Bollywood movies are meant to entertain, irrespective of whether they are good or not. Some movies are blockbusters, and some become box office failures. Regardless of that, this doesn’t mean that they are not entertaining. Adipurush is one of those movies that, although it was quite entertaining and had a lot of market expectations, did not quite perform the way that was expected. So here’s the ultimate question – Was Adipurush hit or flop?
Adipurush Hit or Flop: Quick Review
Adipurush is a high-budget 2023 mythology-based film that Om Raut directed. The movie was released on 16th June 2023.
Ramayana. Despite the built-up anticipation for this film, it received extremely negative reviews, thus making it a flop. The cast of the movie includes:
| Prabhas | As Raghava (Based on Lord Ram) |
| Kriti Sanon | As Janaki (Based on Sita) |
| Sunny Singh | As Shesh (Based on Lakshman) |
| Saif Ali Khan | As Lankesh (Based on Raavan) |
| Devdutta Nage | As Bajrang (Based on Hanuman) |
| Vatsal Seth | As Indrajeet |
| Tejaswini Pandit | As Shurpanakha (Lankesh/Raavan’s sister) |
| Siddharth Karnick | As Vibhishana (Lankesh/Raavan’s brother) |
| Sonal Chauhan | As Mandodari (Lankesh/Raavan’s wife) |
Main Themes
- Good over Evil: The central theme of Adipurush shows the consistency of maintaining and doing good deeds, and that good ultimately wins over evil. Sacrifice: The movie shows consistent trials that challenge Raghava and his army to keep going with several sacrifices or give up.
- Devotion and loyalty: There are unbreakable bonds between Raghava and Shesh, but more importantly, the loyalty that Bajrang has for Raghava is a central theme of the movie.
Plot of the film
Adipurush is the story of Raghava, the young and benevolent prince of Ayodhya. A royal decree has been sent out by King Dashratha to exile him to the forests, and shortly, Raghava, along with his brother Shesh and wife, Janaki, leave the palace to live in the forests.
During their time here, Janaki has an unhappy encounter with Lankesh, disguised as a holy man begging for alms. His secret agenda was to take revenge on Raghava for humiliating his sister Shurpanakha, and the hus kidnaps Janaki and leaves for Lanka.
Raghava and Shesh team up with the monkey king Sugriva, his loyal comrade Bajrang, and their army of monkeys or varanas to rescue Janaki.
While Raghava and his army build the Ram Setu bridge to get to Lanka, Bajrang flies to the island and wreaks havoc and secretly meets Janaki. Towards the climax of the film, Lankesh’s brother Vibhishana decides to side with Raghava, and an epic war is declared where Lankesh’s sons Indrajeet and Kumbhakarna fight courageously but end up giving their lives.
Raghava and Lankesh have an epic showdown, and the former ultimately kills Lankesh and frees his wife Janaki. Upon returning to Ayodhya, Raghava is crowned the king, thus showing the victory of good over evil.
Adipurush Movie Budget vs Collection
Reportedly, this was one of the most expensive movies and even had a pretty decent opening in its first week, but the collections started declining within the second week.
- Given the massive production budget, the anticipation was sky-high, and so were the expectations because the cast was quite strong.
- Box office tracking sources even reported that the Indian net collection closed at below INR 300 crore, and the worldwide collection stood at INR 350-390 crores.
| Budget | Collection |
| Production was INR 400-700 crores | Worldwide collection was INR 350-390 crores |
Adipurush Hit or Flop: Public Reaction
The overall public reception of the film was met with overwhelmingly negative, mostly towards its overhyped anticipation, senseless visual effects, and dialogue. This led to a sharp decline at the box office.
Audience Reviews
Many viewers in the audience said the film was a ‘king-sized disappointment’, with some praising the music scores, but they wouldn’t watch it in theaters and would waste money.
Trolls and Memes
The movie was criticised heavily and even became a meme on social media, with several influencers even trolling it.
Criticism of VFX
Despite the handiwork, the VFX effects failed to amaze, and in fact, it was heavily criticized for looking extremely unrealistic to viewers.
Final Verdict: Adipurush Hit or Flop?
The final verdict of the movie is that Adipurush was not just a flop, but it was a box office bomb.
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