From Rs 105 cr in first weekend, what went wrong with ‘Adipurush’?

At the outset, I would like to make it clear that I have not watched ‘Adipurush’ – the movie that has received some very strong negative views from netizens. But the movie’s controversial journey has been intriguing enough for me to find out what all have gone wrong for this retelling of a much beloved and revered epic of India – ‘Ramayan’. The makers of the film have given a disclaimer at the beginning of the film that ‘Adipurush’ is not based on Valmiki’s ‘Ramayan’.

One may recall that the controversy began much before the film’s release, when the first look and teaser were released. Everything – from the look and feel of the film; the depiction of characters, especially Saif Ali Khan’s Ravan; and the overuse of VFX – drew strong reactions from netizens. So much so that the makers went back to the drawing board and make some necessary changes. Thus, ‘Adipurush’, which was slated for release in August last year, postponed the release date. This was also done to avoid a clash with Aamir Khan’s ‘Laal Singh Chadha’, which was releasing at the same time.

Normally, India’s two greatest epics – ‘Ramayan’ and ‘Mahabharat’ – draw huge crowds no matter in which forms they are presented – film, TV serial, local plays. ‘Ramayan’ paath takes place in households and community gatherings throughout the country; episodes from ‘Ramayan’ have been enacted during Dussehra Ramlila for ages, with the high point being the burning of the effigies of Ravan, Meghnad and Kumbhakarna.

Back in the eighties, Doordarshan, then India’s sole broadcaster, aired the ‘Ramayan’ as an hour-long weekly serial every Sunday. Created, written and directed by Ramanand Sagar, the show would empty out streets when it aired and was a humongous success. Arun Govil and Dipika Chikhlia, who essayed the characters of Lord Ram and Sita, were revered throughout the country and in several cases people even touched their feet. Former wrestler, the late Dara Singh was much loved in the character of Hanuman. Arvind Trivedi made for a menacing Ravan.

By today’s much advanced serial and movie making standards, Ramanand Sagar’s ‘Ramayan’ was admittedly loud, the costumes and sets very Bollywood style blingy and overbright, and the VFX quite tacky. However, the storytelling, the narrative, the characterisation overshadowed all these flaws and formed the soul of the TV series. Such has been its hold over generations that the re-airing of ‘Ramayan’ on Doordarshan during the Covid period broke all viewership records.

‘Adipurush’ has been panned for being too high on VFX, with the soul of the revered epic missing. Made with an eye on GenZ and Gen Alpha, the makers probably gave a lot more emphasis in engaging with these digital natives. No wonder then, social media has been rife with comments on how ‘Adipurush’ has elements of the VFX-heavy Hollywood movies like The Avengers series, and even ‘The Game of Thrones’. Many also found portions of the movie to resemble a mobile game.

Another huge grouse with movie lovers is the dialogues, especially Hanuman’s. Actor Devdatta Nage essays the role of Bajrang or Hanuman, who in the epic is depicted as a God and a much loved disciple of Lord Ram. However, ‘Adipurush’ sees Bajrang speak a very street lingo, almost akin to Mumbai’s ‘tapori’ language, much against the serious and divine image of Hanuman.

Though the film’s dialogue writer Manoj Muntashir defended his writing, he also stated that the film’s makers will be revising some of the dialogues.

Nepal’s ban

For long Nepal has been contending that Sita was born in Nepal. In ‘Adipurush’, Sita or Janaki is shown to be born on India, which has miffed Nepal. As a fallout, two major cities of Nepal, Kathmandu and Pokhra, have banned not just ‘Adipurush’, but all Indian films.

Crash at the Box Office

Despite all the controversies, ‘Adipurush’ started off the weekend on a positive note, garnering net collections of Rs 105 crore till Sunday, June 18, 2023. However, the earnings have slumped since Monday by 78%, as per media reports. It seems all the negative word of mouth comments have finally caught up with the movie.

Prabhas’ lead role in another epic film so close to his ‘Baabubali’ blockbusters also hasn’t helped as people found it difficult to dissociate him from the earlier character. Of course, there have been comparisons, maybe unfair, between Kriti Sanon’s Janaki and Dipika Chikhlia’s Sita.

There have been several movies, TV serials, plays on ‘Ramayan’, but probably ‘Adipurush’ has bore the worst brunt of it. The possibilities were great – a modern narrative with the best of technologies available. Maybe, the filmmakers should have focussed more on the story narrative and the characterisation instead of trying to make it a VFX-heavy clone of a Hollywood blockbuster.

All in all, there’s an important lesson for all filmmakers here – DO NOT MESS WITH INDIA’S EPICS.