3.0/5
Adipurush is Om Raut's interpretation of the epic Ramayana. The film glosses over Rama's childhood, his adventures as a student, the Seeta swayamwar episode and other instances that took place before his vanvas (exile). It starts directly with the abduction of Seeta by Ravana. Then it depicts the war Ram fought to get Seeta back.Rama is called Raghav here, Seeta is Janki, Laxmana is Shesh, and Hanuman is Bajrang. Ravana too is sometimes called Lankesh. Raut’s inspiration for Lanka stems from the Lord Of The Rings films. It's based on the worst place on Middle Earth – Mordor. Ravana's palace feels like it's a replica of Sauron's tower. His soldiers consist of orcs and trolls. It's always gloomy in Lanka. It's shrouded in storm clouds. Ravana is also the master of bats for some reason and rides a giant sized bat to battle. Being a battle mage, he has a plethora of supernatural weapons at his disposal. He's also giant sized and dwarfs everyone else in the film.
We're used to a certain gravitas when it comes to the depiction of epics. A certain solemnity, which is reflected in word, thought and action, reminiscent of a gentler era. Reading the Ramayana, one marvels at how polite everyone was, even to one's enemies. The earlier makers took care of that. They approached each character with reverence. That, sadly, is missing here. Case in point is Hanumanji. Not only is he smaller in size than Rama, the language he uses sometimes is colloquial. The larger-than-life persona of Lord Hanuman doesn’t shine through here. The dialogue is patchy throughout the film. For example, Ravana's son Indrajeet warns off Rama and Laxmana like a local goon terrorising hawkers. That’s groan-inducing indeed.
Ravana was a scholar beyond parallel and a warrior who had conquered the three worlds. In our epics, he's depicted as a conflicted being blinded by power. But in the present film, the damned glory of Ravana isn’t reflected at all. Instead of seeing a fallen angel or a demigod, we see a man having too many powers and too little control over them. Saif Ali Khan gamely tries to be the best Ravana he can be but lack of a proper character sketch and dialogue has left him floundering. And that beard was strictly unnecessary.
We’ve always read that during the time of Ramayana and Mahabharata, night was a time of peace, of truce. Wars were fought from dawn till dusk, with the setting sun seen as a sign of cease fire but that isn’t the case here. Some obvious details were missing. Bali and Sugreev were said to look alike and were evenly matched in strength but that isn’t the case here. Barring Hanuman, the other vanaras look like extras from The Planet Of The Apes. Ravana, according to the canon, had an accumulation of Amrit in his navel, a crucial fact revealed during the end game by Vibhishana. That’s missing here. Mandodari has a miniscule role here, whereas in the epic she’s depicted as Ravana’s conscience keeper. There are so many other things which the director has simply decided to ignore.
As said earlier, the dialogue is a huge let down. The only person who gets good lines is Prabhas, who gets proper heroic dialogue. Kriti Sanon too sets some decent lines. Though we wish there was more spark in her confrontation scenes with Saif Ali Khan. The actors have tried hard to do justice to their roles. Prabhas, who has played the good son and brother before in Baahubali, knows what to do and gives another believable performance. He plays his role with the dignity it deserves and verily carries the film on his able shoulders. Kriti Sanon is divinely beautiful as Janki but doesn’t have much to do here, except look the part of a damsel in distress. Sunny Singh needs work on his dialogue delivery. He sounds like a Delhi boy transported to a bygone era.
The fight choreography is nice but doesn’t match the gold standard set by SS Rajamouli. The VFX is ambitious but could have been better. As said earlier, the colour palette is gloomy in most of the second half. Better colour grading would have added to the film.
Ramayana is a much revered epic and shouldn't be treated like LOTR. It has much to teach but its themes of sacrifice, brotherhood and love aren't brought to the forefront here in their full glory.
Trailer : Adipurush
Renuka Vyavahare, June 16, 2023, 4:45 PM IST
3.0/5
Adipurush Story: The film is a screen adaptation of Valmiki’s Ramayana.
Adipurush Review: To tell the country’s most revered good vs evil tale, as old as the hills to the contemporary audience, without sounding archaic is no mean task. When the content has generational awareness, novel storytelling can be its only differentiator. Raut goes the Marvel way to draw in the younger crowd as his film rides high on action-adventure over ethos.
The narrative wastes no time in establishing characters or Ram’s aura (Prabhas as Raghav) or what led to his exile (vanvas) from Ayodhya. It focuses on Sita’s (Kriti Sanon as Janaki) treacherous abduction by Ravan (Saif Ali Khan) and the epic Ram vs Ravan battle fought for her rescue. The film pits Ram’s fearless army comprising Lakshman, Hanuman, Sugriv and their vanar sena against the menacing, and towering Ravan and his immortality. The battle scenes recreate the iconic Avengers’ huddle warding off a larger army of Ravan’s CGI rakshasas. The war (second half) is engaging and redeems a rather stagnant first half that lacks thrill or a sense of urgency that the story demands.
Raut struggles to find a balance and consistency between the epic story and its superhero-verse execution. The dialogue lack the impact that epic heroes of this stature are expected to deliver. Characters sound unconvincing as they randomly oscillate between ‘Adharma ka vidhvansa’ to ‘tere baap ki jalegi and tu marega’. The narration feels bland in the first half. It does not evoke the kind of emotional gravity that you would expect from an epic tale like Ramayana. You don't feel invested in the characters enough.
Saif Ali Khan’s invincible Ravan exudes main character energy in this ambitious but stoical retelling of an epic. While Prabhas (voiced brilliantly by Sharad Kelkar) maintains a heroic presence as Ram, it is Saif, with his wicked mannersims and massive height lift that steals the show. Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior was testament to his mastery at playing dark and delirious characters and here he raises the bar yet again. The music and background score composed by Sanchit and Ankit Balhara, as well as the songs by Ajay-Atul give a terrific boost to Saif’s monstrous portrayal of Ravan. Adipurush belongs to Saif Ali Khan and Raut succeeds in mounting the character on a massive scale.
The VFX and visual appeal are passable if not impressive. The 3D feels like an unnecessary accessory. With a run time of 3 hours, you wish the story wasn’t as dependent on the special effects as it should have been on the nature of its revered characters or what set them apart. Despite the dramatic buildup, the climax doesn't live you with that sense of joy, reward or victory. This one’s a sincere attempt that gets a tad overwhelmed by its ambition of handling a story of this magnitude.
Also See: Adipurush movie review and release LIVE Updates
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7p7XLpp2aqpVjsLC5jqucr6GVrMBwrs6lo7Kvn6SxbrnOr6Ceq1%2BWsaq81KusrKBdory3tcRmqZ6umZrEboGYa2dvZpipuq0%3D