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This Pure Evil was Headlined on July 2021. | ||
| “ | Bali Mangthi Kali Ma. (Sacrifice is what Mother Kali desires.) Shakthi Degi Kali Ma. (Power is what Mother Kali will grant.) Kali ma... Kali ma... Kali ma, shakthi deh! (Mother Kali... Mother Kali... Mother Kali, give me power!) | „ |
| ~ Mola Ram's most famous line as he rips out a Hebrew's heart and sacrifices him for Kali. |
| “ | The British in India will be slaughtered. Then we will overrun the Muslims. Then the Hebrew God will fall, and then the Christian God will be cast down and forgotten. Soon, Kali Ma will rule the world. | „ |
| ~ Mola Ram explaining his world domination plans. |
Mola Ram is the main antagonist of the 1984 action-adventure film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the second installment in the Indiana Jones film series.
He was a Thuggee high priest who made Pankot Palace his lair and wanted to use the five Sankara Stones to set up the reign of Kali, Goddess of Death. To that end, Mola Ram enslaved the children of a village that had one of the Stones (the taking of it brought his total to three). They mine for the other two and for gems to fund his cause in the catacombs underneath the palace.
He also brainwashes humans, including local politicians and royalty, with the "blood of Kālī Ma" to make them devout followers (unless they are exposed to extreme pain, like burning). Every now and then, he would sacrifice someone to Kali, which involved him strapping them to a metal grate and tearing out the victim's heart while lowering them in a pit of fire and enjoying every minute of it.
He was portrayed by the late Amrish Puri.
What Makes Him Pure Evil?[]
In General[]
- Even for a Thuggee, Mola Ram shows himself to be far worse than his men.
- He brutally guts people's hearts before sacrificing them for Kali Ma, or just directly kills them when it doesn't mean sacrificing them, like he did during his penultimate attempt to kill Indiana Jones. After gutting their hearts, he has these people burning to death because of the lava's particles.
- While he performs human sacrifices to worship Kali Ma, like all Thuggee, he is also shown to do so out of sadism, relishing in the suffering and desperation of his victims.
- While some could argue he is loyal to Kali Ma, this is out of narcissism, considering that he is only proud of himself.
- Also, it is shown that he was planning to rule the world for Kali Ma, not to have Kali Ma herself rule the world.
- This also hints that he is only seeing Kali Ma as an extention of himself, and so, he could not have true loyalty to her.
- What makes it evident is that he didn't let himself get killed even when Indiana Jones promised that he (Mola Ram) will go to Hell to meet Kali Ma before he could cut the bridge's ropes in the hopes to get rid of him, and even got some of his minions killed to save himself, even though he could have lost the chance to meet Kali Ma to truly serve her if he survived in the end, considering the fantastic nature of the franchise.
- This also hints that he is only seeing Kali Ma as an extention of himself, and so, he could not have true loyalty to her.
- Also, it is shown that he was planning to rule the world for Kali Ma, not to have Kali Ma herself rule the world.
- While he brings up how the British butchered his people, he himself doesn't care about his fellow people, as shown by how he kills them to save himself. It is more likely he is hateful towards the British for their actions on the Thuggee out of pride.
- He is so heinous that he gained Indiana Jones's utter hatred against him, to the point that he wanted to kill him for the safety of others, and in Dial of Destiny, it is shown that Indiana Jones never forgot Mola Ram and still utterly hated him for his crimes.
Background[]
- Upon becoming the High Priest of the Temple of Doom beneath Pankot Palace, his first order was to sacrifice all the priests from the temple back then because they preferred to sacrifice animals over humans and administered cruel punishments, like having any treasonous Thuggees tied up to stakes and crushed to death by an elephant sitting on them.
- Planned to overrun the Muslims, the Hebrews, and the Christians to rule the world for Kali Ma, establishing the Thuggee as the only religion in the world, intending to make all other religions disappear.
- Poisoned Maharaja Premjit Singh with the help of Prime Minister Chattar Lal when the Maharaja attempted to expose his cult.
- Drugged Zalim Singh, the Maharaja's son, with the Black Sleep of Kali Ma again, thanks to Lal, so they could use him as their puppet ruler and restore Pankot Palace's long-abandoned Temple of Doom.
- Stole the Shiva Linga, one of the five Sankara Stones, from the Mayapore village, cursing the village and causing it to become barren and lifeless.
- He also stole two more Sankara Stones. While it's well implied that they didn't belong to other villages, this still would have left two (surely) precious places in forgotten, lifeless states.
