Exclusive | Siya Ke Ram's Aashiesh Sharrma slams Adipurush: 'A cultural crime, lazy attempt at Ramayana'

Adipurush, directed by Om Raut, has generated a firestorm of controversy and public outrage. It is an adaptation of the epic Ramayana and features Baahubali star Prabhas in the role of Rama and Kriti Sanon in the role of Sita, respectively. Saif Ali Khan essays the role of demon king Ravana. Also starring Sunny Singh, Devdatta Nage, Vatsal Sheth, Sonal Chauhan, and others, it was shot simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu to maximise its chances at the box office. Despite a humongous budget, the collections have been tepid and the studio will most likely lose money. And it does not look like word-of-mouth will be of any help. The dialogues, visual effects, and costumes have ignited a lot of criticism, with fans calling some of the lines indecent and objectionable.

In an exclusive interview, actor Aashiesh Sharrma, who portrayed Rama on the small screen in Siya Ke Ram series, shared his thoughts on Adipurusha, expressing disappointment regarding the film. Here are some edited excerpts.

Q. What are your thoughts on Adipurush and its portrayal of Rama? What specifically did you find disappointing or objectionable?

Where do I start? I was really excited initially because I thought our cinema is waking up to our scriptures. We've been so ignorant of our own scriptures for a long time. And finally, it seemed we are waking up. You go in with that kind of expectation, and then you see something like that and then it really disappoints from an audience point of view. And also from an actor's and an artists'point of view, it is even more disappointing. The film lacks intent and research. It is a lazy attempt at making Ramayana and it's like you've made it out of WhatsApp forwards. You're trying to play to the gallery and it shows in the content. It's like just trying to cash in on to the Hindu wave in the nation right now.

If one sets out to make something like this in India, it comes with a huge responsibility — not as a maker, but as a conscious citizen. Because cinema and literature are two mediums that educate a generation, even the subsequent 10 generations. And if you're claiming that we are making it for Gen Z, then the responsibility is even bigger. You cannot distort history and facts. You have to be very, very authentic and honest in your depiction so that they can watch and learn from it. If you are distorting our history then it becomes a cultural crime for me.

Q. As somebody who has played Rama, what qualities do you believe are essential to capture the essence of the character?

The basic things are humility and honesty. All that [Ram's qualities] are mentioned in popular fiction too, that he was truthful and genuine. So if you are not clear there, it becomes very difficult to portray Rama. What we used to do to play Rama, we did not impose our thoughts on Ram. We need to understand Rama's perspective to portray him. 'What would Ram say? What would Ram do?' They [Adipurush makers] are trying to portray what theythink about Ram. Nobody's interested in that. People want to know what Ram thinks. There is no emotion in the film. You do not connect to anything.

Q. Do you think this is the case of focussing too much on visual spectacle at the expense of storytelling?

I think our filmmakers are suffering from an inferiority complex. We have a colonised mindset. We feel shame in depicting our culture, our society the way it is and the way it has been. Rather than taking pride in it, we try to ape the Western style of filmmaking. I understand they are much more advanced in technology. So take the technology, use the resources, but tell an Indian story! Do not tell a Westernised version of an Indian story Very few of our filmmakers have a truly India-rooted outlook towards our own culture and society. We do not make such brains right now. So it's really difficult to see authentic stuff right now.

Q. How important is it to you that adaptations and portrayals of mythological epics stay true to the source material?

There cannot be a retelling of things, there can only be inspired versions of them. Now, our scriptures, our epics... they are written in a way that they will inspire 10,000 things in you. That is the beauty of them. When we read them my interpretation will be different from yours. They force you to find yourself. I tell you what, every depiction of a hero or heroin, or a villain ever in Indian cinema is inspired by either Ramayana or Mahabharata. They all have emerged from these stories. We look to our heroes for the same qualities that Ram or Krishna had.

So you make whatever you want to make! Who's stopping you? But when we have set out to make a depiction of an epic, it has to be true to the events described, history, and context. If I am making Ramayana, I have to get things right. If I do not do that, I am rewriting history and nobody has given me the right. We are not Tulsidas or Valmiki to recreate Ramayana. That is where the line should be drawn.

Q. Do you think there are any positive aspects of Adipurush that should be acknowledged despite all the criticism?

I think two things one is the sheer imagination of the fact that how the battle would have gone. There are things to see in those scenes. Then Saif's acting, his screen presence. He has done work on himself and it reflects on screen. He's brought some nuances here and there and he really captures the screen.

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