Introduction
Title: Adipurush
Director: Om Raut
Cast: Prabhas, Kriti Sanon, Saif Ali Khan
Producers: Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Om Raut, Rajesh Nair, Prasad Sutar
Music: Ajay- Atul
Genres: Fantasy, Mythology
Running Time: 3hrs
Rating: U
Release Date: 16th June, 2023
I can start from this quote “This Ramayana can only be saved by Lord Rama”. Bollywood movie Adipurush has been released in theaters on 16th June. And if you are planning to watch this movie in theater please know how the review is?
Director Om Raut’s Adipurush is half baked Ramayana. Setting aside its religious significance, the Ramayana is a cinematic goldmine, filled with drama, romance, themes of justice, and the classic hero vs villain arc that Indian cinema adores. It’s a tale that could inspire countless captivating screenplays.
Yet, Raut’s take on this rich narrative falls flat, suffering from a sore lack of imagination and resulting in a tedious, uninspired, and at times even comical three-hour viewing experience. Adipurush feels like the work of a novice who believes that by injecting some personal insights into a copied piece, they’ll come across as genuine and clever. Alas, the reality is far from it as their efforts ultimately betray them.
Ramayana – a captivating story where justice triumphs over injustice, all thanks to Ram and his allies. In every version we’ve read or watched, characters like Ram and Hanuman exude intelligence and wisdom, speaking humbly in simple, civil language. However, Om Raut’s adaptation deviates from this norm, lending an informal take on the story. Although his National Award-winning prowess brought ‘Tanhaji’ to life, he struggled to grasp the essence of the Ramayana that has been etched into our hearts for generations. It’s crucial to tread cautiously when experimenting with such revered images, and unfortunately, this is where Raut falters. He overlooked the fact that a mythological movie can be a double-edged sword.
Story
The beginning of the story is based on Valmiki’s Ramayana. The story begins with the marriage of Rama and Sita, followed by Kaikeyi demanding three vows from King Dasaratha, exile of Rama and Sita, declaration of Bharat as the king of Ayodhya. The latter also includes Bharat’s refusal to become king and the placing of Rama’s footstool on the throne. Later in the story, Rama, Sita and Lakshmana obey their father and go into exile for 14 years. Lakshmana’s fight with Ravana’s sister Surpanakha and Lakshmana chopping off Surpanakha’s nose are also shown. To avenge his sister’s insult, Ravana, the king of Lanka, goes to the forest where Rama and Sita were spending their exile.
Ravana’s going to the forest in the form of a golden deer, and when Sita likes that golden deer, Rama follows that deer and then Ravana kidnaps Sita. Then Ram goes to Lanka in search of Sita, meeting Jatayu on his way to Lanka, meeting Hanuman for the first time, war between Bali and Sugriva, Hanuman bringing Sanjivani, construction of Ram Setu, Indrajit, Kumbhakarna, Ravana’s death, return of Ram and Sita to Ayodhya. Om Raut has touched almost all the aspects of Ramayana.
Review
In the beginning the film does not seem to be anything special. None of the characters connect with you the way you expect and poor VFX spoil the fun of the film. To give it a modern look, director Om Raut has given Ravana’s Lanka a greyish castle look, which looks like a ‘Game of Thrones’ fort in contrast to Ravana’s gleaming gold Lanka. The three-hour run time of the film starts to blossom when in the second half the story is confined to the VFX-adorned Ram-Ravana war. Although the story looks good with visual effects before the interval. The director has omitted many episodes of Ramayana like Ahilya, Meghnad Vadh. Bali and Sugriva have been given the pure form of monkeys, while Ravana’s look, costume and his weapons have been modernized a lot. Ravana is shown riding a vampire-like creature, his weapons reminiscent of ‘Game of Thrones’.
The beginning of the film itself doesn’t seem like much. You will not be able to connect with any character in the film. And the box office of the film is so bad that the film has been completely annihilated. Director Om Raut, in order to give the film a more modern look, instead of Ravana’s golden Lanka, it looks like the fort of Games of Thrones. How you will get out in the theater for three hours of the film depends on your foot because in the second half only the war of Ram and Ravana decorated with bad VXF is visible and nothing else. The director has not shown Meghnad Vadh, the most important character of Ramayana. Bali, Sugriva or Hanuman are shown as if they are puffed up with water in their mouths throughout the film. So on one hand Ravana’s look, his custom and his weapons look a bit more modern, while the history of Ramayana is 5000 years old. The person who rides Ravana looks like a vampire and his weapons look more like weapons from Game of Thrones.
The background music is very good, Ajay Atul’s music is the only thing that saves the film, otherwise nothing remains in the film. The film’s song Jai Siyaram Rajaram is very good. Some dialogues have been spoken in such a way that you will be surprised to hear them. In the film, the battle of zombies is seen more than the battle of Ram and Ravana. In terms of acting, Prabhas (Ram) has played his character well, but at some places the facial expression of Prabhas is not visible at all, it seems as if a mannequin has been erected. Kriti has not been able to leave her mark as Sita. Kriti has looked beautiful and has acted well but she has got a lot of screen space. Saif Ali Khan could have done well in the role of Ravana, but due to the poor direction and special effects of the director, Saif’s stature could not do anything good in the film. Devdutt has done a very good acting as Hanuman. We all know that Laxman was very fast but Sunny Singh who played the character of Laxman could not do anything like that. The role of Meghnad or Indrajeet has been done very well by Vatsal Seth and he has also got a lot of screen space.
Conclusion
There is nothing in the film that you should waste your precious 3 hours. If you want to show the essence of Ramayana to your children in this era of reels and shorts, then you can go to watch the film at your own risk. I am warning you about your risk because you will not say later why you did not say so. If it comes to giving stars to the film, I would give half a star to Adipurush and that too for the music.
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