The eclectic blending of Indian elements with the overload of vastly differing Western aesthetics makes Adipurush visually jarring. This modernised version of Ramayana appears too Marvel-ified. What works in its favour is the beautiful soundtrack –
Read Full Adipurush Movie Review –
Director: Om Raut
Cast: Prabhas, Kriti Sanon, Saif Ali Khan, Sunny Singh
Runtime: 3 hours
Storyline:
Adipurush assumes that the audience is familiar with the lore and does not linger too much on the initial story of Ramayana – that is Janaki’s Swayamavar and Kaikeyi’s plot of banishing her step-son Raghava into a forest for 14 years so that her son Bharatha can sit on the throne. These sequences are shown in a brief, few-minute montage as the Ram Siya Ram song plays in the background.
The movie starts properly with the exile of Raghava (Prabhas), Janaki (Kriti) and Shesh (Sunny). A slighted Shurpanakha (Tejaswini Pandit) shows up at her brother Ravaan’s (Saif) palace, sporting a mutilated nose. She provokes him into taking revenge and entices him with the beauty of Janaki.
Janaki is then abducted by Raavan who is disguised as a sage. Raghava and his brother Shesh amass the Vanar sena with the help of Bajrang (Devdatta Nage) to rescue Janaki from the demon king Raavan.
Raavan’s brother Vibishan (Siddhant Karnick) defects to Rama’s side before the epic battle, and Raavan’s wife Mandodari (Sonal Chauhan) begs him to return Janaki back. Meanwhile, Raavan’s son Indrajit (Vatsal Sheth) creates terror on the battlefield.
Watch the victory of good over evil in this Ramayana adaptation – Adipurush!
What Do We Think:
In spite of being heavily trolled for its VFX, Adipurush is enjoyable enough when viewed in 3D on the big screen. But one simply can’t shake off the video-game, cartoonish quality of the visuals. Also, the eclectic blending of Indian elements with the vastly differing Western ones makes it difficult to digest.
It is a bizarre combination of aesthetics; the bat-dragon hybrid and sinister palaces appear to be inspired by Game of Thrones. Some of the creatures from Raavan’s army bear a strong resemblance to orcs from the Lord Of The Rings.
Saif Ali Khan’s character design as the demon king Raavan looks like it’s taken straight from Vikings. Sugriva and Bali seem to have strolled out of Planet of The Apes. One can spot the Harry Potter influence in a Dementor-like creature in Prabhas’ entry sequence. And then there’s freaking Baloo from Jungle Book! The peculiar clashing of so many different Indian and Western elements results in a jarring, visual experience.
The language is consistent for the most part but in some scenes, it appears a little character-breaking. Like Vatsal Sheth as Indrajit taunting Bajrang in a rather mawali style – Jali na teri? Or Bajrang replying – Yeh tel tere baap ka, kapda tere baap ka, Lanka jalegi tere baap ki! Or Saif’s Raavan saying Yeh tere bua ka bageecha hai kya jo ghumne aya? It becomes unexpectedly funny in an otherwise serious situation.
What really works for Adipurush is the magnificent music by Ajay-Atul and Sachet–Parampara. The devotional track Jai Shri Ram is magnetic and Shivoham makes for an invigorating song for Raavan’s intro. In fact, the picturization of this particular sequence is pretty badass.
Even the Ram Siya Ram track that complements the introductory sequence is beautiful. The brief ANIMATED montage in the intro is quite gorgeous and makes one wonder if this would have worked better as an entirely animated film. There is an excess of VFX for scenes that didn’t even need it – like the song sequences that could have been shot in an actual forest instead of a CGI one.
Some subplots are just briefly alluded to like Janaki’s swayamvar, and Kaikeyi’s scheming in exiling Ram while some are skipped entirely – that is the Agni pariksha ordeal that Janaki suffers through. Instead, the film ends on a high note with the victory of Raghava.
The main focus of the film appears to keep it action-oriented, and there’s not substantial emotional depth. Even the Surpankha arc which is quite pivotal in the entire epic, is glossed over quickly.
Adipurush has mediocre performances – not bad but not magnificent either. Prabhas is good in the action sequences and has the lordly stature of Rama but the charisma that he carried in Baahubali seemed more befitting for this role and is missing here. He continues to be stoic even in the emotional scenes and looks languid in others. Prabhas doesn’t authentically reflect the internal dilemma of Rama – duty vs sacrifice. Plus, the modernised take on his outfit doesn’t do him any favours.
Kriti Sanon on the other hand has gracefully performed her role as Janaki. She looks beautiful (barring one ill-fitted wig) and emotes convincingly – showing Janaki’s frustration, fierceness and resilience. But Prabhas-Kriti’s chemistry is a tad bit lacklustre.
Saif Ali Khan appears menacing in some scenes but his cackling Raavan laugh is rather stereotypical and hammy. His bizarre Vikings/GOT-inspired outfit makes him look cartoonish instead of sinister.
Sunny Singh breaks out of his usual naive, chocolate-boy mold for a rather intense role this time as Shesh. But he comes across as rigid instead of a fierce and perseverant warrior. Devdatta Nage’s portrayal of Hanuman while decent and sincere for the most part, is missing the mischievous element.
Vatsal Sheth as Indrajit is surprisingly good even though his Vikings outfit is ridiculous. Siddharth Karnick too gives a convincing performance as Vibishan.
Overall, this version of Ramayana appears to be too Marvel-ified. Maybe if the Indian and Western elements were blended smoothly without clashing too much, this modernised take would have worked.
Hit Or Miss:
The draw of witnessing the spectacle of Ramayana on the big screen can surpass the flaws of this modernised version. You can catch Adipurush at the theatres near you now!
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