Rudraksh (film)
A science fantasy saga blending Ramayana with modern thrills.
In 2004, the Hindi science fantasy action film Rudraksh hit Indian theaters. Directed by Mani Shankar, it featured Sanjay Dutt, Suniel Shetty, Bipasha Basu, Isha Koppikar, and Kabir Bedi. The story weaves in many allusions to the ancient epic Ramayana. Released on February 13, 2004, the movie was panned by critics and bombed at the box office.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Mani Shankar
- Producer
- Dr. Manmohan Shetty; Sohail Maklai
- Starring
- Sanjay Dutt
- Suniel Shetty
- Bipasha Basu
- Isha Koppikar
- Music
- Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy
- Shashi Preetam
- Vishal–Shekhar
- Narrator
- Amitabh Bachchan
- Cinematography
- T. Surendra Reddy
- Distributor
- Karma Entertainment
- Released
- 13 February 2004
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Dr. Gayatri Singh, an Indian American paranormal researcher at the University of California, investigates esoteric practices such as voodoo, spirit possession, magic, and healing powers. Seeking hidden knowledge beyond science or logic, she travels to India with her team. There she meets Varun Bhushan, a man with intuitive and healing powers developed through meditation. Varun is a devotee of Hanuman, a master of martial arts, and works as a bouncer at a club. Gayatri is impressed by his ability to cure people and makes him the subject of her study. After experiments, Varun gains insight into a hidden dark power linked to Ravana's Rudraksha, a seed that can transmute humans into new species and grant supernatural powers. Bhuria mentally communicates with Varun, seeking to combine their abilities, but Varun refuses. Gayatri discovers strange words that cause mutations; her assistant Suzy hears them, becomes possessed, and tries to kill Gayatri. Varun saves Gayatri, and Suzy dies. Varun and Gayatri then journey through the Himalayas to the ruins of King Ravana's palaces in Yala, Sri Lanka, to find the Rudraksha and uncover the truth about Bhuria.
Reception
Rudraksh received negative reviews from critics. Taran Adarsh of IndiaFM rated it 1.5 out of 5, noting that Sanjay Dutt and Suniel Shetty performed with sincerity but the film had gloss without soul. Anupama Chopra of India Today described it as a deliriously bad Ramayan-meets-Indiana Jones-meets-Matrix saga. Manish Gajjar of BBC.com wrote that the director focused on special effects at the expense of the screenplay, resulting in a film that entertains only in parts. Ronjita Kulkarni of Rediff.com found the film too ambitious, with half-baked characters and no thrills. The film collected ₹1.10 crore on its first day, ₹1.17 crore on its second, and ₹1.30 crore on its third, for an opening weekend of ₹3.57 crore. Its opening week total was ₹5.12 crore, and its domestic lifetime collection reached ₹5.97 crore, leading Box Office India to declare it a disaster.
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