A massive and spectacle-fueled adventure, Ramayana delivers an epic – but perplexing – 3-D experience to US theaters on November 5, just in time for Diwali.
Based on the Sanskrit epic poem of the same title, Ramayana is the story of the exiled but ever faithful Prince Rama (Ranbir Kapoor).
Although Rama serves his family and has no designs on the throne, his popularity among the people incites the jealousy and paranoia of his stepmother the queen, who banishes him from the kingdom. He obediently departs, along with his wife Sita (Sai Pallavi), who accepts their fate with grace, and faithful brother Lakshmana (Ravi Dubey).
I’m reminded in this setup of the classic Biblical account of King Saul and David – the jealous king who allows his obsession with a younger hero to become the catalyst of his own instability and downfall – even though the future king is only faithful and subservient. It’s a classic, timeless tale, and a potent source of drama.
In their exile, an unfortunate encounter puts Rama’s party in conflict with a foreign princess, inciting the anger of the demigod king Ravana, leading to the confrontation between the two larger-than-life figures representing the forces of the universe: Rama embodying the tenets of dharma (righteousness) and of Vishnu the god of preservation; and Ravana, an avatar of pride and disorder (adharma).
This vision of the saga of Rama, as told by director and co-writer (with Shridhar Raghavan) Nitesh Tiwari, is no historical fable, but an epic fantasy reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings: a land teeming with troll-like giants and men, great beasts including winged elephants and griffins, and the magic of the gods. Rama wields a magnificent magic bow and quiver of endless arrows.
The absolutely stellar fantasy effects work is primarily created by DNEG, an Oscar-winning studio known for its work on huge tentpole movies for Marvel, the Harry Potter series, and Christopher Nolan’s catalogue, among many others.
Complementing the tremendous onscreen visuals is an equally impressive soundtrack by two master composers, a once-in-a-lifetime East-West collaboration featuring Hans Zimmer (Gladiator, Interstellar) and prolific Indian meastro A. R. Rahman (known in the US for Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours).
But for anyone not familiar with the source material – including most Americans, among them myself – it can be kind of befuddling.
The film opens with an extensive prologue which sets up a history of events prior to Rama, an important backstory of the figure of Ravana, initially a hero blessed by the god Brahma with near-invincibility. It’s a saga of war, enslavement, and emancipation, and if you don’t know the context going in, it’s jarring to realize this is not the plot trajectory of the movie but merely the preface. I spent a significant portion of the film unsure of the plot and protagonist before it settled in and became evident.
Also perplexing is the particular version of the film that I watched – I was sort of expecting a typical Indian epic, by which I mean a three hour movie in its original language with an intermission, but instead this is a highly localized product: an English-dubbed edit of the film with the lip-synching visually remapped using AI. It’s my understanding that this version is shortened from the original by a half hour, and reportedly removes some musical numbers (though my research on this point has uncovered conflicting accounts). I can kind of appreciate the attempt to cater to local taste – I’m repeatedly on record of criticizing Indian films for being too long – but if the removal of musical elements is true, it’s an unfortunate loss. This seems to rob a foreign film of its innate character. Song and dance are an innate part of Indian cinema and should be left intact.
The last bit of confusion for me was the cliffhanger ending- the film does not advertise itself as Part 1 in its marketing, leading to a confusing finale – when “End of Part 1” showed up, I wasn’t sure if that was the end of the movie or a cut to an intermission – until an intertitle advertised Part 2 as coming in Diwali 2028.
The good news is that if you’re read this far, I’ve outlined all the confusing stuff, leaving you free to just sit back and enjoy an incredibly-made epic fantasy film without the chore of the mental gymnastics – and then you can join me in a two-year wait for the story’s conclusion.
A/V Out
