Adipurush

About the film

Adipurush (transl. The First Man) is a 2023 Indian mythological action film inspired by the Hindu epic Ramayana. The film is directed and co-written by Om Raut, and produced by T-Series and Retrophiles. Produced in Bollywood, the film was shot simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu. The film features Prabhas, Saif Ali Khan, Kriti Sanon, Sunny Singh, and Devdutta Nage.

The film was announced in August 2020, through an official motion poster. Principal photography, which took place primarily in Mumbai, commenced in February 2021 and ended in November 2021. The film's music is composed by Ajay–Atul and Sachet-Parampara. Adipurush is budgeted at ₹500 crore (US$52 million)-₹700 crore (US$73 million) and became one of the most expensive Indian films.

Plot

Thousands of years ago, Lankesh, the demon king of Lanka, obtains a divine boon from Brahma, the creator god, rendering him completely invincible against gods and demons alike, and immune to death during both day and night. Many years later in the kingdom of Ayodhya, King Dashratha is compelled to exile his eldest son, Raghava, for fourteen years to honor a vow made to his wife, Kaikeyi, ensuring her son Bharat ascends the throne. Raghava peacefully accepts the decree and retreats into the wilderness of the Panchavati forest near the Godavari River, accompanied by his virtuous wife, Janaki, and his fiercely loyal brother, Shesh.

While in the forest, Lankesh's sister, the demoness Shurpanakha, attempts to seduce Raghava and launches a lethal assault on Janaki. Shesh intervenes to protect Janaki, mutilating Shurpanakha by severing her nose. Outraged by his sister's humiliation and intrigued by her description of Janaki’s unparalleled beauty, Lankesh plots a retaliatory abduction. He deploys his henchman, Maricha, who transforms into a mystical golden deer to lure Raghava and Shesh away from their hermitage. Capitalizing on their absence, Lankesh kidnaps Janaki and imprisons her in his kingdom. Upon discovering her disappearance, Raghava and Shesh embark on a desperate rescue mission.

En route, they encounter the ascetic Shabari, who directs them toward Mount Rishyamukha. There, they forge a critical alliance with the exiled Vanara king, Sugriva, along with his commanders Jambavan and the mighty warrior Bajrang. To locate Janaki and assure her of her impending rescue, Raghava dispatches Bajrang to infiltrate Lanka. Bajrang leaps across the ocean and successfully delivers Raghava's message to Janaki. However, he is captured by Lankesh's formidable son, Indrajit, who orders Bajrang's tail to be set ablaze. Breaking free, Bajrang uses the fire to incinerate a large portion of Lanka before flying back to rally Raghava and the Vanara army.

Production

Adipurush, an adaptation of the Hindu epic Ramayana, was announced on 18 August 2020, via a promotional poster. Prabhas portrays Rama under the direction of Om Raut who earlier helmed the period action film Tanhaji (2020). Om Raut was fascinated by the 1992 Japanese film Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama and was motivated to adapt the Ramayana into a film using modern technology. Raut wrote the script amidst COVID-19 lockdown in India. Prabhas immediately liked the project and the production company T-Series Films was on board for the project.

Adipurush is one of the most expensive Indian films ever made, with a budget of ₹550-800 crore. The film was initially reported to have a budget of 500-600 crores, however after the release of first teaser, the film was met with severe backlash for the poor quality of VFX and CGI, despite having a humungous budget, which compelled the makers to postpone the film by five months and an additional budget of 100-200 crores was assigned to improve the quality of VFX and CGI. It was shot simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu languages, while also filmed in 3D.

In September 2020, the makers revealed that Prabhas is enacting Rama's portrayal whose character name was later revealed as Raghava. Saif Ali Khan, who already worked as an antagonist in Raut's Tanhaji, signed on for the role of Ravana, with the alias name, Lankesh. After rumours of Anushka Shetty, Anushka Sharma, Kiara Advani, and Keerthy Suresh being approached for the role of Sita, with the alias name of Janaki, it was reported in November 2020 that Kriti Sanon has been cast to essay the role; her inclusion into the film was confirmed by the makers four months later in March 2021. Sunny Singh, who joined the sets in February 2021, played Lakshmana, with the alias name being Shesh. Sharad Kelkar dubbed for Prabhas in the Hindi version while P. Ravi Shankar dubbed for Saif Ali Khan in the Telugu, Tamil and Kannada versions.

Music

The music for both the Hindi and Telugu versions of the film is composed by Ajay–Atul and Sachet–Parampara (noted). The first single titled "Jai Shri Ram" was released in its short version on 6 April 2023 on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti. The full song was released on 20 May 2023 under the same name in Hindi and Telugu alongside dubbed versions (Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam). The second single titled "Ram Siya Ram" (in Hindi) and "Ram Sita Ram" (in Telugu) was released on 29 May 2023.

Marketing

The film's teaser was released on 2 October 2022 on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. The teaser received heavy criticism for its visual effects and CGI. The film's trailer was released on 9 May 2023, and was seen as an improvement from the teaser with regards to the visuals. The final trailer of the film was released on 6 June 2023.

Key details