'Adipurush' review: Even gods would demand answers from shoddy adaptation
Om Raut's Adipurush, perhaps an unintentional cross between live-action and animation, has finally been released five months later than its original schedule. Starring Prabhas as Lord Ram, Kriti Sanon as Sita, and Saif Ali Khan as Raavan, the VFX-heavy venture is a retelling of Ramayana and covers the parts from Sitaharan to Raavan's defeat. Good intentions? Sure. But only intentions don't make awe-inspiring films.
'Adipurush' focuses on the battle between the two warriors
Adipurush expects you to know Ramayana well in advance, and doesn't waste time in laying the groundwork. A good move, considering it already clocks in three hours. When we first meet the characters, the story is already in motion and begins with Sitaharan, further covering Raavan's intentions behind it, Ram's efforts to assemble an army, and Raavan's downfall, brought about by his own ego.
The curious case of miscasting in 'Adipurush'
Adipurush's shockingly bad casting becomes even more conspicuous when you watch the epic. Take Sunny Singh as Laxman, for instance—he says his dialogues but doesn't seem to emote them at all; resultantly, it's difficult to believe that Laxman was fiercely devoted to his elder brother. Sanon, too, comes across as a weak link, and doesn't act any different from her usual brand of cinema.
The lack of an emotional connection throughout the film
For the better part, Adipurush feels less like a film and more like a "Wikipedia-fication" of events, with the makers in a hurry to check several pivotal incidents off their list in rapid succession. This, subsequently, births a massive problem—the film leaves you with no emotional connection and is so devoid of sentiments that everything feels manufactured, mechanical, and stilted.
More on the dearth of emotions and sentiments
Despite watching Adipurush for three hours, I walked out with a sense of underwhelming nothingness. No awe, no sense of wonderment. The film did not touch me, even though some parts of it had the potential to. Except for Khan, everyone else seemed to be present onset only for the paycheck, and the emotional barrenness of Adipurush is one of its biggest undoings.
Almost a tale of two halves: Decent v/s overbearing
Adipurush offers some interesting scenes in the first half—rich in visuals and featuring some chemistry between Sanon and Prabhas. Despite knowing the story, you want to keep watching it, but alas, this illusion evaporates by the time the interval arrives. Post the break, Adipurush becomes a task to complete and not a film to enjoy, with its long-drawn climax that refuses to ever end.
The representation of mythological places and characters
Raavan is believed to have ruled over sone ki lanka, but here, he seems to live in a large European-style fortress. Picture the King's Landing after the final war, but darker and charred. Further, his pushpak vimaan is not a vimaan (vehicle), but a horrendous-looking bat, and the rakshas seem like an amalgamation of dementors and The Night King's army from Game of Thrones.
What's with the modern-day dialogues?
The dialogues here are bitten by the same bug as Brahmastra was—they don't capture the gravity of the situation and are more suited for contemporary India than Tretayug. There are other errors, too. For instance, Ram, while motivating his army, says that the epic war will serve as a warning for people who "abduct Indian women." Except, there was no "India" at that time.
The representation of 'vanaras' and Dashanan's 10 heads
Vanaras are called so due to a reason—they are the men (naras) of the forest (van) and have been traditionally represented as half-human, half-monkeys. Here, however, they are apes, gorillas, and monkeys, and each time Adipurush focuses on them, it resembles an animated project. Another aspect is Raavan's 10 heads—here, they are perched atop each other. Who would have imagined a two-storeyed Raavan?
How does the much-talked-about VFX fare?
To address the heated debate, the VFX is somehow okay but that's not quite enough. While some parts work nicely in 3D (especially the battle scenes), the overall impact is not consistent. In a few parts, it is evident that the entire scene is CGI-generated, so different aspects don't blend well and stand out jarringly on their own—like raw materials in the pre-cooking stage.
Positives: The music tries to rescue the film
Coming to the appreciable parts, the music by Sachet-Parampara and Ajay-Atul hits the bullseye here, effectively blending into the narrative and providing the film with a much-needed facelift on all occasions when it seems to give way. Some other sequences such as Hanuman lifting the Drona parvat and Ram-Sita reunion also work well, complementing the large-scale ambition of the mythological drama.
Khan's performance is a visible standout here
If, despite its overwhelming problems, Adipurush still remains watchable in parts, it's largely because of Khan's ability to consistently thrive in villainous roles. Each time he appeared on screen, he brought along a lot of gravitas, as befitting his character that's meant to trigger fear and reverence in his subjects. It's the movie that fails him, not the other way around.
We would recommend waiting for its OTT premiere
With Rs. 500 crore budget, Adipurush could have been so much more, but it remains a feeble attempt where apes take over the screen for the most part, failing to strike any emotional cords. With Raavan's look resembling less of a Brahmin Pandit and more of a Mongolian ruler, things ultimately become laughable; if Raavan were alive, I doubt he would be very pleased.
