Ramayana: Rise of a Legend

An ambitious and visually breathtaking retelling of one of the greatest epics ever told. What makes Ramayana truly special is not just its scale, grand visuals, or technical brilliance, but the timeless story, profound emotions, and cultural significance behind it. The film carries the weight of an epic while reminding us of values that transcend generations righteousness, sacrifice, courage, devotion, and the eternal struggle between good and evil. Its larger-than-life presentation makes the experience even more immersive. Ramayana is not merely a story that deserves to be told; it is a legacy that deserves to be experienced. A promising beginning to an epic journey, leaving us eager for what comes next. Some stories entertain us. Some stay with us. Ramayana belongs to the latter.

After the Asuras are reduced to living in squalor in underground caves by the Devas, "Ravan" (the slightly over-the-top Yash), a son of their Princess, determines to seek the help of the divine Brahma in restoring his people to their rightful homes and driving out their enemies. After a lengthy quest that puts even that for the Holy Grail to shame, that sagely being allows "Ravan" to assume almost godlike powers which naturally enable him to not only defeat their ertswhile persecutors, but also to set off on a mission to conquer all of the three realms - peacefully or not! Seemingly now invulnerable, it looks like only the Protector Vishnu can challenge him and so he takes on the avatar of a newborn babe so that he may grow up (and into "Ram" - Ranbur Kapoor) in the Kingdom of Ayodhya and acquire the skills to ultimately depose this mighty warrior. He is a son of it's king, and together with his brother "Lakshman" (Ravie Dubey) grows into a powerful and adept Prince destined to rule the kingdom. He has siblings, though, and so after an advantageous wedding to the princess "Sita" (Sai Pallavi) makes "Ram" look fairly unassailable, the mother of brother "Bharat" reminds the king of a promise he made years earlier and that results in the honourable "Ram", his new wife and brother leaving their home for a simple life in the forest. All the while, "Ravan" is aware of the threat this young man poses to his rule, but luring him to his palace in far-away Lanka isn't going to be straightforward. He needs a cunning plan - but will the valiant young "Ram" succumb? This is a spectacular looking film with some gloriously pristine visual effects right from the opening scenes that are rousingly complemented by AR Rahman and Hans Zimmer's score and some sumptuous costume design, but there is a slight element of style over substance here. Even at 3¼ hours, Nitesh Tiwari still seems to have tried to cram too much history into this first instalment of his legend, and so we don't really spend enough time on the character development or explain just why Brahma gave "Ravan" quite such an all-powerful carte blanche in the first place. It also doesn't really go into the more exciting and interesting elements of the Hindu pantheon in any great detail, either, which was a shame as once we've seen the first few scenes of arrow-flying and nimble combat I started to feel it a became little repetitious. That said, Kapoor and especially Dubey bring plenty of charisma to the proceedings and the detail on the animations - especially the elegant "Jatayu" and on the flying lotus contraption, are impressive and the whole thing has something on the scale of the Cecil B. De Mille to it as the scheming machinations build to the crescendo of duplicity and bravery that we are set to see in the conclusion in 2028. It has to be seen on a big screen to appreciate the full effects of this stylish and grand production, but maybe just a little more meat on the bones of the mythology?