Mola Ram

*This article has been marked by* The Jungle Cruise Wiki *as containing offensive or otherwise sensitive subject matter. Reader discretion is advised.*

## Mola Ram

### First appearance

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

### Attractions

Dok-Ondar's Den of Antiquities
Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye (retroactively)
Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar (referenced)
Jungle Cruise (Indiana Jones Summer of Hidden Mysteries
Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar (referenced)

## Physical description

### Eye color

Brown

**Mola Ram** is the main antagonist of the film *Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom* (1984). He was portrayed by the late Amrish Puri (1932-2005).

## History

### Biography

Mola Ram was the son of a priest in the Thuggee cult of India which worshiped the goddess Kali. Mola's people were slaughtered in genocide commit by the British Empire during their occupation of Bengal. Mola later moved to Pankot in pursuit of mystical artifacts known as the *Sankara Stones*. Mola believed that with these five stones, he would be able to summon all the powers of Kali Ma and eradicate the British.

Mola joined forces with the Pankot Palace's prime-minister Chattar Lal and in 1930 assassinated Maharajah Premjit Singh while subduing his heir Zalim Singh. They also restored the, "Temple of Doom", a temple dedicated to Kali Ma which was constructed under the Pankot Palace. This became Mola's base for many occult rituals including those of human sacrifice. They also took to abducting children from the nearby villages and forcing them to mine beneath the temple in pursuit of the Sankara Stones.

In 1935, the Pankot Palace hosted American archaeologist Indiana Jones along with singer Willie Scott and Jones' assistant, "Short Round". The three were investigating the missing-children and happened upon the Thuggee Cult and the Temple of Doom. Mola and Jones fought with the battle ending in Indiana Jones sending Ram into a crocodile-infested river to his death. Following his demise, rumours began circling that Mola's ghost inhabited the temple causing parts of the region to be sealed off and abandoned.

## Jungle Cruise appearances

### Jungle Cruise

In the *Summer of Hidden Mysteries* overlay, Mola Ram's headdress appeared in the Umbala people's tribe along the Nile River. In the backstory for the overlay, it as explained that it was amongst the artifacts accidentally left in Adventureland by Indiana Jones on one of his adventures.

### Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar

In Trader Sam's bar is Mola Ram's kryta depicting Indiana Jones. It comes with a letter from Short Round explaining that Jones sent it to Sam to be destroyed but is instead kept on display.

### Other connections

#### Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye

Some Indiana Jones materials identify Jones as having located the Temple of the Forbidden Eye directly after the events of Temple of Doom.

## Other appearances

### Dok-Ondar's Den of Antiquities

Mola Ram's headdress appears within Dok-Ondar's shop in Black Spire Outpost, Batuu. It is also located nearby the Ark of the Covenant.

### Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar

Mola Ram is indirectly referenced several time in this bar run by Jones' aviator Jock Lindsey. Ram's kryta depicting Indy, Willie and Short Round are on one of the shelves. A map of the world has a piece of fabric depicting the Sankara Stones over India near the Temple of Doom. A travel poster for Pankot province also shows the Temple of Doom and has the lines, "You'll leave your heart in beautiful Pankot". Ram was further referenced with the drink Kali Ma-rgueritas, named for his chant of, "Kali Ma".

## Trivia

* The goddess Kali whom Mola Ram worships is the namesake for *Kali River Rapids* in Disney's Animal Kingdom.
* While being an Indian character, Mola Ram's identity is highly anachronistic. His headdress has a shrunken head (a South American practice), his kryta are inspired by "Voodoo dolls" which themselves are based on the poppets of Western European witchcraft, and his human sacrifice was inspired by Polynesian and Aztec practices.
* Ram's headdress and the lost ark appearing in Black Spire Outpost connects to a popular fan-theory that many of the magical artifacts in Indiana Jones are actually science-fiction technology and force-sensitive artifacts from the *Star Wars* galaxy.

## See also

* *List of Racist Elements in the Jungle Cruise*

## References

1. ↑ http://disneylanddiva.blogspot.com/2008/09/indiana-jones-and-summer-of-hidden.html
2. ↑ https://geeksofdoom.com/2012/01/29/indiana-jones-voodoo-doll-at-disneys-trader-sams-enchanted-tiki-bar
3. ↑ https://www.disneytouristblog.com/trader-sams-backstory-details/
4. ↑ https://touringplans.com/blog/s6\_indianajones/
5. ↑ https://www.tripadvisor.in/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g34515-d8666676-i174107298-Jock\_Lindsey\_s\_Hangar\_Bar-Orlando\_Florida.html