Either Om Raut wants to rewrite India's mythological history or he intends to put a stain on it with his narration of an epic mythological film based on the Hindu epic Ramayana. But, all seems well in the name of 'Shri Ram'.
Adipurush starts directly after the events of Raghav, Janki and Shesh's exile of 14 years. The director intends to wrap it up without beating around the bush by skipping all the politics and what essentially led to Ramayan. Written and directed by Om Raut, the film paints a new history by introducing new characters and retelling the entire storyline and its sequences. The film certainly holds great entertainment value by adding subtle romance between Raghav and Janki while offering soulful melodies and background scores to cover up the borderline laughable scenes. The film explores the fusion of modern storytelling and dialogues, consisting of different schools of thought.
Despite keeping an open mind, the memories of ‘Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama’ come back again and again, constantly trying to compare the two films.
There are a slew of twerks in the character design and surprisingly, Mr Raut wanted to turn this epic tale into a superhero film. Nothing tops it off like Ravan’s son Indrajeet running across the battlefield like the superhero Flash.
The film also confers a new Ravan with mystical prowess who seems to be suffering from multiple personality disorder. Unfortunately, Om Raut’s vision of Lanka seems nothing like ‘Sone Ki Lanka (Lanka of Gold)’. Instead, Ravan’s once-glorious kingdom appears to be a dark gloomy place with Greek architectural structures made of black marble.
Spanning across 180-mins, the film consists of a few punchlines which seem irrelevant for the era. But, if you try to look at it as a modern take on the epic mythological film, it all starts to make sense.
However, despite the character’s shortcomings, Saif Ali Khan does a commendable job in his portrayal of the mighty Ravan.
Adipurush takes inspiration from several films in pop culture, especially the face-off between Vanar Raj Sugreev and Baali. Honestly, the entire sequence appeared as an absurd ripoff version of 'Planet of the Apes.'
Honestly, the film falls and turns out to be a colossal disappointment in regards to casting, VFX and tediously slow and abysmal later half.
Prabhas and Kriti who could have proven aces to Om Raut’s vision were reduced to mere statues in this film.
There is no right or wrong way in portraying mythology and Om Raut appears to be lynching on this opportunity by trying to instil a new fictional story. To the very least, Om Raut should be applauded for audaciously bold and courageous choices.
Ratings: *** ½ (3.5/5)
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