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EXCLUSIVE: Om Raut on Ram Navami, Prabhas & More: ‘Adipurush means the best man and not the first man’
In an exclusive chat with Pinkvilla, Om Raut opens up about the importance of Ram Navami, adapting Ramayana for a big screen with Adipurush, casting Prabhas as Lord Ram and lot more. Read details
These days, director Om Raut has invested all his energies in adapting Ramayana for the big screen with Adipurush. The feature film features Prabhas as Lord Ram and is currently in the post production stage. The filmmaker considers Ram Navami an auspicious occasion, which marked the beginning of victory of good over evil. “Gudi Padwa is the beginning of Hindu New Year and it’s fascinating how in the same month; Prabhu Ram was also born. Now what’s this? It’s not a coincidence, there is some science to it. It’s fascinating for my scientific brain, and this is the power of Prabhu Ram. The stars are aligned in such a way that all the good qualities of humans rest with him,” he explains.
He adds, “It’s the beginning of our celebration of the victory of good over evil. We have to remember that all the good things in life come from Prabhu Ram. He has influenced us so much – be it directly or indirectly. He has taught us a lot through his tenure on Earth. Prabhu Ram has a tremendous influence on us and hence, Ram Navami is important too.” Ramayana is a subject that’s close to the hearts of millions of Indian’s. Om corrects, “Not just Indian’s, it’s a subject close to half a billion people in this world. We know that Ramayana happened in our land, but it Is practiced in 22 countries across the globe.”
Gudi Padwa is the beginning of Hindu New Year and it’s fascinating how in the same month; Prabhu Ram was also born. Now what’s this? It’s not a coincidence, there is some science to it. It’s fascinating for my scientific brain
Om Raut
Calling it a passion project, the director says, “The subject is so positive that the energy translates into the process of working with the entire team. There is a certain amount of passion that the subject brings with itself.” It’s a challenging subject and Om Raut confesses that it’s difficult to encapsulate the entire story in a feature film screenplay. “It’s impossible to encapsulate Ramayana into a motion poster. That’s what I feel, though somebody else might have a better way of telling the story. It wasn’t possible for me to show Ramayana in 3 hours. So, I looked at it differently. Prabhu Ram has the best human qualities and that’s why he is known as Purushottama. Shri Ram is the best and by Adipurush, we mean the best man and not the first man. In Adipurush, I have tried to understand the qualities of Parakrami Ram, the Param Veer. With this, it became relatively easy for me to lay out the screenplay and for the purpose of this film, I looked at Prabhu Ram as Parakrami.”
Prabhas has time and again revealed how playing lord Ram on the screen is a big responsibility. Raut insists that there isn’t anyone better than Prabhas for the part. “I have tried to understand Prabhu Ram to the best of my ability and I will keep on understanding for the rest of my life. To my knowledge, eyes are a reflection of heart and Prabhas is such a pure soul that his eyes are calm. With his eyes, I got closest to my imagination of Prabhu Ram. Every time I cut to him, his soul get’s reflected through his eyes, and that’s extremely pure,” he exults.
And what about casting Saif Ali Khan as Ravan? “His passion for cinema. Believe me, I was just speaking to him about a scene which we had shot a year back and he was checking if it was done well. We still speak of Tanhaji and he even believes that some of it could have been shot better. He loves cinema and that’s why the performance,” he answers. The film features Kriti Sanon as Sita. Om signs off promising a visual spectacle without giving much of an insight about what he has created.
I have tried to understand Prabhu Ram to the best of my ability and I will keep on understanding for the rest of my life. To my knowledge, eyes are a reflection of heart and Prabhas is such a pure soul that his eyes are calm
Om Raut
“I think you have to see the visuals. There is a language of photography to the film and there’s also a look that I am trying to achieve. It’s extremely difficult to explain but there is a distinct language to photography,” he concludes. The movie is gearing up for a January 2023 release. The visuals and other assets of Adipurush are expected to be unveiled towards the last quarter of 2022.
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