Om Raut on casting Prabhas for Adipurush: If it was not him, I wouldn't have made the film

Director Om Raut, who scored a big hit with Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, revealed the reason for casting Prabhas to play Lord Ram in Adipurush. He said that if it was not him, he would not have made the film.

Om Raut announced his next directorial venture more than seven months after the release of Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior. Adipurush is the big-screen adaptation of the epic Ramayana and the director has chosen superstar Prabhas for the titular role in the multilingual project, which is produced by Bhushan Kumar under the banner T-Series. The film celebrates the victory of good over evil.

Many in the film industry are surprised over why Om Raut cast Prabhas. The director has revealed the reason for it in an interview to PTI. "I think Prabhas is just perfect. His entire persona, the calmness that he has. His eyes are so deep, his stance, the way he carries himself, his entire personality. I could see Adipurush in him and if it wasn't him, I wouldn't have made the film," said Om Raut.

Several movies and TV serials have been made on Lord Ram in different languages of India. Many filmgoers are excited to know about what the aspects of his life Adipurush would touch upon. When asked about its story, Om Raut told PTI, "It is the story of Prabhu Ram. It's one aspect of the epic saga, it's my screen adaptation of the epic.

Om Raut added, "There are too many preparations underway. Fortunately, the research is already in place. From a historical point of view, the notes are already there. But when you do a screen adaptation, there's a lot of research from authenticity, technology points of view. A lot of storyboards are happening, asset creation, designing the characters as we speak."

The director also revealed that he planned to make Adipurush even before Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior went on floors. Om Raut said, "Back then, I had written a basic draft after a lot of research. I spoke to my team and they were all excited to explore this again. So the first two months were spent rewriting it, updating the screenplay I had written before and we realised it worked very well."

Om Raut added, "The events didn't change but the treatment obviously was made different, something which reflects today's time. That's when I narrated it to Prabhas and met him when lockdown was over. Adipurush is scheduled to go on floors in January 2021 with an aim to release theatrically in 2022."