The Adipurush Abomination

How could a single movie get so many things wrong about the Ramayan?

This was the precise thought in my mind after watching Adipurush.

I saw the movie very late, just yesterday, almost months after several people criticized the movie heavily. But most of the criticism I saw was around the dresses, appearances, dialogues, etc. What shocked me was the movie was nowhere close to the Valmiki Ramayan that I have read so many times.

(1) Very little introduction was given to how Ram and Sita go to the forest

(2) Lakshman was rarely addressed as SheshNag in the whole scripture whereas that was the norm in the movie

(3) Ravan, Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana together do the penance. Ravan explicitly asks for the boon that naras and vanaras be exempted because they are weak.

(4) How Shurpanakha gets her nose cut is comically depicted

(5) Ravan abducts Sita in the Pushpak Viman and not on some wicked-looking bat. The author has been heavily influenced by the Lord of the Rings than Valmiki Ramayan.

(6) Vali and Sugriva’s fight has a lot of background to it but that’s all masked.

(7) Hanuman is made a mockery of, especially during the episodes of his visit to Lanka for the first time. His being tied up by the Brahmastra and the fire to the tail episode is so dumb in the movie.

(8) Even the war scenes were so crude and ill-taken. Ravan does not step into the warfield for a while, not as on day 1 as shown in the movie.

(9) Indrajeet’s killing by Lakshman is so silly — that water stops his magic!

(10) Mandodari appears as a widow before Ravan goes to the war — seriously! Did the author even read the Ramayan and try to understand the characters?

I could go on and on, but this movie is truly an abomination in the name of Ramayan. I now regret having remotely even suggested giving the movie team a chance on some social media platforms.