'Adipurush' has been flooded with negativity ever since its teaser was out. The focus has been on the visuals, the unrealistic looks of Ravana and Hanuman, the ingenuine portrayal of Sita by Kriti Sanon, and, most importantly, the "Shaktiman-type graphics".
Leaving aside the "poor quality" graphics, director Om Raut may have gotten the character development of Ravana so wrong. Dr Kiran Kumar Karlapu, a bureaucrat with a keen interest in mythological movies, says that NT Rama Rao's portrayal of Ravana stayed true to the traits of the villain of the Ramayana. "Ravana was arrogant that he was learned, arrogant that he had the boon of Brahma and blessings of Shiva, arrogant that he ruled over an impenetrable Lanka. You can see that arrogance personified in NT Rama Rao. Ravana was certainly not a maniac like Saif Ali Khan portrays him," Karlapu writes.
Let's assume that the Hindi audience haven't seen NTR's movies and therefore, they won't draw comparisons while watching 'Adipurush'. Even so, portraying villains as dark, menacing men is no more glamorous to the audience. When 'Brahmastra' was released, the routine portrayal of Junoon as an obviously evil woman was criticized for the same reason. Om Raut may have done a mistake with characterization by injecting outdated thinking.
