It’s harder to understand how the makers of this movie could be satisfied with key establishing scenes, like when Janaki swoons as she and Raghava are romantically encircled by a flock of poorly-rendered pink flamingos. Recent complaints from frustrated employees of Marvel’s visual effects studios make it easier to understand why an SFX-driven event title like “Adipurush” could cost so much and still look so bad. “Adipurush” has been pre-sold to viewers based on what they already know: how can you go wrong by adapting a popular epic featuring superheroic Hindu gods, uncanny valley animal-people, and monstrous villains? Well, have you seen any good Marvel movies lately? It took a moment to hear the auditorium’s silence beneath the movie’s typically bombastic soundtrack, but it was eventually glaring. Here in Manhattan’s Union Square theater, at a packed Thursday afternoon matinee, the raucous screams of Prabhas’ fans soon faded after his triumphant first scene, when Raghava almost single-handedly dispatches a horde of demonic wraiths. Your mileage may vary, but slapdash and tacky-looking special effects make the first hour (or more) of “Adipurush” feel interminable.
Is it possible to see, let alone enjoy, such an archetypal story without making too many distracting comparisons, either to other movies or real-life politics? Or are those associations simultaneously the biggest draw and problem for “Adipurush,” whose Sanskrit title can be read as “ First Man,” and whose considerable budget (Rs 500 crore, or about $67 million) allegedly surpasses all prior Indian mega-productions? Honestly, the movie’s rough computer graphics might eclipse all other considerations since there’s so much bad green-screen image-compositing in “Adipurush,” and it all looks cheap and uninspired. ( Some outspoken protesters don’t like that Sanon, the actress playing Sita, “India’s Daughter,” has danced suggestively in earlier movies.)
Sanon’s casting as Sita has also led to outrage and, unfortunately, effective demands for censorship. “Adipurush” just opened here in America, but it’s already controversial in India, where the writers of trend pieces, interviews, and reviews consider the implications of Lankesh’s appearance, including his weird nu-metal gel-spiked haircut, which has led to some comparisons to the Muslim leader Alauddin Khilji.
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