The only saving grace in the latest adaptation, in animation, of the great Indian epic - Ramayan, is the director's knack for architecture and locales as is evident in the depiction of Ayodhya, Lanka and Kishkinda. The rest is all frustratingly average, the non-expressive faces, the lack of depth in the characters, the brief dull fight sequences, the events displayed as a formality than with any cinematic ambition. The voices of Manoj Bajpayee, Juhi Chawla, Ashutosh Rana (Ravan) and Mukesh Rishi (Hanuman) are all effective, but the dull depiction lets them down.
Such potentially arresting scenarios - Hanuman's burning of Lanka, Indrajit's fight with Laxman, the chase for the golden deer, Jatayu's valiant death, Ram's slaying of Ravan, the Sugreev-Bali fight are all pushed away like some beginner's course in animation. The background music, grating in parts, doesn't help too. A 100-minute cold dish, this is one of the most testing movies ever.
Instead get hold of...
Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama (1992) - a Japanese/ Indian animation version of the epic. The dubbed Hindi version is a treat too with the voices of Amrish Puri, Arun Govil (The1980's live-action TV serial Ram) and a lively soundtrack by Vanraj Bhatia.
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