Writer ~ Rajeev Mishra
*Review or Feedback of the film..I will give this feedback in two parts, first its technological and filmmaking aspect, and second its content and narrative aspect, here is the first part*
♂÷When NHS When I joined, a formal way of giving feedback was explained here, which was slightly different from the traditional Indian way. The most prevalent method of feedback in India was the same which was explained in the school through the stick of the teacher. Feedback is an opportunity for us to criticize and vent our anger. But there is a format for formal feedback here and I will follow it…
The format is something like this…
1. What was done well
2. What you could have done better or differently.
So first deal with what was good…it is too much, otherwise it will happen quickly…
The best is the music… The money was recovered (as much as it was) just listening to “Jai Shri Ram Raja Ram” and “Ram Siya Ram” in the sound system of the hall. While returning, came back listening to the same thing on repeat in the car. Heard it again on youtube this morning. Had there been an era of cassettes, I would have bought this cassette first. What Manoj Muntashir has immersed in writing dialogues, he has redeemed in writing songs. Dialogues are few. There is more action. The five-seven dialogues that you see circulating on Facebook as memes are Chhapri type. The rest are fine. Some places are good too… Shriram’s address to the army before the start of the war is impressive…
What is the weakest point in cinema? Firstly, there is no screenplay of the film. Doesn’t even happen in Bollywood movies. In Bollywood there is a dialogue writer of the film, screenplay writers are only part timers. The film that spreads without a screenplay is somehow messed up in editing. Without a screenplay, the characters cannot be well defined, nor have they been.
Acting also “did not” disappoint… Everyone’s acting is uniformly bad. Prabhas is Prabhas, Saif Ali is Saif Ali. Whoever the character may be… shouted a kid in the hall… look at that! Bahubali!! Saif’s acting is such that if you listen to his dialogues with closed eyes, it is not known whether you are watching “Race” or “Dil Chahta Hai”. It is good that the rest of the characters are in animation, they cannot do bad acting even if they want to.
The film is like the films of Marvel Comics. Somewhere in between, there is the Fantastic Beasts of Harry Potter, and somewhere Game of Thrones… I don’t even like Marvel’s movies, so there was no question of liking it. Wish the time was spent exploring the rich story instead of long animated scenes. Anyway, there are elements of fantasy in the story of Ramayana, but for us that fantasy has become reality. So it seems strange to see that story again in the form of another fantasy. It seems that the story board of the film has been given to a ten year old tech savvy child. The film has been made by a ten year old for a ten year old. But the average mental age of the level of Indian films is almost the same.
The biggest controversial point… the costume. I am not one of those people who have any objection to Ravana being Khilji or Aurangzeb. Rather, in today’s era, it is appropriate for Ravana to look like Khilji. I don’t mind even wearing the armor of Laxman and Shri Ram. I do not feel bound to see Ramayana strictly tied to Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana that every character looks like what we have seen once. Our generation is tied to Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana, it will not be easy for him to change the image. But whenever cinema is made again, the image of its characters gets a little makeover according to the new times. I found Prabhas’s physical fitness, strong body more in line with the character of Lord Ram. I always complain that we avoid seeing Rama and Krishna as their mighty warriors, and want to see them as ascetics and cowherds. We always see Krishna playing the flute, Don’t like to spin cycle. I found this mighty mighty makeover of Ram more attractive. It’s your choice…
Cinematic Experience in the end… Altogether three hours passed without looking at the clock. I found this film as bad as the average Bollywood or South films from the point of view of cinema. Not more than that. Couldn’t even watch RRR, didn’t get any headache watching it.
The problem is not that artistic liberties have been taken in this film… within reasonable limits, they must be taken. The problem is that there is no artistic creativity. There is no talent in Bollywood that can do justice to this film. For example, if a film was made on Gandhi, it was made by Attenborough, if Manmohan Desai had made it, how would it have been made? So should the work of making a film on Ram Katha be outsourced to Attenborough or Spielberg? At present, according to the level of Bollywood, this film has been made par for the course. Average, as bad as Bollywood movies get. It is not as grand as Ramkatha should be, it is not as bad as it is being told. In a country where RRR is a superhit, where superstars Jitendra and Mithun have been, this film will do well, no wonder…
÷The Author Is A Doctor In London÷
