Asking to set aside a seat for Hanuman in theatres, repeatedly proclaiming ‘Jai Shri Ram’ to promote their film, and inviting a Brahmin seer to their film’s promotional events — none of these saved the team of Adipurush, an upcoming adaptation of Ramayana starring Prabhas and Kriti Sanon, from attracting the wrath of Hindu religious leaders and right-wing groups. A video showing the film’s director Om Raut giving what seems to be a friendly peck on the cheek to Kriti (who plays Sita in his film) at the Venkateswara temple in Tirupati, has sparked right-wing outrage. The head priest at Telangana's Chilkur Balaji temple, CS Rangarajan, described it as a “condemnable act”. He asked them to do such things in a “hotel room”, saying their behaviour was insulting to Ramayana and Sita.
Rangarajan said, “This is a condemnable act. Even a husband and wife do not go there (temple) together. You can go to a hotel room and do it. Your behaviour is like insulting Ramayan, and goddess Sita.” He’s not the only one who has taken offence. In a now-deleted tweet, Ramesh Naidu Nagothu, the BJP state Secretary of Andhra Pradesh, said, "Is it really necessary to bring your antics to a sacred place? Engaging in public displays of affection, like kissing and hugging, in front of the Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirumala is deemed disrespectful and unacceptable." A few other social media users too have raised objections to the video.
Kriti has also been targeted for her past work in other films. A Twitter user objected to her casting as Sita last week and said, “This is Kriti Sanon. She will play Sita in Adipurush. Kriti might be a decent person in real life, but her dance routines in Bollywood movies are completely vulgar. Definitely the wrong person to play the role of the pious Sita who is considered mother by Hindus.” But hundreds of other Twitter users promptly pointed out that Prabhas, who plays Ram in Adipurush, has also acted in other kinds of films in the past, highlighting the hypocrisy in targeting Kriti alone.
This is Prabhas Raju. He will play Rama in Adipurush. Prabhas might be a decent person in real life, but his dance routines in Tollywood movies are completely vulgar. Definitely the wrong person to play the role of the precious Rama who is considered Father by Hindus. https://t.co/hxWySzoT8C pic.twitter.com/gExpxNkj2z
— నికేత్ (@mnk_009) June 2, 2023
This is Prabhas. He will play lord rama in Adipurush. Prabhas might be a decent person in real life, but his dance routines in indian movies are completely vulgar. Definitely the wrong person to play the role of the pious lord rama https://t.co/vJPzJ32aBf pic.twitter.com/LuUXEupExW
— Gru Gulab Khatri (@lostintrovert_) June 2, 2023
Prabhas is playing Ram but because he is a man, he is pious! https://t.co/7vl37zmodP pic.twitter.com/M2v8UtJbZW
— Rehman (@Rehmaanism) June 2, 2023
This isn’t the first time a woman actor has faced objections for behaving in a way that is deemed ‘unbecoming’ of a woman playing the role of Sita. Before the 2011 Telugu film Sri Rama Rajyam directed by Bapu was released, the Hindu Makkal Katchi in Tamil Nadu had objected to Nayanthara’s casting as Sita because she had “stolen another woman’s husband,” thereby ruining the Ramayana’s principle of “one man, one woman for life.”
In 2019, nearly eight years after Sri Rama Rajyam was released (including a dubbed version in Tamil), actor-politician Radha Ravi, who is notorious for his frequent misogynistic remarks, slut shamed her and questioned how she could essay the role of goddess Sita. He reminisced about bygone days when the role would have gone to someone like KR Vijaya.
At the time, Nayanthara issued a detailed response slamming Radha Ravi’s remarks. She said, “Irrespective of all negative remarks and aspersions cast upon me, I shall continue to take up the multifaceted roles of Sita, ghost, goddess, friend, wife, lover, and so on and so forth with the solemn intention of providing maximum entertainment to my fans.”
Radha Ravi, who was with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam at the time, was suspended from the party over the incident. He then switched over to the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and later, the BJP.
Nayanthara’s co-star in the film was Nandamuri Balakrishna, who played Ram. His ‘suitability’ to essay the role of the deity was not questioned based on his on-screen or off-screen behaviour that could be deemed inappropriate, the way Kriti and Nayanthara had been questioned. Balakrishna’s father and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder NT Rama Rao often portrayed Hindu gods and mythological characters on screen, and his popularity from these roles was so immense that it is often attributed as one of the factors that contributed to the former Chief Minister’s rise in politics.
NTR’s grandson, Jr NTR, has also played Ram in Ramayanam (1997). These male actors have also worked in mainstream films involving scenes with sexual undertones before and after playing Hindu gods, but have seldom faced objections over their roles. However, the expectations from women actors to appear 'pious’ and ‘modest’, and meet unreasonable, patriarchal standards of ‘morality’ and ‘respectability’ to play such roles seem to persist.
Read:
With inputs from Anjana Meenakshi.