That India will never be fully satiated with the Ramayana. That says everything! Since the trailer of Prime Focus fame, producer Namit Malhotra’s ultimate dream project, Ramayana, was launched during the Brahma Muhurt this morning, the response has been nothing short of phenomenal.
More than one crore views in a flat eight hours! Excellent. Incredible, all the way.
The question is: How is the trailer?
1.Full of gloss and world-class VFX, something Namit Malhotra’s companies have built their global reputation on. Whether that reputation grows manifold with Ramayana remains to be seen.
2. Too much music. With Hans Zimmer and A.R. Rahman on board, yeh toh hona hi tha. But isn’t it a little too loud on the ears? I felt so even while watching it on a desktop. What will happen when I watch it on the big screen?
3. Grand, undoubtedly. This is going to be the most ambitious and perhaps the most experimental cinematic version of the epic India has ever seen. A little Baahubali-ish, though!
4. Ranbir over Ram? Yes. Kapoor’s stardom shows, and how! At least in the initial frames, he feels more like Ranbir than Ram. Yet, who knows? This eternal charmer may well win hearts all over again. If there is one actor I would never bet against, it is Ranbir Kapoor.
5. And Sita with a bow and arrow! Wow. The bigger surprise, however, was Sai Pallavi. I never imagined she would look so perfect as Sita. Gorgeous, she’s always no discussion on it, please! Yet, I am not her biggest fan. In fact, I have liked her in only one film, Amaran. To be honest, I have watched just three or four of her films, including Premam. But I have a strong feeling she is going to be extraordinary here. She looks like a perfect screen match for Ranbir.
6. About Yash, he has good footage in the trailer. From the trailer alone, he doesn’t yet evoke the towering screen presence that Arvind Trivedi brought to Ravana. Then again, judging an entire performance from a few seconds would be unfair. I sincerely hope my opinion changes after watching the film.
7. I think dhai kilo ka haath, Super Sunny Deol Paaji is absent from the trailer. For? So that he can make a thunderous entry in the movie? Seems so!
8. What more could Nitesh Tiwari have asked for as a director than helming Ramayana that too in two parts? After Dangal and Chhichhore, this could become the brightest feather in his cap. All the very best, Nitesh!
9. Production? Well, everyone knows Namit Malhotra has bet almost everything on this film and deservedly so. If Ramayana works, it won’t just work in India. It has the potential to work across the world. With Sony Pictures backing the project, is Bollywood staring at one of its biggest global box-office successes? Will it become India’s Ne Zha? Dekhte hain!
Final word?
Barring a few minor loopholes here and there, it’s fantastic.
Diwali sudharne waali hai, mostly!
