Mahayoddha Rama movie review: Mythology gone wrong

Voices of: Jimmy Shergill, Kunal Kapoor, Sameera Reddy, Gulshan Grover
Director: Rohit Vaid

 

Viewers need to be warned: Please don’t be confused by the title of the new animated feature Mahayoddha Rama, for, the title may suggest Lord Ram’s story, but it isn’t entirely; it’s narrated from the perspective of Ravan. And, even when it’s Ravan in the centrestage, he is more of a man on a mission to destroy the Vishnu avatar, i.e. Ram, and there seems to be no mention of his erudition, or his valiant spirit. All that the dense mythology does is to become more convoluted plot as director Rohit Vaid tries to infuse the epic tale with his own additions, some of which viewers may find quite bizarre. For instance, some of old loyalists may not like the idea of painting the daughter of Earth and worshipped as a Goddess, Sita, as a little warrior princess more of a martial arts expert.

The story begins with Ravan meditating on a mountain and invoking Brahma to grant him his wishes. As the 10 heads begin to mouth their own opinion one by one, you realise that you are in for a less familiar mythological ride that you seem to know nothing about. Some funny one-liners add zing to this age-old story. Armed with his typical bow and arrow, protagonist Ram is in a new avatar that makes Sita fall for him instantly. All other familiar accounts remain intact: be it Sita’s swayamwar; or Ram’s early life, Ram and Sita’s marriage, Ram going on 14-year exile, Ram’s archery skills, Surpanakha’s nose-cutting, Ram chasing the golden deer on Sita’s insistence.

I have no complaints regarding the cinematic liberty or the changes in this Indian literary and religious adaptation. In fact, the all-new Sita could be a delight for some. I am not even trying to run down the new version’s attempt to bring in a fresh perspective. But the long-running war between the powerful and noble good versus the rogue evil turns puerile, after the initial round of a few punches dry up. Quite understandably, thereafter, there was nothing left for me to remain glued. And this, mind you, despite good technologically-advanced animation that the film could boast of.

The mystical realm of Ayodhya, the appearance and disappearance of birds guarded by the animal kingdom, the smart ideas of incorporating supernatural tools which could easily pass off as the modern day gadgets — all contribute to making the theatrical experience of such a massively mounted film interesting. However, adding some sparkle in bits and prices to a legendary tale is hardly the reason why anyone would love a film like this. At a time when children are hooked on to the tube devouring state-of-the-art animation right into their bedrooms, a mere technology-aided storytelling needs much more heft than just a few flashes of skilled smartness here and there.

What is also unbearable, at times, is the earsplitting background score: so loud it sounds that as a reflex action, you wish you could close your eyes to diminish the assault. Also, some of us grown-ups too, adore animation films. So why couldn’t the producers think of dishing out something to the adults, as well? To be fair, Mahayoddha Rama works best in its action sequences, which rely on dynamic angles, well-designed superpowers, all playing out well. But the slick animation and exciting battles lose their novelty eventually, and there’s just not enough in the way of edge-of-the-seat storytelling or vivid characters to compensate.

Produced by Contiloe Pictures, the CG production has the voices of Jimmy Shergill (as Laxman), Mukesh Rishi (as Hanuman), Lillette Dubey (as Kaikayee), Sameera Reddy (as Sita), while Gulshan Grover, Gaurav Gera, Kiku Sharada, Roshan Abbas, Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Ameen Sayani, have lent their voices to Ravan. Vaid and his team of animators aim for hyper-realism with the facial expressions of the characters nuanced, and keeping the visual textures rich. Wish they had more substance too, to make us enjoy this 106-minute film.

The writer is a film critic and has been reviewing films for over 15 years. He also writes on music, art and culture, and other human interest stories.