It has been a solid year for epics, and about time too. After a stretch in which cinemas seemed to run on sequels and franchises, big, old-fashioned myth-making has returned to the screen, and Ramayana: Rise of a Legend is among the boldest examples. The first half of Nitesh Tiwari’s two-part adaptation of the ancient Indian epic runs for more than three hours, and it arrived in Hong Kong on 12 November, exclusively at Broadway Cinemas.
All images are courtesy of Sony Pictures.
The Ramayana is one of India’s foundational epics, and it is a story known to more than two billion people. At its centre is Prince Ram of Ayodhya, presented in the film as an earthly avatar of the god Vishnu, who is sent into 14 years of exile after palace intrigue. His wife Sita is abducted by Ravana, the ten-headed ruler of Lanka, and Ram sets out across the three realms of gods, humans and the underworld to bring her back, with his younger brother Lakshman at his side.
Ranbir Kapoor plays Ram, Sai Pallavi plays Sita and Yash plays Ravana, with Ravie Dubey as Lakshman and Sunny Deol as Hanuman. Tiwari, who directed Dangal, is behind the camera, the score is by Hans Zimmer and A.R. Rahman, and the visual effects come from DNEG, the studio run by producer Namit Malhotra and known for Dune and Inception.
The scale is part of the story. The production cost more than US$200 million, a record for an Indian film, while Malhotra has put the combined budget of both parts at around US$500 million, a figure that reportedly includes marketing, according to Outlook India. The film opened worldwide on 5 November.
The response has been warm on spectacle and more divided on emotion. Khaleej Times was among the most enthusiastic, saying the film “sets a new benchmark” for Indian craftsmanship and crediting DNEG’s effects and the Zimmer and Rahman score, although it noted that the film occasionally falls short on spiritual depth.
On the performances, Yash’s Ravana is the most consistently praised element of the film. The visual effects were a talking point before the film even opened. When the trailer was released, some viewers criticised the CGI, prompting Kapoor to defend the VFX work, according to Outlook India, and a few reviews of the finished film echo that complaint.
Despite the CGI debate, the film held my attention for its full length. The effects build the world of the epic rather than distract from it, and the stakes stay high throughout, which is no small feat across more than three hours. A few of the longer fight sequences could have been tighter, but the pace never lost me.
For viewers who know the story only loosely, it also works as an introduction to a vast body of mythology, and since the film ends mid-story, it leaves you wanting the next chapter – and I’m already excited for it.
Ramayana: Rise of a Legend is directed by Nitesh Tiwari and runs 208 minutes. It plays in Hindi with Chinese and English subtitles, exclusively at Broadway Cinemas in Hong Kong from 12 November.
