Adipurush is based on the Hindu epic Ramayana. When you make a story based on god you should be utmost careful that it doesn’t hurt anyone’s sentiments. You should deal with the subject in a sensitive manner. Ramayana is a nationwide sensation and it’s a story where the emotions of millions of people are connected to it. If you mess with it you won’t be spared. Om Raut has made a big joke of epic Ramayana and served us a complete mess. He has played with millions of emotions and needs bashing for sure.
Om Raut has made a Classic film like Lokmanya in Marathi and a wonderful film like Tanhaji in Bollywood, this time he went to the Pan-India level for Adipurush. All the 3 films were periodic films based on history, but Adipurush is a big film as it deals with the Lord. It’s hard to believe that the man behind Lokmanya and Tanhaji had destroyed the epic Ramayana single handedly. The expectations were high from Om Raut and he has been totally disappointing this time.
The biggest letdown of Adipurush is its casting. When you make a film on history, casting plays a very important role and the makers of Adipurush didn’t got the basic right. The cast of Adipurush included Prabhas as Raghav (Lord Ram), Saif Ali Khan as Lankesh (Ravana), Kriti Sanon as Janaki (Sita Maa), Sunny Singh as Sesh (Laxman) and Devdatta Nage as Bajrang (Lord Hanuman). Prabhas doesn’t look like Lord Ram at all. He is still in Baahubali mode and makers are showing his flaunting 8 pack abs. He also has a mustache and beard. He doesn’t look like Lord Ram which we have been saying in posters, tv serials, etc. Prabhas would have been well suited for the character of Ravana instead. Saif Ali Khan has given many remarkable performances while playing a negative role. Saif as Langda Tyagi in Omkara and Udaybhan in Tanhaji tops the list. Here the character of Ravana is so badly presented that it feels like a spoof of Ravana. The way he walks is damn funny and will make you laugh for sure. Ravana’s look is a complete mess and doesn’t seem like one. Ravana is not convincing enough. A talented actor like Saif Ali Khan, who would have created wonder is totally wasted here. Kriti Sanon only looks gorgeous and beautiful but doesn’t get much to explore. The whole Ramayana happened because of Sita Maa and here Sita Maa’s character doesn’t look convincing. Whenever she speaks any dialogue you won’t care for it at all. The potential of Kriti Sanon, an actress, is totally wasted. Sunny Singh is a quiet guy who doesn’t speak much and whenever he speaks, no one cares about him. He is just there as some kind of background actor. The film has been presented so badly, that you will get a question in mind that, did Laxman really exist? Lord Hanuman’s character is very badly written and it’s a huge insult to Hanuman Ji. Hanuman Ji was known for its strength, courage, devotion and wisdom, but here Hanuman Ji seems to be totally confused and dumb. How can you make a joke about Lord Hanuman? Vatsal Sheth plays the role of Indrajith (Ravana’s son) and is decent. Tejaswini Pandit plays the role of Shurpanakha (Ravana’s sister) and is okay. Sonal Chauhan plays the role of Mandodari (Ravana’s wife) and does nothing on-screen. Vanar Sena and Ravana’s soldiers have only cartoon characters. Each and every character has been presented in such a way that never really existed.
Ramayana is an iconic story. There were many scenes which could have been well presented and executed, but they feel like half baked and left incomplete. The scenes like Laxman cutting of Shurpanakha’s nose, Ravana abducting Sita Maa, Jattayu Sequence, Lord Rama visiting Old Woman Sabari’s house, Lord Rama meeting Lord Hanuman, Sugriv fighting with his brother Bali, Ram Setu sequence, Lord Hanuman visiting Lanka to meet Sita Maa, Lanka Dahan Scene, Lord Hanuman bringing the whole Dronagiri Mountains (Sanjeevani), Vanar Raja Sugriv going to Lanka, Character Of Kumbhakaran, Character of Vibhishana, Lord Rama defeating the evil Ravana, etc. could have been executed in a much better way, but Om Raut had some other plans. The makers shamelessly spoiled the whole iconic story and prevented a dull show.
