Ram Setu (film)

Did You Know?

• The film's score was composed by Daniel B. George.
• A mobile game featuring the main characters Dr. Aryan Kulshrestha, Sandra, and AP was released in October 2022.

Plot

Dr Aryan Kulshreshtha, an ASI archaeologist and atheist, discovers the treasure of Raja Dahir and a large reclining Buddha statue near the Buddhas of Bamyan in Afghanistan with an international team. In 2007, he drafts a report for the Supreme Court of India stating the Ramayana is fiction, leading to public outrage and his suspension. Aryan, with Dr Sandra Rebello and Dr Gabrielle, finds the structure is about 18,000 years old, predating Rama, but further investigation suggests it may have been man-made around 7,000 years ago, possibly by Rama. Indrakant reveals his true intent to demolish the Setu and orders their assassination. During an underwater mission, the trio is trapped in a malfunctioning submarine but rescued by a mysterious man named AP, who takes them to a remote island in Sri Lanka amidst the civil war. Gabrielle is killed, but Aryan, Sandra, and AP continue research, finding evidence linking the Ram Setu to the Ramayana and proof of Ravana's existence. Aryan presents his findings in court, halting the canal project. Later, Aryan discovers AP is actually Lord Hanuman in disguise.

Production

The film's director, Abhishek Sharma, first started working on the story in 2007 after finding out about a legal case concerning Ram Setu. The movie is a co-production involving Akshay Kumar's mother, Aruna Bhatia, and Vikram Malhotra, with backing from Cape of Good Films, Abundantia Entertainment, Lyca Productions, and Amazon Prime Video. It is Amazon's first Bollywood project in India. Bhatia passed away in September 2021. Chandraprakash Dwivedi was brought on as creative producer. The production team used the 2004 book Dating The Era of Lord Ram and consulted archaeologists and other specialists. In early March 2021, Jacqueline Fernandez and Nushrratt Bharuccha were cast as leads opposite Kumar, and Satyadev joined in June 2021 for his Hindi film debut. The film was officially announced on 14 November 2020. A ceremonial first shot and puja took place on 18 March 2021 at the Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya. Filming started on 30 March 2021 in Mumbai, where a large set was built on Madh Island. On 4 April, Kumar tested positive for COVID-19, and the next day 45 crew members also tested positive, causing an indefinite halt. Co-producer Malhotra disputed the number, saying only 25 people tested positive at an off-site location and were removed from the crew.

Release

In June 2022, reports suggested an OTT release due to underperformance of Kumar's earlier films, but the filmmakers denied this. Ram Setu was theatrically released on 25 October 2022 under Zee Studios Worldwide Release during Diwali. It began streaming on Amazon Prime Video from 23 December 2022.

Reception

Ram Setu opened with expectations of a good box office performance due to the Diwali holiday season, competing with Thank God and gaining a higher share of collections. Its opening day domestic collection was ₹ crore, and second day ₹ crore, becoming the second biggest opening of the year after Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva. Worldwide gross reached ₹ crore as of 24 November. The film received negative reviews. Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express rated it 1.5/5, calling it a pedestrian experience. Anna M. M. Vetticad of Firstpost described it as a Hindutva project with limp storytelling and amateur visual effects, praising Satyadev's performance. Namrata Joshi of Screen International wrote that the plot lacks imagination and originality, portraying Hindu supremacy and victimhood, and deemed it a propaganda film. Subhash K. Jha of Firstpost argued the film depends on Hindutva ideology and noted that criticism of it as pro-establishment propaganda is baseless, finding the cast dull except for Satyadev.