The recent release of the highly anticipated film, Adipurush, has left both the filmmakers and the audience astounded. Despite extensive promotion and a star-studded cast, the movie experienced a significant drop in revenue, signifying a resounding rejection by the public.
Om Raut directed Adipurush, starring Prabhas, Kriti Sanon and Saif Ali Khan was released on June 16, 2023 with great enthusiasm on several thousand screens in India and many other countries, but the film flopped badly at the box office. Let have a look on the significant reason that the film Adipurush made with a cost of Rs 700 crores was rejected by the audience?
1.Dialogues
One of the major criticisms surrounding Adipurush was the quality of its dialogues. Instead of using mythological dialogues, phrases like “Kapda tere baap ka… toh jalegi bhi tere baap ki” used as dialogue which hurts people’s sentiments and emotion. These controversial dialogues written by award winning lyrist Manoj Muntashir, and portrayed in the chacter of Bajarang Bali, faced severe criticism from the audience. In response to this criticism, the makers and Manoj Muntashir decided to revise the language in the contentious dialogues looking into the public sentiments.
2.VFX
Adipurush faced early criticism for its visual effects when the teaser was released last year. Despite the director’s decision to postpone the release and upgrade the VFX, the final result did not meet expectations. The film continues to receive critisicm for its cartoonish visual effects, especially when compared to other recent releases like Ayan Mukerji’s Brahmastra, which showcased more advanced special effects.
3. Miscasting of Prabhas
Some viewers and critics expressed dissatisfaction with the casting of Prabhas as Raghav (based on Ram) in Adipurush. No doubt, Prabhas is a tremendous actor, but according to Indian context, the portrayal of a character from the Ramayana required a different mix of simplicity and reverence. Some critics argued that Prabhas did not embody the essence of Raghav, as portrayed by previous actors such as Arun Govil in Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan. Additionally, objections were raised against the depiction of Ram with a mustache, as it deviated from the traditional representation of Vishnu’s avatars.
4. Nepal Ban
The film faced a ban in Kathmandu, Nepal, due to objections over the dialogue “Janaki is a daughter of India.” As Sita was believed to have been born in Janakpur, Nepal, the dialogue was considered disrespectful to the cultural beliefs of the majority Hindu population in Nepal.
5. Setting up Expectations
A significant factor contributing to the film’s decline is the discrepancy between the marketing campaign and the actual product. First the makers of Adipurush positioning the movie as a retelling of the epic Ramayana. However, once they have received negative feedback , they claimed it as just an interpretention of Ramayan. This sudden change of their statement disturbed audience trust and contributed to the film’s downfall.
Conclusion
Overally, the downfall of Adipurush at the box office can be attributed to various factors, including the quality of dialogues, substandard VFX, perceived miscasting, controversies, and the mismatch between marketing expectations and the final product. While the film initially attracted attention and registered impressive box office numbers, negative word-of-mouth and public dissatisfaction played a significant role in its subsequent decline
Abhishek96
Aniket
Sanjib