Direction of Om Raut is terrible. The presentation, execution and storytelling lacks soul. The filmmaking level is totally B-Grade. The writers also need to be bashed for writing a horrible script which insults the epic Ramayana. There has been a curse on Bollywood of Marathi directors. A Marathi director, directs a film in Bollywood and delivers a passable product. The examples of these directors are Ravi Jadhav (delivered many Classics in Marathi Cinema like Natarang, Balgandharva, Balak Palak, Nude and Time Pass made a crap like Banjo in Bollywood), Mahesh Manjrekar (Vaastav being an exception), Laxman Utekar (delivered a Classic like Tapaal in Marathi and made average films like Luka Chuppi and Zara Hatke Zara Bachke in Bollywood), etc. Nagraj Manjule is the only exception who made his debut with Jhund in Bollywood and delivered a hard-hitting Classic. After Tanhaji, it seemed like Om Raut was going to be a promising director, but Adipurush turned out to be an epic disappointment.
The music of Ajay-Atul doesn’t disappoint at all. The duo have given many chartbusters in Marathi as well as Hindi. The duo has an obsession with Gods and whenever they create a song on God, it creates a different energetic environment. Be it Shree Ganeshay Dheemahi (Viruddh), Deva Shree Ganesha (Agneepath), Mann Mein Shiva (Panipat), Maay Bhavani (Tanhaji), etc., Ajay-Atul never fail to express their devotion and offer their prayers to the God in the best possible way. Jai Shri Ram from Adipurush is a song which will give you goosebumps. Ram Siya Ram also works well. Rest of the music is passable and could have been better (considering Ajay-Atul’s standard). Music is the only department in which Adipurush does not fail.
The dialogues are of complete Bhojpuri level and unacceptable. The film is going to be witnessed by all the age groups and how could you write such cheap dialogues. Bajrang (Lord Hanuman) says, “Kapda tere baap kaa, tel tere baap kaa, aag bhi tere baap ki, toh jalegi bhi tere baap ki.” How can someone think of such dialogues? There’s another dialogue where Bajrang says, “Jo humaari beheno ko haath lagayga uski lanka laga denge.” How can someone try to put such dialogues in this epic tale based on God. Om Raut ne literally Lanka Laga Di Adipurush Ki.
Talking about VFX and special effects, the film disappoints. The teaser which was released last year got ultimate bashing, when it was released. The teaser was trolled for its cartoonish VFX and effects. The makers had postponed the film to make things proper. After watching the film it seems like the postponement was just for the sake of name and nothing else. The VFX, visual effects, special effects, set design, costume design, etc. everything is disappointing. Even a low budget film has a better VFX than this. The funniest thing is, we have read that Lanka was full of gold, but in Om Raut’s world the Lanka is dark. The makers have created a messy Lanka and terrible sets. The VFX looks so dull, that if you compare it with a cartoon show the effects of the latter are better any day. It seems like a mixture of humans and cartoons. The VFX reminded me of Ajay Devgn’s, Toonpur Ka Superrhero. Don’t know where the makers put those 500 crores. So much money wasted on such crap.
Ramayana is a pure nostalgia for all of us. We all have heard of it or seen it somewhere on the Television. Ramayana is an interesting story of Legend Lord Rama. There are many memorable events which took place in Ramayana, but in Adipurush not a single scene holds your attention or may interest you. There are many scenes left incomplete and not executed properly. Ramayana is a story which cannot be presented in 3 hours, but presenting something worth was always a option. Makers were busy creating their own version of Ramayana which was not meant for humans.
The makers of Adipurush will be definitely punished by God for making fun of Epic Ramayana and shamelessly ruining it. The 2 best things that happened during the Adipurush are interval break and end credits (finally it ended). Adipurush is a complete torture and will also make you angry on makers for creating this shit. Even Lord Rama won’t be able to save this Adipurush. Thank God Lord Rama is not alive to witness this crap. If Lord Rama would have come to know that the legendary story would be so badly presented, Ramayana wouldn’t have happened. Skip it otherwise Paap Lagega. I can go on and on bashing, but I am afraid ki kahin mujhe paap na lag jaye.
Rating – 1.5/5*
