‘Adipurush’ Review: Om Raut’s Take On Ramayana Is Low on Fuel & Emotion

Epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata have inspired countless films and retellings over the years – from highly personal and experimental (and controversial) pieces like Sita Sings the Blues and Rajkumar Santoshi’s Lajja to more straightforward works like Lanka Dahan and Sampoorna Ramayanam. 

Not only within the country, Ramayana has found iterations internationally as well, most notably the Indo-Japanese version titled Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama directed by Ram Mohan and Koichi Sasaki. 

The latest addition to the Bollywood roster is Om Raut’s Adipurush starring Prabhas, Kriti Sanon, and Saif Ali Khan in pivotal roles. The film begins with a disclaimer that it draws inspiration from Valmiki’s Ramayana but has taken creative liberty. That part is true because the film leaves out certain details and adds others to create a more modernised version than what one would expect.

Not only that, the visuals you would expect for Ravana and the golden palace in Lanka are wildly different and other aspects are altered, perhaps to make Ravana more demonic (case in point, the enormous bat-like creature he mounts instead of his pushpak vimaan). To the film’s credit, it does explore shades of Ravana’s character beyond just relegating him to the status of a villain. 

The film opens with an animated sequence that summarises the events of Valmiki’s Ramayana before Raghav (Ram), Janaki (Sita), and Lakshman’s 14-year exile. We see Ram break Shiva’s celestial bow and win Janaki’s hand in marriage and subsequently watch as Lord Dashrath keeps his vow to his wife Queen Kaikeyi and sends his eldest son to exile. 

Prabhas was spectacular as the majestic ruler Mahendra Baahubali in Baahubali: The Beginning but this regal charm is unfortunately absent from Adipurush.

He cuts an imposing figure as Raghav but doesn’t manage to capture the emotional essence of a man seemingly grappling with duty and sacrifice. Kriti Sanon as Sita is more convincing than she has been in previous roles.

As Sita, her scenes are divided between a mix of determination and resignation and grief fused with courage. The actor carries out most of these emotions successfully. 

Saif as Ravana hams up his performance which is punctuated with villain-esque laughter and he does come across as menacing which helps his role. Both lead actors embody the forbearing nature and grace required from their roles but there’s little to write home about when it comes to their chemistry. 

I would, however, add that the music by Ajay-Atul is mesmerising and elevates the visuals effectively. In fact, the problem lies with the visuals itself – the shoddy VFX came under scrutiny when the teaser first dropped and despite significant improvements, the VFX doesn’t match up to the scale of the story it is meant for. Notably, the VFX for architectural structures and machinery is more refined. 

The art direction by Sagar Mali is stunning and some frames come across looking like oil paintings. So, perhaps the vision was there but the execution wasn’t. The animation in the opening sequence too is worthy of mention and I probably would’ve watched hours of that alone. 

The screenplay is inconsistent – the same film features dialogues like ‘Unko Ravana ka ghamand todna hoga’ and ‘Aag tere baap ki hai’ which is consistently jarring. One expects dialogues with emotional heft in mythological tales and when one is rudely dragged out of this vision, it’s bothersome. 

Even the war sequence between Raghav and Ravana is shabby and just comes across as juvenile which is once again, off putting, because both sides in the war boasted of fearless, skilled warriors. We never even get to see Ravana’s reaction to the news of his sons’ death.

The makers of Adipurush have somehow mixed the epic with films like the Matrix and the Marvel Cinematic Universe including a sequence that is instantly reminiscent of the Avengers and without a change in setting, that doesn’t work out the way one would hope. 

Towards the end, the film also features a scene where Raghav and his army proclaim their mission to protect all the women of this country which speaks to a very superficial understanding of the epic.

Scholars across the world have spoken about how the Ramayana and Mahabharata deserve re-readings with the female characters in better focus and it’s disappointing that Adipurush doesn’t attempt anything new and just gives us more of what we have already seen. 

Why does Surpankha’s arc which is a terrifying tale of violence get such a meek retelling? I was left wondering if a similar film from Sita’s perspective, especially about events after her exit from Lanka, would result in the same fan worship as Adipurush.