Just how many changes did Adipurush make to Ramayana to get #BoycottAdipurush trending? (2024)

Considering that it is an adaptation of the Hindu epic Ramayana, it was obvious that filmmaker Om Raut was intent on tailoring Adipurush for the Hindu family demographic. But, now with its shoddy VFX, tacky dialogues and alleged disregard for its source material, Adipurush has found itself on the receiving end of hate from Hindus themselves.

Basic stylistic elements like Ram’s moustache and Hanuman’s leather attire (which was later digitally altered) were being criticised right when Adipurush’s first teaser dropped. But now that the entire three-hour-long debacle is in the big screens, audiences expecting any faithfulness to Hindu mythology have been disappointed with some bizarre creative liberties.

Dialogue writer Manoj Muntashir, who had quite a troll-heavy weekend, has even clarified now that Adipurush shouldn’t be seen as a Ramayan adaptation but only a story that is “inspired by the Ramayana”. This justification does little damage control as #BoycottAdipurush continues to trend on Twitter.

While the boycott gang have their own fair share of bizarre reasons to cancel Adipurush like Sita actress Kriti Sanon doing bikini photoshoots or Raavan holding meat even though he was a Brahmin, it is worth noting that Adipurush does have some glaring inaccuracies when compared to other versions of the mythological story.

Jatayu is depicted as an eagle

The heroic vulture Jatayu sacrificed himself while protecting Sita from the clutches of Raavan. However, Om Raut turns him into Vishnu’s vehicle Garud as Jatayu is presented as an eagle in Adipurush.

Jatayu has been immortalised as a vulture in artworks like Raja Ravi Varma’s Jatayu Vadh (1906). Forget Hindu artists, even the illustrated Mughal-era translations of Ravaan have presented Jatayu as a vulture.

However, one can still cut Raut some slack as Jatayu is very rarely also portrayed as an eagle. The most prominent showcase of his eagle form is the grand Jatayu sculpture at Kerala’s Jatayu Nature Park.

The Pushpak chariot becomes a bat

One big change from the original Ramayana that is not sitting well with audiences is replacing Raavan’s mystical aerial vehicle Pushpak Vimaan with a gigantic flying bat. Most mythological accounts suggest that Raavan had stolen the Pushpak from the wealth god Kuber.

While art and literature have depicted Pushpak as some sort of flying machine, it has also been depicted as a flying chariot of sorts. But Raut’s movie subscribes to none of these notions and turns Pushpak into a bat that sports some dragon-like wings. With Saif Ali Khan’s Raavan himself looking like a Khal Drogo-Jon Snow hybrid, his flying pet comes off as a poor attempt at recreating a dragon from Game of Thrones.

An Evil Dead tribute?

Legend has it that Raavan lifted Sita and abducted her once she stepped out of the protective boundary Lakshman rekha. However, Adipurush reinterprets this scene as Sita fainting and being bound by what seems like a network of vines. The unintentionally hilarious scene plays out like it’s a scene from an Evil Dead film which is infamous for depicting women being bound by such branches.

Shurpanakha had a more brutal fate

Raavan’s sister Shurpanakha was the trigger behind the battle between Raavan and Ram. It is only after Lakshman cut her nose (and in some accounts, even ears) that Raavan got enraged enough to kidnap Sita. In Adipurush, the violence is toned down to such childish levels that it is implied Lakshman barely scratches her nose.

According to Valmiki’s Ramayan and subsequent reinterpretations, Shurpnakha attempted to seduce Ram and in a fit of jealousy, even tried to kill Sita. It is at this moment that Lakshman retaliates by cutting her nose. Adipurush’s Shurpnakha just receives a mere grazing on the nose, further adding to the absurd hilarity of Om Raut’s movie.

The illusion of Sita’s death didn’t happen on the battlefield

Raavan’s son Indrajit was a master of illusions. Valmiki’s take on the story suggests that Indrajit even created the illusion of Sita’s death in front of Hanuman to break the spirit of Ram’s forces. Adipurush recreates this act of trickery on the battlefield instead.

We see Sita walking on the battlefield and Ram walking towards her for an embrace. But as he holds her, Indrajit slits her throat with a sneak attack from behind. And we see a heartbroken Ram realising it was all an illusion. While Om Raut can again justify this as a creative liberty for melodramatic purposes, some of the Hindu Twitterati are not impressed with this change.

Ram probably didn’t have a moustache

The question that everyone had from the very first look of Adipurush was, “Why does Ram have a moustache?”Most accounts and associated iconography of Ram have depicted him as a blue male (owing to his dark skinned complexion) with a clean shaven face. Prabhas, meanwhile, gets to retain his thick Baahubali-style moustache.

What else about Adipurush is triggering Hindus?

When DailyO’s Ayaan Paul went to watch Adipurush on the day of its release, some disgruntled Hindu viewers told him how they were not impressed with Raut’s decision of not mentioning the names of Ram, Lakshman, Sita and Hanuman (they are only referred to as Raghav, Shesh, Janaki and Bajrang in the movie).

Raavan is similarly addressed as Lankesh throughout Adipurush but he does mention himself as Raavan at times. The people that Ayaan Paul encountered complained that Raut retained Raavan’s name but gave secondary names to all other characters!

Raavan himself is the subject of much controversy in India with some recognising him as a Dalit king while some believe him to be a Brahman instead. Adipurush too probably describes Raavan as a Brahman who worships Shiva and wears the tripundra (three vertical lines) tilak on his forehead. But some Hindus are disgruntled by the fact that this Brahman Raavan touches meat while feeding his pet bat!

Some are even bothered that Raavan’s Lanka is being depicted as a drab city of granite instead of the grand city of gold like it used to be described in legends - Swarna Lanka!

Adipurush has become more of a meme-fest than a blockbuster with such poorly-received creative liberties. Om Raut and the Adipurush producers might have reserved a seat for Hanuman but currently, their film is being burnt much like what Hanuman did to Lanka.