Without the storytelling prowess of Amar Chitra Katha, Akshay Kumar’s movie is extremely similar to that one.
Myth, religion, reality, and belief: “Ram Setu” takes all these components, shakes them up, lets them fall into place as they like, and then provides yet another Akshay Kumar movie that is firmly rooted in the present. Dr. Aryan Kulshrestha (Kumar) is an archaeologist who reveres science that is supported by evidence. Even his beloved wife, Nushrratt Bharuccha, who is a professor of literature and part of the “vishwaas” movement, is too much for him to handle.
Chandra Prakash Dwivedi, the film’s consultant, recently directed Akshay in “Samrat Prithviraj,” another “historical” that adheres to the Mera Bharat Always Mahaan goal. In this one, Ram Setu is the fabled canal that connects India and Sri Lanka and was renamed Adam’s Bridge by the British in an effort to “obliterate” India’s heritage. Aryan is dragged into the Ram Setu project as a respected expert after being grieved by the Taliban’s destruction of the Bamyan Budhha (he just so happens to be present when the mayhem occurs). Who better than him (Aryan) to convince the sceptics that Ram Setu was indeed “built” during the “time” of Lord Rama? He has secular credentials, including, picture this, a Pakistani colleague.
Without the storytelling abilities, everything is pretty amar chitra katha. The plot introduces bad guys who want to destroy the Setu, good guy KP (Dev), who appears out of nowhere to aid Aryan and his colleagues, scientist Sandra Ribello (Fernandez), and a white person who is quickly disregarded after the conflict, which takes place in the Supreme Court on the one hand, on the high seas on the other, and on the picturesque island of Sri Lanka on the third. Nasser, the main antagonist, frowns frequently, while Rana, his go-to man, shoots at everyone.
There are additional mentions of Jaffna becoming a flashpoint in the Sri Lankan civil war. But all of these passing references to contemporary events are purely decorative. Everyone can clearly see the movie’s goal: to show how a science-minded, agnostic Aryan may change his or her mind and become a believer who can persuade a court of the validity of that belief, which then becomes the only truth.
Actually, if done well, this could have been a movie that puts out conflicting viewpoints and gives each a platform. But “Ram Setu” is little more than a mediocre movie that solely cares about driving home its point. It’s also the kind of movie where a female scientist emerges from a cave after being submerged in sea water, giving off a very Raiders of the Lost Ark vibe. She kept her pink lipstick on.