- Kidnapped all children from the village, forcing them into slavery in Pankot's mines so they could search for the two remaining Sankara Stones and for diamonds they could sell to finance their schemes, assigning the Chief Guard and other Thuggee soldiers to check on them and beat and whip them if they didn't or couldn't work.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom[]
- Sacrificed one of his prisoners for Kali Ma by ripping off his heart and then lowering him, still alive though caged, into the lava pit of the Temple of Doom, grabbing his flaming heart and laughing madly for it.
- Drugged Indiana Jones with the Black Sleep of Kali Ma after allowing the Chief Guard and the drugged Zalim to whip Jones and Short Round, making Jones his brainwashed slave temporarily.
- Turned Short Round into another slave.
- Messed with Willie Scott's head before attempting to sacrifice her much like his previous victim by lowering her into the Temple of Doom's lava pit.
- He flooded the temple's mines in an attempt to kill Indiana Jones, Short Round and Willie Scott.
- When Indiana threatened to drop the three Sankara Stones to the lake if Mola Ram didn't released Short Round and Willie Scott, Mola Ram preferred to kill them over getting the Sankara Stones back while allowing Indiana to drop the Stones, showing how sadistic he is.
- When Indiana cut off the bridge while desperately climbing for his life, he tried to brutally kill him by gutting his heart after a struggle. He then ordered his archers to kill him.
- In a final attempt to knock Indiana Jones off the bridge to the crocodile-infested lake below, he grabbed one of his own Thuggee soldiers and threw him towards Jones, chuckling at his demise.
- While his death of being eaten by crocodiles was brutal, it wasn't played for sympathy. Instead, it was played for karma and satisfaction as he completely deserved it for his actions.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny[]
- His act of forcing Indy to drink the Blood of Kali Ma would later haunt Indy even years after their encounter, as he tells his goddaughter Helena Shaw while looking for the Dial of Destiny against Jürgen Voller during his final adventure how much the Blood of Kali affected him while they looked for Archimedes' Tomb.
Trivia[]
- Some fans consider Mola Ram to be somewhat misunderstood instead of evil, given that the film's novelization reveals that he was the son of a Thuggee priest, which could mean that Mola Ram was raised his whole life with the purpose of serving Kali Ma, thus just doing what his religion asked for. However, it seems evident that Mola Ram's Thuggee cell was a highly unorthodox and heretical terrorist organization that enslaved innocent children and was highly divorced from mainstream Hinduism, which, coupled with his lack of care for his subordinates and the pleasure he derives from his actions, proves that Mola Ram is evil.
- However, the film's novelization hints that Mola Ram was under the Black Sleep of Kali Ma, because when Indy burns Mola Ram with the Sankara Stone at the end, he wakes up from his hypnosis and falls to his death. This idea was present in the film's early drafts but was likely dropped to not make Mola Ram's death look tragic or make Indy speculate whether he caused an innocent, hypnotized man to fall to his death.
- Related to that, the original script of the film had Mola Ram snapping out of the brainwashed state in the same way as everyone else, which didn't make it to the final film, where he merely looks puzzled and confused. However, given how supplementary material indicates that Shiva's power burned him while first trying to steal the Shiva Linga of Mayapore and nothing happened, it's safe to say that Mola Ram wasn't among the brainwashed Thuggee.
- The infamous scene in which he rips out the heart of a still-alive prison was partially responsible for the Motion Picture Association of America to create the PG-13 film rating, as Steven Spielberg advocated that the film's level of violence wasn't enough for an R rating but admitted that it was too intense for a PG rating.
- He is the first Indiana Jones Pure Evil villain.
External Links[]
- Mola Ram on the Villains Wiki.
- Mola Ram on the Indiana Jones Wiki.
- Mola Ram on the Disney Wiki.
- Mola Ram on the VS Battles Wiki.
- Mola Ram on the Historica Wiki.
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 Pure Evils
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Animated Features Live-Action Features Animated Television Live-Action Television Literature Video Games Comic Books Attractions Fanon Scripts See Also | ||
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Mola Ram |
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Masashi Kyojo |
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General Makimura |
Jürgen Voller |
Klaber | ||
 Pure Evils
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Animated Films Live-Action Films Other Animated Television Live-Action Television Novelizations Scripts Video Games Fanon See Also | ||
 Pure Evils
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Live-Action Films Animated Television Live-Action Television Video Games See Also | ||
 Pure Evils
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Animated Features Live-Action Features Animated Television See Also | ||