Adipurush - The Story of God

 

Adipurush

2023, Telugu

 

Producer - Retrophiles

 

Director - Om Raut

 

Stars - Prabhas, Kriti Sanon, Saif Ali Khan, Sunny Singh, Devdatta Nage

 

Mohan's Measure - ⭐⭐

 

I could only wonder how a movie that has been put down by every critic in the industry could do so well at the box office.  This brought us to the Telugu version of Adipurush with very low expectations. 

The clanging of steel, creepy looking UFO faces, and lion-faced bats is really not my idea of scripture, nor is there an image in my mind of Sita flaunting her midriff. But the producers of Adipurush have aimed high. In doing so, they have created not only a successful pan Indian movie but a brand, a genre, a form of entertainment akin to the Marvel Universe.  One can only wonder what would happen if they keep it going.

Our hope is that an otherwise solipsistic, meritocratic generation of South Asians will discover what it means to take on responsibility, to collaborate as a team, and know the earth and Her people as realities, not just something to ignore while surfing the smart phone.

To do so, we have had to turn the most beloved couple in South Asian hagiography into super heroes, fighting a sadistic foe in gothic backdrops.  So, now, Ravana walks with cowboy swagger to harass a suffering Sita who is always well dressed and properly made up. This while Hanuman struggles to imitate Dizzy Gillespie's cheeks. 

Then there is Rama, described by scholars as having tears of compassion for everyone he sees. He now looks like a cop out of a Netflix serial, stoic, perhaps even slightly self interested. 

Despite it all, Adipurush can be entertaining, particularly for those who are in to everything from Harry Potter to Thor: Love and Thunder. For me, who has spent years studying the Ramayana as scripture, it took some mental juggling to put aside the fact that it serves as inspiration for the Thirukkural, and has stood as the measure of civilization for countless generations.

But, it is to put it into the hands of future generations that this movie has been made. The things we do for our kids.