Adipurush is a 2023 Indian mythological action-drama film that tried to retell one of the most worshiped epics of Indian civilization the Ramayana to a contemporary pan-Indian audience. The film directed by Om Raut was a conceptually developed technologically enhanced cinematic visual treatise, a blend of mythology and epic heavy visual effects, motion capture and large scale production design. Having Prabhas as the star in the project and an estimated budget of up to ₹700 crore, Adipurush has become one of the hottest Indian movies even prior to its release. This article includes its Cast of Adipurush, summary, plot details, criticism, controversies, music, release on OTT, and cultural influence & more.
Adipurush: Movie Overview
The Adipurush is the name that can be translated as the First man and the character refers to Lord Ram which is played by Raghava in the movie. Rather than naming the characters by traditional names, the filmmakers chose to give their characters different names, namely Ravana as Lankesh, Lakshman as Shesh, Hanuman as Bajrang, and Sita as Janaki, perhaps to establish the movie as a retelling of the epic inspired by it, rather than the direct retelling. It is a film produced by T-Series Films and Retrophiles and filmed in the three languages of Hindi and Telugu and dubbed in Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam. At the very beginning, Adipurush was promoted as an Indian mythological film of global scope, akin to huge-budget fantasy series. Its official motion poster in 2020 caused mega curiosity, but later advertising content also drew heavy criticism.
Adipurush Movie Details
| Aspect | Information |
| Movie Title | Adipurush |
| Meaning | The First Man |
| Genre | Mythological, Action, Drama |
| Director | Om Raut |
| Story & Screenplay | Om Raut |
| Dialogues | Manoj Muntashir |
| Source Inspiration | Ramayana by Valmiki |
| Production Companies | T-Series Films, Retrophiles |
| Languages | Hindi, Telugu (Dubbed: Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam) |
| Release Date | 16 June 2023 |
| Runtime | 179 minutes |
| Music | Ajay–Atul, Sachet–Parampara |
| Cinematography | Karthik Palani |
| Editing | Apurva Motiwale, Ashish Mhatre |
| OTT Release | Netflix, Amazon Prime Video |
Adipurush Movie Plot Summary
Act I (Setup)
Adipurush takes place thousands of years ago, and it begins with the emergence of Lankesh, the mighty leader of Lanka and a boon granted to him by Lord Brahma that he cannot be defeated by gods or demons by day or night. This is the divine protection that contributes to his ego and his conviction that nothing can stop him.
Ayodhya is ruled by King Dasharatha, who is the father of Prince Raghava, the eldest son of the king. Prince Raghava is sent into a 14-year exile by vow of promise to Queen Kaikeyi. Raghava takes his fate gracefully and goes away with the kingdom with his wife Janaki and his brother Shesh and prefers life in the woods close to Panchavati.
Act II (Confrontation)
The movie progresses when Shurpanakha, the sister of Lankesh, meets with Raghava and falls in love with him. They reject and punish her for trying to harm Janaki, so she seeks revenge by telling Lankesh about Janaki’s beauty. This is what results in the well-known trick of Maricha, who pretends to be a golden deer that distracts Raghava and Shesh, and thus Lankesh is able to kidnap Janaki.
Sacked, Raghava starts his search to save Janaki. On his way, he encounters Shabari and his devotion leads him to the Vanara kingdom. It is there that he befriends Sugriva, Angad, Jambavan and the powerful devotee Bajrang. Bajrang travels to Lanka, assures Janaki that he will save her, and burns part of the city after his captors disgrace and imprison him.
Raghava constructs a bridge over the ocean with the help of a divine person, Samudra Dev and leads the Vanara Sena to Lanka.
Act III (Resolution)
The battle takes place in several stages, where he fights with Indrajit and Kumbhakarna. Bajrang carries the Sanjeevani mountain to save Shesh when he becomes critically injured. The last encounter takes place at twilight, the only time that the boon of Lankesh does not work. Raghava gets Lankesh and kills him, thus restoring dharma. Once they complete their exile and Janaki is freed, they return to Ayodhya, and Raghava becomes king.
Full Cast of Adipurush Movie with Role
Here’s a list of complete cast of Adipurush:
| No. | Actor | Role / Character |
| 1 | Prabhas | Raghava |
| 2 | Saif Ali Khan | Ravan “Lankesh” |
| 3 | Kriti Sanon | Janaki |
| 4 | Sunny Singh | Sesh |
| 5 | Devdatta Nage | Bajrang |
| 6 | Vatsal Sheth | Meghanadha (Indrajit) |
| 7 | Siddhant Karnick | Vibhishana |
| 8 | Gaurav Walia | Sugriva |
| 9 | Roopesh Jadhav | Jambavan |
| 10 | Manohar Pandey | Angad |
| 11 | Trupti Toradmal | Sarama |
| 12 | Tejaswini Pandit | Soorpanakha |
| 13 | Sonal Chauhan | Mandodari |
| 14 | Lavi Pajni | Kumbhakarna |
| 15 | Asha Sharma | Sabari |
| 16 | Urvi Singh | Young Sabari |
| 17 | Krishna Kotian | Dasharatha |
| 18 | Sonali Khare | Kaikeyi |
| 19 | Bijay Anand | Brahma |
| 20 | Ajit Shidhaye | Prahastha |
| 21 | Rajesh K. Salhotra | Dhakdasur |
| 22 | Rehan Khan | Maricha |
| 23 | Neha Khan | Trijata |
| 24 | Kaustav Sinha | Nala |
| 25 | Saurabh Thakare | Nila |
| 26 | Prashant Uthale | Shuka |
| 27 | Sharad Kelkar | Raghava (Voice) |
Who played the role of Mandodari in Adipurush?
