Mahakavya Shri Ramayan Katha Review: Rajniesh Duggal And Anjali Arora Fail To Salvage This ‘Epic’ Film That’s Overloaded With Amateur Performances And Graphics

Director: Abhishek Singh

Cast: Dev Sharma, Anjali Arora, Sheel Verma, Rajniesh Duggal, Nirbhay Wadhwa

Where: In theatres

Rating: 1.5

With a simple film like Hanuman Ansh proving to be a monster hit at the box office, it comes as no surprise that other filmmakers are following the same path to test their luck. This week’s release Mahakavya Shri Ramayan Katha seems to be an attempt in that direction. Whether this film shines at the box office or bites the dust remains to be seen.

The film starts with a young boy Shashwat, visiting the holy land of Ayodhya with his family. While his family decides to go to the temple, Shashwat decides to stay back. That’s when he meets a 'sadhu' who tells him all about Ramayana.

The audience is then graphically introduced to Jay and Vijay, who are cursed to be the demons Ravan (Rajneish Duggal) and Kumbhakaran. What follows is a series of events, including Sita Maata’s swayamvar, Shri Ram’s vanvaas, and the ultimate battle between Lord Rama and the evil Ravana to bring back Sita Mata to Ayodhya. What happens after that forms the rest of the film.

Actors' performance

This is one of those films that will make you look at your watch and the exit gates more often than at the actors’ performances. The pick of the lot is Dev Sharma, who looks sincere in the role of Lord Rama. Despite the comparatively lesser screen time, Rajniesh Duggal looks convincing as the evil Ravana.

The presence of Anjali Arora in a de-glam role of Sita Mata only adds to the flaws of the already anguished film. The way she struggles with her role seems to match the audience’s feelings while watching this film! Besides them, no other actor is worth mentioning for obvious reasons.

Direction, Music and Aesthetics

One really wonders what went through the mind of the film’s director, Abhishek Singh, for making a film of this stature! As a director, Abhishek offers absolutely no novelty in this film that no other filmmaker has attempted before or that we have seen earlier.

While the cinematography and editing look fairly decent, our heart goes out for the graphics used in this film, which look like a summer project done by final-year students learning animation and VFX! While the costumes deserve a special mention, the prosthetics act as a speed breaker!

For the lack of any memorable hook track, the film’s music fails to impress. On the other hand, the background music holds the film together!

FPJ Verdict

The film suffers on all levels—a not-so-appealing trailer, amateur VFX, negligible PR and publicity, and forgettable performances… the list is endless. Our advice is that ‘Lord Rama’ won’t mind you skipping this film as his disciple ‘Hanuman’ is already shining at the box office!