Two storms last week that had everyone on tenterhooks. One was a cyclone, given the dark name of Biparjoy (meaning 'disaster' in Bengali) by the Bangladesh caucus of the World Meteorological Organization. Thankfully, Biparjoy caused very little damage in Gujarat and wilted into a 'deep depression' moving on to neighbouring Rajasthan.
The other was 'Adipurush', the Hindi film produced by the entertainment industry giant T-Series, starring Prabhas, Saif Ali Khan and Kriti Sanon. The Om Raut directorial was expected to smash all records at the ticket windows. Instead, it drove furious movie-goers away from theatres. The film meant as a retelling of the epic "Ramayana", proved to be an unmitigated disaster in terms of cinematic craft, ambition and intent.
Never before had any Hindi film stirred such intense backlash among pan-Indian audiences. Within hours of its release in theatres, angry and disappointed people were going full blast against the film. They were stunned by the shoddiness of the venture.
Made on a mind-boggling budget of around Rs 600 crore, the film collected Rs 35 crore on its opening day (Hindi version) netting the same figure through the weekend. It began hemorrhaging from Monday (7.75 crores) to Tuesday (4.75 crores) and Wednesday (3.50 crores). It managed high weekend figures solely due to the spectacular advances that the film garnered before release.
The freefall was inevitable after the avalanche of poor reviews and word of mouth. The film's Telugu version did manage a decent opening, thanks to the huge popularity and fandom of its lead actor Prabhas.
Build up to the Doomsday Downturn
For "Adipurush", the negative reviews began soon after its teaser was launched in the latter part of 2022. It worried the makers enough to postpone the release from January to June this year. The abysmal quality of the teaser, with very poor VFX and a heavy tilt toward animation, lent it a B-grade look. With everyone slamming the producer and director for the subpar display, T-Series and director Om Raut decided to delay its release, seeking pre-emptive bail to work harder on the film to justify its large canvas and their 'divine' intent to present 'Adipurush' as a cinematic treat like no other.
But the trailer released last month was hardly an improvement on the widely panned teaser. When it finally hit the screens last week, it remained a poor caricature of the much-loved epic, scoring poorly in all departments of filmmaking. Movie-goers balked at the abysmal dialogues and screenplay.
The film was panned by almost all leading critics. NDTV's Saibal Chatterjee described it as "part Planet of Apes, part King Kong". Both Om Raut and the film's dialogue-writer Manoj Muntashir Shukla went all out to placate disgruntled viewers, appearing non-stop on a string of news channels over the weekend. From justifying the dialogues to even saying their film was not based on the "Ramayana", they tied themselves in knots, only provoking more trolling.
How Not to 'Retell' any Epic
Films based on mythology and religious epics have always had to tread a thin line. While they have to stay true to the source, demands of evolving entertainment prerequisites and profit targets often drive makers to sacrifice convention while taking creative cinematic liberties. However, where do you draw the line while making a commercial venture based on a religious epic or text? Especially in a context where filmmakers strive to push the envelope, abandoning caution.
The 'interpretation' of a much-revered and loved epic cannot be a regular walk in the park. It is not like dishing out your regular pot-boiler. It was this hallowed principle that the makers of 'Adipurush' strayed from, and they got it totally wrong.
First and foremost, filmmakers cannot underestimate people's intelligence. Religion may be a powerful narrative in these times, but to use it as a vehicle for such commercial claptrap without any seriousness of thought or research, expecting people to buy into it, is a serious mistake. At the same time, employing religious beliefs and narratives in creating a 'version' that is not grounded within the framework of the original source is asking for even more trouble. A 'Bazball' approach of cobbling together contrived spiritual symbolism in half-baked cinematic visions, all under the perceived safety garb of religious armoury, can be a recipe for disaster. This goes for prominent, established directors and producers as well as fly-by-night filmmakers, and especially for their intended audience.
In the case of 'Adipurush', the makers committed the ultimate folly of trivialising the religious sentiments of people for the sake of profit. Disgruntled viewers are asking, "Where is our Maryada Purushottam Ram in the film? Where is our serene and peaceful Hanuman?" All they got was Raghu played by Prabhas unimaginatively and distractingly, carrying over his Baahubali-esque demeanour in a role that may have been plotted more for his box office pull than anything else.
The Adipurush Rout is not only about Raut
Milking religion and spirituality has long been a favoured route for the Hindi film industry. The dearth of original story ideas doesn't deter filmmakers.
The order of the times is to follow a go-to template readily green-flagged with cash, with a sliver of an idea. Bonus - religious or spiritual undertones, that often border on the extreme. Narratives are manufactured, popular symbolism is used, all with the express purpose of monetising the venture, whipping up some religious frenzy along the way. Mix a dab of politics, lace it with a myopic version of history and there you have it - the magic potion ready to be consumed by the masses.
The results can be quite heartening when you can peddle your wares to an assured target audience, take a spot in the temporary good books of everyone who is anyone, and earn big bucks (if the marketing and PR have been done right). Sanjay Leela Bhansali's pivot from a 'Bajirao Mastani' to a 'Padmaavat', Kangana Ranaut's 'Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi', Vivek Agnihotri's 'The Kashmir Files', Chandraprakash Diwedi's 'Samrat Prithviraj' and the latest 'The Kerala Story' by Sudipto Sen, all are part of this grand cinematic design. There is more to come.
After Om Raut's 'Adipurush', the seemingly playful multiheaded hydra that we were all petting and fawning upon finally snapped free of its leash and came for everyone in its sight. Given how the Hindi film industry works, it will take a while for reality to sink in.
Meanwhile, the rambunctious, chest-thumping, cheerleading cohort of right-wingers from the film fraternity have gone silent, probably licking their wounds.
(Anand Mathew is based in New Delhi.)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author.