fan mails by the cartloads leading the British government to open a
special post office just to handle his mail.

8. THE FIRST INDIAN TO BE AWARDED THE HIGHEST CIVILIAN AWARD 'KAISAR-E-HIND' BY THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT.

9. THE GRANDFATHER OF INDIAN CINEMA:
We all know how Dadasaheb Phalke is considered the father of Indian cinema. But what we may not know is how Dadasaheb Phalke started his career as an apprentice with Raja Ravi Varma and thus how his paintings had an influence on his early Indian films.