Your mileage may vary, but slapdash and tacky-looking special effects make the first hour (or more) of “Adipurush” feel interminable. Is it possible to see, let alone enjoy, such an archetypal story without making too many distracting comparisons, either to other movies or real-life politics? Or are those associations simultaneously the biggest draw and problem for “Adipurush,” whose Sanskrit title can be read as “ First Man,” and whose considerable budget (Rs 500 crore, or about $67 million) allegedly surpasses all prior Indian mega-productions? Honestly, the movie’s rough computer graphics might eclipse all other considerations since there’s so much bad green-screen image-compositing in “Adipurush,” and it all looks cheap and uninspired. ( Some outspoken protesters don’t like that Sanon, the actress playing Sita, “India’s Daughter,” has danced suggestively in earlier movies.) Sanon’s casting as Sita has also led to outrage and, unfortunately, effective demands for censorship. “Adipurush” just opened here in America, but it’s already controversial in India, where the writers of trend pieces, interviews, and reviews consider the implications of Lankesh’s appearance, including his weird nu-metal gel-spiked haircut, which has led to some comparisons to the Muslim leader Alauddin Khilji.
