ADAPTED from the Ramayana, the storyline of Adipurush revolves around the story of the prince of Ayodhya, Ram, whose wife Sita is kidnapped by the demon king Ravana and held captive at his palace in Lanka (presently Sri Lanka).
However, in this movie, the main characters are known by different names: Raghav (Ram), Janaki (Sita), Seshu (Lakshman), Bajrang (Hanuman), and Lankesh (Ravana), although Raavan is mentioned at times.
In the first scene, Lord Brahma grants a celestial boon to Lankesh (played by Saif Ali Khan) that he will not be killed “on a night or day, in the air or water, on the ground or in the sky, nor in the hands of god or demon”.
This made him invincible, although Lankesh wanted to attain the immortality boon from Brahma.
Many years later, Lankesh’s sister Surpanakha desires Raghav (played by Prabhas), who has been in exile from Ayodhya and lives with Janaki (Kriti Sanon) and his brother Seshu (Sunny Singh) in the forest.
The married Raghav politely declines, but the relentless Surpanakha gets her nose cut from an arrow shot by Seshu. Later, she complains to Lankesh and entices him to marry the beautiful Janaki and make her his queen.
One day, Seshu hears Raghav calling for help from the forest. Seshu puts up a magical barrier to keep Janaki safe in the cave before leaving to help Raghav.
At this point, Lankesh arrives, disguises himself as a sage, and asks for food from Janaki.
Janaki refuses to cross the barrier, but Lankesh persuades her to walk a few more steps towards him. As soon as she crosses the barrier, she faints and gets carried away by Lankesh on a giant bat-like creature.
Meanwhile, Raghav and Seshu realise something is wrong and return to save Janaki but are unable to.
Thus, begins their long journey, in which they meet notable characters like Bajrang, Sugreev, the Lord of the Ocean, and others.
Spoiler alert: In the end, all the characters land in Lanka, where a battle between Raghav and Lankesh begins and ends with a victory of good over evil.
Too far of a deviation
As it’s a retelling, some scenes and certain aspects or appearances of the characters are re-imagined, but the makers “deviated” a little too far, perhaps compromising the essence of the film somewhat.
The villain Lankesh seems to have undergone a major “transformation” with his appearances. Spotted with an edgy, spiky hairstyle with a shaved hair design, Lankesh wears fur and a long beard that have audiences questioning if it was inspired by KGF movie characters.
Saif’s character is huge in size, taller and larger than a human, and he walks in a different style, but the modernised look and his futuristic-looking palace don’t seem to fit the story.
Yet, the biggest flaw was the visual effects, and the quality of the film looks a bit outdated, especially compared to many other Indian-made movies with better quality.
The looks of “rakshasha,” or demonic creatures, in battle scenes felt like they came out of Lord of the Rings, and the superhero-style fight scenes at the climax were like watching one of the Marvel movies.
Prabhas possibly saves the film
Despite the film’s flaws, there are some good scenes.
The first is the scene where the cunning Lankesh gently persuades Janaki, and the second is the surprising scene when Raghav meets Janaki only to find out it’s a shape-shifting creature instead.
Another moment is when Lankesh descends stylishly from his huge bat creature and comes face-to-face with Raghav, and the final showdown between the hero and the antagonist begins.
Acting-wise, Prabhas perfectly exudes a good-natured, kind, and sincere personality with a calm demeanour, but it felt like much of his talent was wasted.
Prabhas, in his character, speaks with conviction and builds courage among the army, but other inspiring qualities (for which Lord Ram is admired) were not explored or showcased.
On the other hand, Saif’s evil character attracts attention from the opening scene, but his portrayal of Lankesh leans more towards a supervillain character in a futuristic world that does not capture the essence of the character of the notorious Ravana.
Though he acts well, somehow Saif’s character does not invoke any sense of fear, which the demon king Ravana was known for.
Apart from Saif, the naturally beautiful Kriti portrays the innocence and vulnerability of Janaki’s character, while Sunny Singh as Seshu is fine and Bajrang is just average.
The background score is not consistent with the scenes; sometimes the same music is repeated constantly and does not uplift the spirit, but the songs are worthy of listening to.
The director, Om Raut, has a noble intention to make an impact on the future generation by bringing one of the most important stories in Hinduism to cinema with modern technology.
His aim was to make the story more relatable and appealing to the youth using the visual effects, but sadly, the movie is not engaging enough; it lacks thrill and excitement, but the conclusion is noticeably heartwarming, especially when the hero wins over the demon.
Overall, if you have heard or read about the Ramayana, you may not like the way it is presented, but if you haven’t, then the battle between good and evil creatures would be interesting and entertaining to watch.
