Mumbai, Entertainment Bureau: Adipurush, the highly anticipated film starring Prabhas and Kriti Sanon in the lead roles as a modern rendition of Ram and Sita, faced a disappointing Monday test despite a strong opening weekend at the box office. Director Om Raut’s visually striking retelling of the Ramayan witnessed a significant drop of 78% in earnings on its fourth day, with Monday’s collections reported at ₹7.75 crore net by Box Office India. This brings the film’s total net earnings to ₹113 crore, a modest increase from ₹105 crore at the end of Sunday. The film’s controversies seem to have taken a toll on its box office performance. According to Box Office India, audiences in the Hindi belt were expecting a faithful adaptation of the Ramayan but were presented with a vastly different version.
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh, known for his candid opinions, did not mince words in his assessment. He tweeted, “The negative word of mouth has affected Adipurush. After a strong opening weekend, the film witnessed a collapse on Monday.”
THE NEGATIVE WORD OF MOUTH HAS COME INTO PLAY…
After a strong opening weekend, #Adipurush COLLAPSES on Monday.#Hindi version. #India biz. pic.twitter.com/HJT4hHT80u— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) June 19, 2023
Even prior to its release, Adipurush faced criticism for its heavy reliance on visual effects. Following its release last Friday, the reactions were overwhelmingly negative, criticizing not only the depiction of events in the Ramayan but also the dialogues, which were considered more street-oriented than mythic. Actor Devdatta Nage’s lines as Bajrang or Hanuman received particular backlash. Over the weekend, dialogue writer Manoj Muntashir defended the lines he had written in a lengthy tweet but also announced that the filmmakers had decided to revise some of the dialogue.
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Adipurush received predominantly unfavorable reviews upon its opening, although certain performances were praised. The film features Prabhas as Raghav, Kriti Sanon as Janaki, Saif Ali Khan as Lankesh or Ravan, Sunny Singh as Shesh or Lakshman, and Devdatta Nage as Bajrang.
