Let’s get straight to the point – Adipurush is a gross misinterpretation of the revered Hindu Mahakavya Ramayana, authored by Valmiki Ji. Driven by personal ambition and hubris, director Om Raut has served an appalling concoction of video-gamified, perverted, and nonsensically jarring mockery of Ramayana, a sacred epic cherished by billions of Hindus worldwide.

This ill-conceived adaptation will undoubtedly go down as one of the most horrendous attempts at retelling Ramayana. The resulting version is as repugnant and repulsive as the demonic creatures of Lanka depicted in the movie.

It is a Himalayan task to find positive aspects in Adipurush

In an otherwise excruciating 3-hour watch, the movie offers rare moments of positivity that cannot be denied. Among them, its music and background score stand out undeniably. From the soul-stirring chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram Raja Ram’ to the powerful resonance of ‘Shivoham,’ the music momentarily uplifts the viewing experience, evoking a profound sense of pride and creating an electrifying sensation.

Kriti Sanon as Mata Janki has delivered few impactful dialogues but other than that there is hardly anything that is compelling to watch or strike the right emotional chords with the audiences.

Storyline

On the face of it, the makers have followed the storyline of Ramayana right from the episode of Ravana abducting Jaanki up to Ravan’s Vadh. However, in a real sense, the film has recklessly amended Valmiki Ji’s Ramayana to cater to their own whims and fancies. The story suffers from a lack of cohesive connections, with abrupt transitions shifting the plot from one scene to another.

The movie “Adipurush” barely scratches the surface of sub-plots and hastily moves on without fully developing them or establishing connections to the next plot or the overarching storyline.

A prime example of this is Adipurush’s superficial treatment of Brahma ji’s boon to Ravana. The movie fails to delve deeper into the intricacies of the boon, which included everything and everyone except humans. Ravana, in his arrogance, dismisses the potential threat posed by ordinary humans, mistakenly believing that humans are incapable of harming him, let alone killing him.

Similarly, the movie completely omits how Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram (Raghav here) finds out about Ravana’s fatal flaw. No, Vibhishan doesn’t spell out to Raghav that the vulnerability lies within Ravana’s nabhi (navel). Raghav on his own gets enlightened and fires an arrow at Ravana’s navel.

Diverging from the conventional narratives, here in Adipurush, it is Mata Sabri who stumbles upon Raghav, rather than the other way around. In a hurried manner, she commits self-immolation and transforms into a divine angel guiding Raghav in determining his subsequent path.

Deconstructing Adipurush: Colossal flaws, gaping holes

Addressing the glaring issues, it is impossible to overlook the abysmal quality of VFX, repugnant dressing, hairstyle, and the appalling dialogues in Adipurush. One can count the real humans shown in Adipurush on fingertips. Interestingly, the appearance of the tattooed Indrajeet resembled that of a mermaid in water, although this perception may be subjective to my personal opinion alone.

The scarcity of actual human characters is striking, as the majority of the cast is composed entirely of digitally rendered creations through the implementation of Computer Generated Imagery (CGI).

During the second half, which unfolds in Lanka, the background is engulfed in darkness, exuding an atmosphere of perpetual doom and gloom. There is hardly anything noticeable happening in Lanka in the daytime.

Further, the animated creatures are cheap copies compiled from Hollywood movies, all in the name of making it appealing to Gen Z audiences – the ‘Marvel’-isation of Ramayana and that too in the worst manner possible. This is really problematic and even ridiculous as Ravana has deliberately been given the striking similarity with Thor, the Norse God of Thunder.

During various intense fight sequences and beyond, Ravana wields a powerful blue light sword – somewhat similar to a lightsaber in the Star Wars universe. The combined outcome of Thor’s hammer striking lightning and blue light sword, decimate Vanar Sena and leave every character hapless.

Now, the blue colour symbolizes calmness (Shitalta), tranquillity, and purity akin to the serene qualities embodied by water. All of these qualities can’t be attributed to Ravana, even in his hagiographic descriptions, but Adipurush makers have.

In contrast to Ravana, the reddish-orange colour, which symbolises anger, is attributed to Raghav.

Writing and dialogues

Apparently, Manoj Muntashir has written the dialogues of Adipurush and this seems to be the worst performance in his career. The writing appears to have attempted to recreate a new Ramayana altogether, disregarding the deeply revered names of our ancestors. Adipurush’s dialogue notably lacks references to the sacred names of Prabhu Shri Ram, Mata Sita, Laxman ji, and Hanuman ji.

Surprisingly, even during the construction of the iconic Ram Setu bridge, the omission of Prabhu Shri Ram’s name on the stones is evident. In place of the heartening chants of “Jai Shri Ram,” an alternative phrase, “Jaha Raghav waha Vijay,” has been coined, seemingly aiming to leave their own artistic mark.

There are many uncouth dialogues that shouldn’t have been imagined in the first place while writing down dialogues for Hindu Mahakavya like Ramayana. It’s appalling that these dialogues even made it to the final cut and were not struck out by the Censor Board considering the sensibilities of the public.

There are characters using street-level language like “Bete”, “Tere Baap ki Jali” and ”Bua ka Bagicha” among others. Let me include a few of these dialogues so that you can decide on your own whether they deserve to be thought of in the same breath as the Hindu epic Ramayana or not.

“कपड़ा तेरे बाप का! तेल तेरे बाप का! जलेगी भी तेरे बाप की”
“तेरी बुआ का बगीचा है क्या जो हवा खाने चला आया”
“जो हमारी बहनों को हाथ लगाएंगे उनकी लंका लगा देंगे”
“आप अपने काल के लिए कालीन बिछा रहे हैं”
“मेरे एक सपोले ने तुम्हारे शेषनाग को लंबा कर दिया अभी तो पूरा पिटारा भरा पड़ा है”

This cringe tapori language seems to be nothing but a desperate attempt to please audiences and cheap attempts to garner a few claps from an audience addicted to Insta reels.

