Rakesh Prasad Chaturvedi

Those with even little knowledge of the Ramayana who land up hoping to see the Ramayana in 'Adipurush' will certainly be disappointed. Those who don't know anything, will likely assume they've learnt all they had to about the Ramayana, and are not likely to be motivated to read to know more. In attempting to produce a modern version of the epic the result ('Adipurush') is an uncomfortable mish mash, neither herre nor there. The long disclaimer at beginning of the movie clarifies that it's been 'inspired' by Valmiki Ramayan. So far so good. But then the story of Ramayan is laden with one creative liberty per minute, to serve up an uncomfortable cocktail. For an inspiration, I believe the character names and storyline needs to be widely varied. It doesnt; it follows the Ramayana chronology from around end of Aranyakand on, but too often with shuffled sequences and twisted logic. This is sad. The inherent message and essence of The Ramayana is lost. Totally. A key question I have in mind is whether the Ramayana can be treated as just a story? It has so much rationale and learning ensconced in it, sans which it loses its texture and becomes a mere flimsy tale. In Adipurush I feel it happened.