The Mandodari role played by Sonal Chauhan was the wise and morally controlled one in Lanka. Her limited screen presence shows her as the moral compass, repeatedly warning Ravana about his impending doom. A lot of people who watched the movie thought that the character of Mandodari could have been more deeply elaborated since she was quite significant in the original versions of Ramayana.
Adipurush Movie Budget and Box Office Collection
The initial budget of Adipurush was roughly between 500 and 600 crore. In response to the negative reactions to the VFX quality of the teaser, the makers decided to spend an additional 100-200 crore to rework and elevate the VFX. Therefore, the total budget of the movie is reportedly somewhere between 650 and 700 crore, thus making Adipurush one of the most expensive Indian films ever produced.
| Metric | Collection |
| Opening Weekend (Worldwide) | Strong |
| India Net Collection | ₹280–300 crore |
| Overseas Collection | ₹90–100 crore |
| Worldwide Gross | ~₹392.7 crore |
| Trade Verdict | Box Office Bomb |
Adipurush Critics Review and Audience Response
| Platform | Rating / Verdict |
| Rotten Tomatoes | 7% approval |
| The Indian Express | 1.5/5 |
| NDTV | 1.5/5 |
| Pinkvilla | 2/5 |
| Times of India | 3/5 |
| India Today | Mixed to Negative |
Common Criticism Points
- Modern slang in mythological speeches.
- Poor and weak VFX.
- Weak emotional depth
- Sensation of disrespect of religious feelings.
Critics praised the film’s ambition and background music, but most felt the execution did not match the intended scale.
Adipurush Movie Music and Soundtrack
The music in Adipurush largely establishes the film’s devotional and mythological tone. The soundtrack written by Ajay–Atul and Sachet–Parampara was given many spiritual undertones based on the Ramayana. Songs such as Jai Shri Ram and Ram Siya Ram also became popular thanks to their religious overtones and were one of the better-received elements of the movie.
The background music by Sanchit Balhara and Ankit Balhara scaled and intensified the important war and emotional scenes. Although the movie was not spared of criticism, its music received a lot of appreciation as it was able to create a certain feeling of reverence and emotional richness and was one of the more powerful elements of Adipurush.
| Aspect | Details |
| Music Directors (Songs) | Ajay–Atul, Sachet–Parampara |
| Background Score | Sanchit Balhara, Ankit Balhara |
| Lyricist | Manoj Muntashir |
| Languages | Hindi, Telugu (Dubbed: Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam) |
| Music Label | T-Series |
| Notable Songs | Jai Shri Ram, Ram Siya Ram, Shivoham, Tu Hai Sheetal Dhaara |
| Genre | Devotional, Mythological, Feature Film Soundtrack |
| Release Period | April–June 2023 |
Adipurush Movie Controversies and Cultural Impact
Adipurush had a series of controversies during the time of its release. There was a lot of criticism about the film as it was written using modern and heavy slang dialects when discussing Godly and mythological beings to people who felt it was not proper and disrespectful. Nepal also temporarily banned the film after a dialogue about Sita’s birthplace triggered diplomatic and cultural protests. A number of religious groups and individuals condemned the film on the basis of its misrepresentation of characters in the Ramayana. Even the cast of Adipurush were targeted for agreeing to portray such roles.
Moreover, the Allahabad High Court also doubted the release of the film by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) by querying how the film could be given a green light. Taken as a whole, these scandals significantly contributed to the development of a negative audience perception and had a direct effect on the box office results of the movie.
Adipurush OTT Release and Home Media
| Platform | Languages |
| Netflix | Hindi |
| Amazon Prime Video | Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam |
Conclusion
Adipurush is a case study in contemporary Indian cinema because it points to the fact that ambition, budget and star power cannot be enough to ensure success with culturally sacred content. Although the idea of modernizing mythology was bold, the implementation of the idea had a difficult time striking a balance between technology and tradition. The cast of Adipurush had many big names from the industry. But the movie will not be remembered by its huge starcast or box office grosses, but rather the heated discussion it created about the ability to adapt epics to the modern generation.
FAQs
A1. The creators base the story on Valmiki’s Ramayana but take creative liberties and change some character names.
A2. The high collections do not justify its status as a box office bomb because of the huge budget.
A3. Sonal Chauhan played the role of Mandodari.
A4. Primarily, because of contemporary dialogues, VFX, and the so-called distortion of religious characters.
A5. Netflix has the Hindi version, whereas Amazon Prime Video has South Indian versions.
A6. The lead cast of Adipurush was played by Prabhas.
Article Code: SRV WP-01
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