Five Reasons Why Adipurush Turned Out To Be A Major Disaster

Adipurush could easily come across as the perfect guide to wasting 600 crores. I can’t help but connect it with the Rajinikanth film Annamalai, where he was asked to spend 100 crores within a month. Now I’m left wondering if the Adipurush team tried something similar.

As a writer myself, I would never stoop so low to tarnish another creator’s work. But Adipurush was a massive disappointment! After all the hype and strong casting of Prabhas and Saif Ali Khan, one would definitely have expected the film to be bearable at the very least.

The film reportedly had a massive opening, and despite the severe criticism, it managed to cross Rs. 250 crore in India. However, less than a week down the line, the film is crashing at the box office, barely making Rs. 7 crore.

Why Did Adipurush Fail?

So, why did Om Raut’s Adipurush leave netizens so disappointed that it's been called a disaster? Let me jot down five solid reasons here.

Visual Effects

Over the years, many versions of the Ramayana have been made, both on the small screen and the big screen. Even at a time when VFX was in the developmental stage, the makers managed to do justice to the Indian epic. At a time when movies with exceptional visual effects such as Brahmastra, RRR, Bahubali, etc. have been made over the past decade, audiences would be expecting the bare minimum from Adipurush. But what we got was a mix of Temple Run, Game of Thrones, Clash of Clans, and Chota Bheem.

Even the scene where Ram, with the help of Vali and his monkey army, built a bridge over the ocean was created using miserable VFX. Couldn’t they simply shoot on a real beach given that they had a whopping budget of Rs. 600 crore?

Dialogues

I cannot even begin to narrate how enraging it was to watch Hanuman deliver cringe-worthy dialogues like "Tere baap ki." There are about five dialogues in the film that are highly misleading and offensive, making Hanuman look like some sort of local gangster. Although one of the lines was replaced later, the damage was already done.

Modern Aspects Set In The Past

Apparently, Adipurush seems to be the new-age Ramayan, where Ram is called Raghav, Ravan is called Lankesh, Lakshman is called Shesh, and Hanuman is called Bajrang. Excuse me, did the makers think they naming babies in 2023?

Saif Ali Khan's modern hairstyle also drew flak and led to trolling by netizens. 

Despite being set in the past, the use of modern names and modern hairstyles left netizens baffled and amused. 

Inaccurate Portrayal

In Adipurush, Sri Lanka, which is an extremely beautiful country, was turned into a replica of hell. Everyone except Ravan turns out to be some kind of weird creature. The film outright made a joke out of Ravan by portraying him as some sort of demon rather than the Tamil king that he was.

Ravan weirdly has a razor-cut hairstyle, wears t-shirts, has a double-decker type 10 head, and rides what could be called a giant-sized bat. I cannot digest the fact that Ravan’s Pushpakavimanam (a magical chariot) was made to look like a bat-like creature.

King Vali and his army are portrayed like Gorillas from King Kong. They were supposed to be Tamil Kings ruling the southern part of India, but Adipurush represented them as uncivilised, evil Gorillas living in the jungle.

Sita, who is said to have been born in the northern part of Hindustan, which is today's Nepal, was called the "Daughter of India" in the film. This led to the film being banned in Nepal until the court lifted the order. 

Stellar Cast... Not Much Else

After seeing Prabhas in blockbuster films like Baahubali 1 and 2, Adipurush has undoubtedly turned the stellar actor into meme material. I guess it’ll forever remain a mystery why talented and prominent actors like Prabhas, Saif Ali Khan, and Kriti Sanon even agreed to do this film. 

It’s unbelievable that the makers were okay with releasing this final version. Didn’t they watch a preview show and realise the injustice they'd done?

Suggested Reading: Netizens Disappointed With Adipurush's Dialogues, Looks, And VFX