Adipurush, Om Raut's multilingual adaptation of the Ramayana, opened to poor reviews on Friday, and has triggered protests in many parts of the country. The big-budget film faced backlash over poor VFX and 'controversial' dialogues which have hurt sentiments of the Hindus. Writer Manoj Muntashir Shukla has come under fire particularly for Lord Hanuman's dialogues in the "Lanka Dahan" sequence.
The Mumbai Police has provided security to Shukla after the writer approached cops, alleging threat to his life. Shukla who has been heavily criticised for dialogues in a colloquial language, said in a statement on Sunday that he would revise the dialogues. "...For me there is nothing greater than your feelings. I can give countless arguments in favour of my dialogues, but this will not lessen your pain. Me and the producer-director of the film have decided that we will revise some of the dialogues which are hurting you and they will be added to the film this week," Shukla said in a statement shared on his official Twitter account.
#WATCH | Uttar Pradesh | A group of people protested in Lucknow today, expressing their displeasure over the film #Adipurush. They were later detained by Hazratganj Police. pic.twitter.com/5zIM5wScI9
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) June 19, 2023
Directed by Om Raut and produced by T-Series, the film stars Prabhas as Raghav, Kriti Sanon as Janaki and Saif Ali Khan as Lankesh.
Protests continue
The police on Monday detained a group of protesters in Lucknow, as they expressed displeasure and called for a ban. Protesting against the film in Varanasi, activists of a Hindu outfit tore its posters and appealed to people not to watch it. The Hindu Mahasabha on Monday lodged a complaint at Hazratganj police station and demanded that a case be registered against the actors, producer and director of the film. In Chhattisgarh, protesters on Saturday, claimed Adipurush a conspiracy against Sanatan Dharma. Political parties, too, slammed the makers for the controversial dialogues. Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor on Saturday demanded that the Censor Board temporarily bar screening of the film "Adipurush" until a re-examine of the scenes and dialogues. AAP Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson Sanjay Singh also read dialogues of the film and described them as a grave insult to Lord Ram, Goddess Sita and Lord Hanuman as well as the Hindu society.
Meanwhile, makers claimed that the film has minted Rs 340 crore at the global box office since its release."Adipurush continues to captivate audiences across generations, crossing an astounding Rs 340 crores on the opening weekend at the box office! Jai Shri Ram," T-Series said in a statement posted on its official Twitter page.
