"Raatchasan" (2018, Ratsasan) (2025)

About the Book

The 2018 Indian film "Cinderella" is not directly based on a specific book. Instead, it draws inspiration from the classic fairy tale of Cinderella, which has been adapted and retold in various forms across cultures. The original story is often attributed to Charles Perrault, a French author who published his version in 1697, titled Cendrillon.

Charles Perrault

Charles Perrault was a French author and member of the Académie Française. He is best known for laying the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works such as Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella. His stories have been adapted countless times and continue to influence modern storytelling.

Film's Correspondence to the Book

The 2018 film "Cinderella" takes creative liberties and diverges significantly from the traditional fairy tale. While the original story by Charles Perrault focuses on themes of kindness, magic, and transformation, the film incorporates elements of crime and mystery, creating a unique narrative that stands apart from the classic tale.

Key Differences

• The film introduces a crime and mystery element, which is not present in the original fairy tale.
• Characters and plot points are reimagined to fit a modern and suspenseful storyline.
• The setting and cultural context are adapted to suit an Indian audience, providing a fresh take on the well-known story.

Overall, while the film shares the name and some thematic elements with the classic fairy tale, it is a distinct work that offers a new interpretation of the Cinderella story.

Following the release of the comedy drama Mundasupatti (2014), Ramkumar was keen to do a serious film to avoid being type-cast. He was inspired to write a film on a psycho killer after reading an international news story about Alexander Spesivtsev, and spent close to a year writing a fictional screenplay to fit around the character of a psycho killer. Ramkumar initially struggled to find an actor to play the lead role of a forty-year-old man with a child, and despite working the child out of the script as a result, he still found it difficult to convince actors to sign the film. In April 2017, actor Jai signed the project titled Ratsasan, which was set to be produced by C. V. Kumar of Thirukumaran Entertainment. However, soon after the actor and director dropped out of the project, and Kumar took the title of Ratsasan with him. Subsequently, throughout the production stage, the film was briefly known as Cinderella and then Minmini, but neither title was kept. The former title was claimed by another Tamil film's producers, while Ramkumar felt the latter seemed too light-hearted. Eventually, the team members managed to amicably convince Kumar to offer them the title of Ratsasan, which was later stylised to Ratsasan.