MapsofIndia.com/MyIndia.in Rating: 2.5
Directed by Om Raut and produced by T-Series, Adipurush follows the story of the legendary hero of Hindu mythology, Rama, based on Valmiki’s Ramayana. A modern retelling of the ancient epic Ramayana, starring Prabhas (Raghava), Devdatta Nage (Bajrang), Kirti Sanon (Sita), Saif Ali Khan (Lankesh), and Sunny Singh (Lakshmana), premiered throughout the country on June 16, 2023.
Plot
The movie begins with the Lankesh and Lord Brahma sharing the screen, where Lord Brahma bestows blessings of considerable invisibility to Ravana owing to his true worship. The scene shifts to the woods, where Rama spends his exile, screening Sita and Lakshmana, where Sita warns Lakshana of calamity around them. Later Surpankha, Ravana’s sister, is seen agonizing her brother to avenge her and persuades Lankesh to capture Sita and betroth her. Out of spite, Ravana acts on his agony and kidnaps Sita through misleading and ill tactics. After returning to Lanka, the story proceeds to Rama organizing a coup against Ravana through his army of Monkeys to bring Sita home. Various anecdotes from the epic appear throughout the movie, including Sabri’s Ber, Vibhisana’s joining hands with Rama, or bridge construction. Eventually, the ultimate battle unfolds in Lanka, and Rama and Ravana come one-on-one after the defeat of prominent soldiers. This face-off results in the defeat of Lankesh with Rama’s hands, euphemizing the victory of honesty and goodness over malice and uniting Sita with Rama.
Performance
It can be said that the build of Prabhas did somewhat enhance his role as Rama addled with his stern and determined acting. Saif Ali Khan’s acting also justifiably displayed ferocity and might. However, the dialogue delivery, to an extent, was off-putting. As well as, lest these two, most characters appeared dull and trivial throughout the movie, leaving no remarkable effect on the audience contrary to the commendable figures of Ramayana.
Analysis
The movie’s sound effects, music direction, and visuals are highly applaudable. But in the guise of a mesmerizing soundtrack, the film failed to compensate in the arena of writing and direction. The story was a retelling, making it obvious to expect fabrication in the plot differing from the mainstream story. But it was somewhat overboard and not in an appealing direction but rather boring and non-engaging manner.
Verdict
The excitement and buzz that lingered around the movie’s release might have evaporated into disappointment because of the centrality of the character in the movie. While revolving the story around Rama, the side characters remained in the shadows, left in the periphery of the negligence of poor dialogues and off-setting acting. As the films proceed, it might have struck the audience that the characters of Rama and Ravana are double-handedly carrying the entire movie, with other characters pushed down to the peripheries of mere props. The roaring sound effects and striking visuals stole our hearts, but the lack of good writing and an engaging storyline was a bummer.
