Prabhas’ superhero film ‘Adipurush’ to release in January 2023

NEW DELHI: Baahubali star Prabhas’s mythological superhero film Adipurush, co-starring Kriti Sanon and Saif Ali Khan, will arrive in cinemas on 12 January, 2023. The film has been directed by Om Raut known for Ajay Devgn’s Tanhaji- The Unsung Warrior. It was earlier slated for August 2022 but had to be pushed to make place for Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chadha.

To be sure, a clutch of mythological films is on the cards for Bollywood in the coming months. Akshay Kumar has unveiled his plan to work in a movie called Ram Setu that he said would be an attempt to ‘keep alive the ideals of Ram in the consciousness of all Bharatiyas by building a bridge (setu) that will connect generations to come.’ Filmmaker Pahlaj Nihalani also has a film coming up titled Ayodhya Ki Katha based on Lord Ram. These mythological tales have transcended generations in their appeal, said filmmakers. Bollywood’s intent to tap into the wider cultural, nationalist sentiment brewing in India has been evident for a while now. Former censor board chief Nihalani had announced his film a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ayodhya in August 2020 to lay the foundation stone of the Ram temple.

“This kind of Indian storytelling that blends mythology with history is what generations have grown up on across classes and it plays a very important role in our lives. It is a genre that only grows stronger with time," Vikram Malhotra, chief executive officer, Abundantia Entertainment that is co-producing Ram Setu, had said in an earlier interview to Mint. That storytelling element is the building block of lives in India, a country whose culture is extremely rich with documented mythology, Malhotra had added.

In fact, Hindi cinema has also more than embraced the surge in nationalism with films like Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior (Rs.269 crore), Uri: The Surgical Strike (Rs. 244 crore), and a host of political biopics in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.