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Whenever there is talk of the confluence of grandeur, mythological saga and modern technology in the history of Indian cinema, the name of the mega-budget film ‘Ramayana’ directed by Nitish Tiwari and produced by Namit Malhotra will be recorded in golden letters. This film, which is making historic earnings at the box office in the first week of its release, has not only won the hearts of the general audience, but has also made veteran filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, who is considered the most outspoken and harsh critic of the film industry, his admirer. Ram Gopal Varma watched ‘Ramayana’ in theaters for the second time in just seven days of its release and then shared a long, sharp and extremely analytical post on social media platform X, which has sent the entire Bollywood into a tizzy.
Ram Gopal Varma has made it clear in the beginning of his detailed review that his analysis is not from the perspective of a sentimental ‘Ram devotee’, but from the neutral perspective of a professional film director and a pure cinematic viewer. He wrote that incidentally he is an atheist in his personal life, hence he is not saying this out of any religious prejudice or blind devotion. RGV hit out at critics who questioned the film’s music or emotional depth, saying it lacked ‘soul’. Verma bluntly said that the soul of this film resides in its unimaginable and huge scale, which is not within the power of ordinary thinking critics to understand.
While praising the film’s visual effects, CGI and world-class production design, Ram Gopal Varma launched a direct and extremely scathing attack on the mainstream producers of the traditional Hindi film industry, i.e. Bollywood. He wrote in his familiar outspoken style that no Hindi filmmaker had the courage to even imagine the heroic feat that producer Namit Malhotra has done through this film. This film is a slap on the face of those lazy, limited and old-fashioned producers of Bollywood, who for years were sleeping considering modest budget and mediocre films as the pinnacle of Indian cinema.
Using very strong words, RGV wrote that this is a strong slap on the face of Bollywood people and a strong kick on their personal ego from Namit Malhotra, so that they wake up from their deep Kumbhakarni sleep. He said that Bollywood should see and learn what a person can achieve from Indian soil if he has an unwavering will, a clear vision and the courage to use world-class technology properly. Verma also claimed that in comparison to the technical structure and grandeur of ‘Ramayana’, today even the best and most expensive Hollywood films seem like just an ordinary ‘stage play’.
While doing a technical analysis of the film’s scenes, Ram Gopal Varma particularly mentioned the sky battle sequence between Ravana and Mahabali Jatayu. He said that the way the duel between Jatayu and Ravana has been visualized on the screen, it took the breath away of the audience sitting in the cinema hall. Apart from this, bringing the idea of ten heads of Ravana on screen in mythological context has always been a big cinematic challenge, but the ease with which the ten heads of Ravana were depicted in this film, with modern CGI and scary effects, has become a new milestone in the history of Indian VFX.
While reviewing the acting of the actors, Ram Gopal Varma praised superstar Yash who played the role of Lankapati Ravana. He said that the intensity with which Yash has brought Ravana’s aura, arrogance, bravery and his inner complexities to life on screen has undoubtedly become the best and most immortal performance of his entire acting career so far. At the same time, he saluted the restrained acting of Ranbir Kapoor for bringing the calm, gentle and divine form of Maryada Purushottam Lord Shri Ram on screen. Along with this, he also worked with Oscar winner A.R. Rahman and Hollywood’s legendary composer Hans Zimmer’s background score and Nitish Tiwari’s careful direction were praised openly.
Ram Gopal Varma also raised serious questions on film reviews and the star rating system. He said that weighing an epoch-making film like ‘Ramayana’ on the scale of rating of one, two or three stars is actually an open insult to India’s cultural heritage and the technical progress of Indian cinema. Comparing this epic film with India’s world famous wonder ‘Taj Mahal’, he said that just as one cannot make a simple review of the Taj Mahal after seeing its stones, similarly this work of Nitesh Tiwari and Namit Malhotra is the Taj Mahal of Indian cinema, which can only be felt and one can be proud of it.
At the end of his detailed post, Ram Gopal Varma made a prediction regarding the future of box office and cinema which has forced the entire film industry to think. He wrote that ‘Ramayana’ has set a new global scale and benchmark for Indian cinema which will be impossible for any existing or upcoming film to touch. RGV wrote while predicting that if in future any film can leave behind the huge record and grandeur created by this ‘Ramayana’, then it will be only the upcoming second part of this film i.e. Part-2.