Adipurush: 21st Century Ramayana retelling a bid to capture a pan-Indian imagination

The Ram Leela has been a mainstay of Indian collective entertainment for centuries. Through the centuries, forms of entertainment, cultural predilections, social realities, and political structures have changed, but the story of Lord Ram, the abduction of his wife, and the triumph of good over evil is a motif that has sustained. On Friday, India is going to get a Ramayana built for the 21st century - with VFX, and in 3D in the form of the Prabhas-Kriti Sanon starrer Adipurush.

The Om Raut directorial, armed with the high-tech storytelling capabilities of modern-day filmmaking, will attempt to capture the magic of the Ramayana on the silver screens. While the Ram Leela would often be crowd-funded, Adipurush comes on a Rs 500 crore budget and its diverse casting will seek to capture the imagination of audiences only too familiar with the story. 

3 things you need to know:

• Adipurush is an attempt to bring the Ramayana epic into the silver screen after a long time. 
• The Prabhas-Kriti Sanon starrer will hit cinema halls on June 16. 
• The film will release in five languages – Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada.

A truly Indian film  

The makers of Adipurush have worked hard to ensure that the filmic elements revealed to the public before its release connects to every Indian household. The casting of Prabhas as the lead is only one of many such attempts. The south cinema superstar broke through the glass ceiling of mainstream popularity in an Hindi-cinema dominated ecosystem with the raging success of the Baahubali franchise. Now, playing Raghav, Prabhas is a household name and a superstar most Indians will have no trouble connecting with. 

(Screengrab from Adipurush trailer | Image: YouTube)

The casting of regional cinema superstars into a film of epic dimension doesn’t however end with Prabhas. Devdatta Nage, a Marathi cinema thespian, adds flavour to the cast.  With these so-called regional cinema stars are Bollywood biggies – Kriti Sanon, the female lead, and Saif Ali Khan. A pan-Indian casting, Om Raut has ensured.   

Chants that strike a chord 

(Screengrab from the song Ram Siya Ram | Image: YouTube)

The music of Adipurush has already become extremely popular. Songs which feature chants of Jai Shri Ram and Ram Siya Ram have drawn audiences across languages and regions. While the Jai Shri Ram song by Ajay and Atul characterises Prabhas as a man of the masses, the song Ram Siya Ram lends a tenderness to Raghav and Janaki that is bound to pull at the heartstrings.

Locating the epic geographically

Adipurush, self-avowedly, is a big budget film. And the makers ensured that the film is promoted bearing the geography of the Ramayana epic in mind. The film’s first promo event was organised in Ayodhya - the birthplace of Lord Ram. Its grandest pre-release event was organised in Tirupati, another site of deep Indian devotion. The promotion surrounding the film sought to draw upon the beliefs of people surrounding the epic. 

With an ear to the ground

(Seats reserved for Lord Hanuman at Adipurush screenings | Image: Twitter)

In what was an extremely interesting gesture, the makers of Adipurush have decided to keep one seat empty for Lord Hanuman at every one of the film’s screenings across the world. It is believed that Lord Hanuman appears wherever the Ramayana is recited. In a gesture of respect to the belief, every screening of Adipurush will have a seat reserved for Lord Hanuman. 

The tale of the Ramayana has been told across centuries and Adipurush is not the first time the story is being narrated visually. Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana, in the early years of Indian television, was a show made for community viewing. 

At a time when few homes had televisions, people from the neighbourhood would gather together in front of one tiny screen to dwell in the glory of seeing characters of the Ramayana. Now, times have changed. And film-watching is possible on a gadget that can fit in one’s pocket. Will Adipurush be able to attract audiences to cinemas to once again engage with the age-old story while watching as a community? We will know on June 16.