These two films were inspired from the same source and had the same plot and characters. Yet, the end result was very different
Imagine two films with the exact same story and characters. The plot and characterisation is also pretty similar. The only difference is that one is a box office disaster, regarded as one of the worst Indian films ever made. The other is highly regarded and the highest-rated Indian film of all time. The difference shows how the same story can work in different ways and it all boils down to the execution and direction
1. Two films with the same story and characters
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The two films in question had the same story and characters as they were based on the same epic – Ramayana. The films, like many other Indian films, told a cross section of the story from Ramayana, focussing on Lord Rama’s fight against Ravana in a bid to rescue Sita
2. The Legend of Prince Rama
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The first of these was the Indo-Japanese co-production Ramayana: The Legend of Prince, which was released in English and Hindi in 1992. The anime-style animation was praised for the treatment of the subject matter and splendid animation
3. The fiasco that was Adipurush
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The other film is the most recent one, Om Raut’s Adipurush. Bollywood’s pan-India attempt to retell the story of Ramayana, Adipurush was a colossal failure, getting slammed by the critics, many of whom labelled it the worst Indian film of 2023
4. How is The Legend of Prince Rama India’s best film
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The Legend of Prince Rama has attained a cult classic status in India. Fans have praised its simplicity as well as the voice acting in the Hindi version. It has the highest IMDb rating of all Indian films. With a rating of 9.2, it is ahead of Pather Panchali, Pyaasa, Sholay, 3 Idiots, Black Friday and Naayakan
5. All about The Legend of Prince Rama
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Directed by Koichi Sasaki and Ram Mohan, with music composed by Vanraj Bhatia, the film’s Hindi dubbed version gained a cult following in the 90s after it was broadcast on Doordarshan. The Hindi version had voices of Arun Govil, Shatrughan Sinha, Amrish Puri among others
6. Adipurush’s box office disaster
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Directed by Om Raut, Adipurush was made on a massive budget of Rs 550 crore and banked on the star power of Prabhas, along with Saif Ali Khan and Kriti Sanon. Despite a Rs 100-crore opening day, Adipurush sank like Titanic after hitting the iceberg, managing to gross only Rs 350 crore. It lost an estimated Rs 200 crore at the box office
7. Why Adipurush tanked
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Adipurush did all the things wrong that The Legend of Prince Rama had gotten right. It tried to make Ramayana hip by tweaking the dialogue and took liberties with the narrative as well. As a result, the film fell afoul of devout religious audiences, who saw it as an affront. Even casual movie viewers found the film very mediocre and badly shot
