Less than a week since its release, Prabhas’s Adipurush has been entangled in numerous controversies over the film’s retelling of the Hindu epic Ramayana, its dialogues, and the depiction of its characters. The latest call to ban the film has come from the All Indian Cine Workers Association (AICWA), who wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that the film’s “screenplay and dialogues are clearly defaming the image of Lord Ram and Lord Hanuman.”

Alleging that Adipurush is hurting “sanatan dharma” and the religious sentiments of Hindus, the AICWA claimed in its statement on Tuesday, June 20, that “Ram is a god for everyone in India”, no matter “what religious faith one comes from”. The association alleged that the film depicts Ram and Ravan like characters of a video game, with “dialogues that will hurt every Indian” in the country and across the globe. It also requested Modi to immediately order a ban on the screening of the film in theatres as well as OTT platforms in the future.

The AICWA even demanded police action against the movie’s director Om Raut, writer Manoj Muntashir Shukla, and the film’s producers for “hurting Hindu sentiments”, adding that actors Prabhas, Kriti Sanon, and Saif Ali Khan shouldn't have been part of “such a disgraceful movie”.

Several political parties have also joined hands against the film, demanding a ban and an apology from its makers. The Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) slammed the film for its “cheap and superficial dialogues”, with SP also attacking the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the issue.

SP national president Akhilesh Yadav said the Censor Board should check the “political character certificate” of those who play with people's faith by making films with an agenda using the money of their political masters. “Has the Censor Board become Dhritarashtra?” the SP chief tweeted, referring to the Mahabharatha character who was born blind.

Questioning whether the Censor Board was 'sleeping' while approving the film, the Maharashtra Congress has also demanded a ban on the film. The party’s state president Nana Patole alleged that Lord Ram and Lord Hanuman have been “insulted” in the film, adding, “The BJP always keeps shouting that it is a pro-Hindutva government, but when it concerns a movie that heaps abuse on Lord Ram and Shri Hanuman, it has kept silent.”

Adipurush, which was made at a reported budget of Rs 600 crore, was released worldwide on June 16 in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada languages. Ever since, however, the film’s makers have had no respite from controversies and severe criticism from critics and audience alike. Several Hindu right-wing groups, allegedly offended by the depiction of Hanuman and Ravan in the film, have been calling for a blanket boycott. Some groups even took it upon themselves to stop the film’s screening. A video purportedly from Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, shows a right-wing group waving the saffron flag and interrupting the screening of the movie, even promising the viewers to refund the ticket price. 

At a movie hall in Ayodhya last evening. pic.twitter.com/arvPrVqLLK

— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) June 20, 2023

Hindu Sena, a right-wing organisation, has meanwhile approached the Delhi High Court seeking intervention to remove “objectionable scenes” involving characters such as Ram, Sita, Ravan, and Hanuman in the film.

In Raut’s retelling of the Hindu epic, the director seems to have opted to give the film a more ‘modern’ look. Saif Ali Khan who plays Ravan thus gets a trendy haircut, while some other characters sport funky tattoos. 

The petition filed by the Hindu Sena, meanwhile, has alleged that this bearded look is hurting the sentiments of Hindu community. “The Hindu Brahmin Ravana is shown making a ghastly face in a wrong manner, which is an absolute insult to Hindu civilisation, Hindu religious figures, idols, ideals, etc,” the petition reads.

Caste Hindu group Sarva Brahmin Mahasabha, meanwhile, alleged that the film is part of a conspiracy hatched to insult ‘Hanuman ji’ and other deities. The group also specifically slammed the poor usage of computer graphics for the main characters of the film.

This crisis faced by the film is not even limited to India. Offended by the film’s claim that “Sita is a daughter of India”, film distributors in Nepal have stopped the screening of the film across the country. The fate reportedly extends not only to Adipurush, but all Hindi films, until the offending dialogue is removed from the film. As per the Ramayana, Sita was born in Janakpur, which is believed to be in present day southeast Nepal. 

Meanwhile, a controversy over the ‘uncouth’ dialogues spouted by actor Devdatta Nage, who portrays Hanuman in the devotional film, has also triggered outrage against the film’s makers. Though the writer had initially defended the lines, claiming they were deliberate, the producers later promised to rework the dialogues and “maintain sanctity”.

As controversies rage on despite all attempts at reconciliation, Manoj Muntashir Shukla eventually claimed that Adipurush is not based on Ramayana, but has only been “heavily inspired” by it. It remains to be seen if this u-turn from the makers will cause any dent on the backlash the film is receiving.

With IANS inputs