Ramayan (2008)

Mostly great cast, good acting, CGI/special effects mar the impact

Ramayana is eternal. Attempts to picturize the epic have been made before, and will continue to be made over the decades and years.

While Ramanand Sagar's portrayal lacked in the technical department significantly... that version was the closest I have found to be able to actually portray the characters of Gods and gods.

This particular attempt isn't half bad. The casting is mostly great, though falters quite a bit when it comes to key characters such as Ravana and Indrajeet, The character of Rama and Laxmana is quite accurately portrayed by the actors, though again, Ramanand Sagar's casting was more appropriate.

Debina was great as Devi Sita.

All the other characters were okay'ish to well cast.

The major problem, quite ironically, was CGI and technical effects. Even though Ramanand Sagar lacked all that CG imagery back in the 80's, the makers of this version had access to it, and tried to make up for several versions of Ramayana in one go. There's just too much of it, and it's flat out bad. There's no other way to put it. The CGI is bad, and detracts from the story.

It's funny because Ramanand Sagar's version lacked only on technical grounds, while this one does a horrible job of using technology despite having access to cheap computer power and graphic talent.

The series has its moments, though, that are really good. Like the episode of Lord Hanumana displaying Rama and Sita in his heart. That is rather well done.

Ravindra Jain's music score is, as usual, rather flawless.

The sets are beautiful, though, for the most part. Except, of course when they use CGI to enhance the sets. That's where they decimate the realism.

To many people including yours truly, Ramayana is historical, and not mythological. By having the show look fantastical owing to CGI, the creators indirectly portray the epic to be mythological.

One of the other great flaws of this version is the language. Of course the language that the showmakers use is indicative of the times we live in (and consequently I find the more modern remakes of Puranas unbearable to watch)... this particular version did attempt to allude to the Ramanand Sagar's excellent version's speech patterns, but fails miserably at times.

All in all, a good attempt, but could have been much better if the makers had focused more on language and less on CGI. Casting of Indrajeet was the biggest sore point for me, personally. The actor just couldn't portray the character accurately, at all.