SangamYadagiri

I just watched Kalki 2898 AD and it is a great movie in terms of experience and of movie making almost on par with Marvel's Avengers and Rajamouli's Bahubali and RRR. We cannot compare it with anything else as it's a unique film and bends genres though it could fall in Sci-Fi and dystopian genres with a mix of mythology.

There is a strong foundation to the story as the main characters like Ashwathama and Karna are derived from the great epic Mahabharata. It's about a modern-day avatar of Vishnu, in the last of Dashavathara, who is believed to have descended to earth to protect the world from evil forces. The main characters trying to protect the soon-to-be-born Kalki forms the crux of the story. The story is set 800+ years in the future, so dystopian background suits the era. Sky is the limit for the franchise and the large scale is apt.

Story-wise, it's perfect and Nag Ashwin dealt with the story, screenplay and direction very well. There are no romantic songs like most of the Indian movies do and hence no distraction. The narration is non-linear in manner but jumps back and forth to each character at the right time giving equal weight to all characters while moving on with the narration.

There are a lot of cameos including RGV, Rajamouli, Vijay Devarakonda delivering funny and punch dialogue in between which gave the movie some comic relief amidst serious proceedings. Action sequences are composed very well and graphics are top notch.

I thought the story would be concluded, but the characters are not given proper closure, so there are going to be more sequels as it's announced that this movie is a part of Kalki cinematic universe.

In terms of acting, Prabhas, as usual, did very good being him self playing the main protagonist. Amitabh's character Ashwathama spans almost 6000 years and he did extremely well. Deepika plays a crucial role. Kamal's role is brief though the mail antagonist of the movie, living for 200 years, but it would be expanded in the sequels. Background score by Santosh Naryanan is good giving the feel of an epic movie. Especially, the movie watching experience is good on a large format theater with very good sound effects.

I watched the Divergent series and the rebellion groups in divergent, the war-torn cities in insurgent, and the modernization of bureau of genetic welfare in allegiant resemble the dystopian and futuristic elements shown in Kalki but the resemblance stops there as the story of Kalki has a stronger foundation and much more to offer in the upcoming sequels, well, hopefully!

Overall, it's an epic movie watching experience depicting Indian mythology.

To begin with, Robert J Oppenheimer, the physicist who led the Manhattan Project, famously quoted the Bhagavad Gita after witnessing the first successful nuclear explosion at the Trinity test site in Los Alamos New Mexico. He said, "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds". Intentionally or unintentionally, he was just doing his karma, but the consequences were enormous as we have encountered in the past and possibly will in the future.

The movie is more about the political affairs of Oppenheimer. The science behind the nuclear fission is not covered in great detail, but moral dilemma experienced by him post invention and aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and his concern for the planet gives the moves a closure.

Murphy's acting is top notch. Nolan's direction is excellent, as always. This is Nolan's first biopic and he did the best work yet! It's a brilliant movie making, undoubtedly, especially given Nolan's top notch screenplay and direction, coupled with the IMAX cameras that give the viewer the best experience when watched on the biggest screen possible.

There are many references to quantum physics and a brief interaction of Oppenheimer with Einstein. A major part of the movie goes into the investigation of Oppenheimer's involvement in conspiracy to spy, and being a communist, which was more of a political will.

The basic idea and usage of powerful weapons like Brahmastra were mentioned in the Indian scriptures Ramayana and Mahabharatha, which gives the indication that the WMD might have been invented and used since antiquity. They might have already realized the power lying within each atom and used it for the good and seen it as the revelation of divine power then as opposed to the plutonium-239 and uranium-235 isotopes be used for evil purposes in this age.

Overall, it's a must watch for all science and movie buffs!

Adipurush is predominantly an Indian Hindu mythological devotional movie. Taking it as a superhero movie will not work. It's basically about the triumph of good over evil. Seeing it on the big screen, I felt transported to Threthayuga when Rama fought Ravana fought his righteousness. The movie is a retelling of Ramayana from Vanavasa (serving a 14-year exile in the wilderness) to Yuddakanda (ultimate war between Rama and Ravana in Lanka) with computer generated graphics mostly the backdrops and additional characters like vanaras and demons. Because it's a beloved mythological story, we do not need explanations and details which are obviously omitted to fit in the length of the file which is near 3 hours.

The songs by Ajay-Atul are very soulful and fit the mood of the movie and transcending. The characters portrayed by Prabhas as Raghava, Kriti as Janaki, Saif as Ravana and Devdatta as Bhajrang are very befitting. In fact, they make the beloved story much more comprehensible through their expressions. The narration is very simple and yet contains the major incidents and details which are crucial for the viewer to feel the proceedings rather than just watching them but at the same time omit the minor details which are present in the scriptures. Direction mostly focuses on the emotional aspects of the film and tries to enhance the viewing experience rather than making the viewer indulging in the chronological occurrences of that period of time, which are obviously present in the books and TV series.

It has been a controversy causing movie since it offended the sentiments of masses due to the deviation of narration and some dialogue from the source material but what I felt is that it's just an another adaption of Ramayana. We cannot compare it with Ramanand Sagar's 80's TV series Ramayana as it was also an adaption of Tulisidas's Ramcharitmanas. So, there is no truth in any adaption or interpretation of the story as the original story by Valmiki itself was his own interpretation of what happened during the Thretayuga.

Prabhas excels as Raghava and Saif excels as Ravana and Kriti is believable as Janaki. Though there is more focus on Ravana for establishing the fact that the greater the evil the greater the victory of good over it. Music is very soulful especially the title track Ram Siya Ram and background score is apt. Production values are good, though computer generated, considering the fact that it's the most expensive Indian film by far.

Despite some flaws, I just suspended my disbelief during some scenes where there was an exaggeration of dialogue or lack of some precise CGI or over-use of CGI and color tone and it worked for me and could enjoy the movie for what it is. At least, it's much better than the junk shown in marvel movies which are completely factitious comic-based. Ramayana is not factitious as it's proven happened for real by the archeological evidences in Ayodhya time and time again. So, the real legacy of Raghuvamsa is translated on screen with CIG enhancements for the audiences' watching pleasure and taking it that way is the only option or if one is to point out the mistakes in it would simply mean that one cannot enjoy anything that's presented for grasping.

The Ramayana story, no matter how it is told, is timeless and timely - timeless because the story is first of its kind, true and eternal and timely because the values still hold good in modern times. It's not just about the war between Rama and Ravana but the fighting ones inner demons which are much worse than 10-headed Ravanasara and can be applied to ones own complete inner conflicts rather than to external entities, as a takeaway.

Overall, from what I have experienced, Adipurush is the best adaption of Ramayana by far - 11 out of 10 stars!