As mentioned earlier, the writing of the sub-plots has been tampered with in an attempt to infuse a distinct flavour. It remains unclear whether the creators were apprehensive about potential plagiarism concerns from Valmiki Ji or Hindu devotees by prominently featuring Prabhu Ram’s name or adhering to the original plot.

The love between Shri Ram and Maa Sita was not spared either. It had to suffer the brutal treatment of Karan Joharish Bollywoodisation. Here, Raghav and Janki, don’t interact or share pleasantries but are just present in artificially created natural scenery that keeps changing to show unreal flora that is probably found nowhere in Bharat or even Sri Lanka.

The interactions within the film are notably lacking in depth, with minimal dialogue exchanges that seem rushed, leaving little room for meaningful exploration. The absence of substantial interactions deprives the scenes of a sense of poise and tranquillity, failing to capture the essence of stillness and depth that could have enriched the overall experience.

Acting and character arc

In Adipurush, the character of Raghav diverges significantly from the traditional portrayal of Shri Ram in Hindu Janmanas and other accounts. Instead of embodying the expected nobility, Raghav is portrayed as lacking in grace and charm. Prabhas’ performance fails to capture the poised and serene qualities that define Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram. The absence of a radiant and calm demeanour in the portrayal is a notable flaw.

It appears that the actor has been unable to shed the remnants of his Bahubali persona, as he only appears truly composed and fittingly portrayed during moments of battle or heightened intensity. However, it’s important to note that in reality, Shri Ram’s life encompassed far more than just these fleeting instances of anger. His character was defined by a multitude of virtues and experiences, which unfortunately do not shine through in the portrayal.

Since the majority of the characters are CGI/VFX created, hoping for sharp facial expressions was only our fault. But even, human characters like Laxman ji (Shesh here) and Vibhishan among others, have done very disappointing acting performances.

Ironically, Ravana has an interesting character arc swinging between narcissistic and psychotic. In normal scenes, he is the tallest and strongest character, barring “flash-mood” Indrajeet. As usual, Saif Ali Khan has shown his peculiar walk during the Ashok Vatica scene and other times as well.

Absolute mockery of Gods and major omissions

Here is an apt example of the shallow treatment Adipurush has given to many scenes and treated Hanuman ji and others with utter contempt. During Raghav and Shesh’s initial encounter with Bajrang (not even referred to as Bajrang Bali), the interaction between Bajrang and Shesh raises doubts. The questions posed to Bajrang appear trivial and insignificant, undermining his wisdom. This portrayal comes across as a mockery of Hanuman ji, who is revered for bestowing the blessings of Vidhya Buddhi (intellectual prowess).

Having answered Shesh’s aptitude questions, Bajrang and Raghav immediately recognize each other, how? no explanation, none at all. On top of that, Raghav hugs and says to Bajrang, “Kya jaroorat thi is natak ki”.

Further, there are many scenes where Bajrang finds it astonishing to be in the fix to get things done. The depiction was somewhat similar to Dhamal’s Adi, who in self-pity asks why I step affront in such situations.

Surprisingly, Hanuman ji does not display the immense power often attributed to him, and similarly, Shri Ram and his allies appear to lack their expected prowess. Indrajeet and Kumbhakarna easily overpower Bajrang, Raghav, Shesh, and Sugreev in a straightforward fight scene towards the end.

Furthermore, Adipurush shows a lack of respect toward the revered Rishis and Munnis. In contrast to the original story, where Prabhu Ram receives assistance from sages during his search for Maa Sita, the film completely omits their presence. The absence of serene hermitages and humble abodes, like Rishi’s kuti, is striking. Instead, generic caves are used as a substitute, detracting from the authentic atmosphere that these sacred spaces create.

The mention of Nal and Neel is conspicuously absent, and the sacrifice of Jatayu fails to evoke any emotional impact and there is no interaction between Jatayu and Raghav. Rather than dying Jatayu tells Raghav about Janki’s abduction and which direction to move in, Raghav is seen within visible range when Ravana is abducting Janki. Raghav along with Shesh doesn’t fire an arrow or act but runs like a hapless husband unable to save his wife.

In one scene, Ravana recites partial Shiv Tandav Stotram in a crude manner.

There is a notable absence of references to Ram ji invoking Bhagwan Mahadev or performing any Puja or conducting religious rituals.

Another problematic aspect is that, in the midst of the battle, Ram ji is depicted as shedding tears and looking toward the sky, seemingly seeking help from above.

Needless experiment

There is another completely useless alteration. Pushpak Viman is transformed into a living creature and that too an ugly one. Ravana feeds this bat-shaped Viman large chunks of meat and creates a disturbing image. Ironically, this Pushpak Viman is not fully under control in Lanka and had to be tamed and leashed in one scene.

Talking about costumes, attires, and set locations is completely a waste of time as the makers paid no heed to that. Ravana wears T-shirts, Capes; everyone is using leathered body armour. Lanka is not made of Gold but is black in colour with golden linings. To give it a sassy look to make it ‘appealing’ basically every Lankan shape-shifting or normal person had tattoos and funky hairstyles.

All in all, Adipurush is an abomination. In the want of personal glory and artistic arrogance — “I can redefine Ramayana for Gen Z by altering it at will”, the director Om Raut has served a disgusting porridge that should be avoided at all costs.