The controversy surrounding the Bollywood film 'Adipurush' has intensified over the weekend as two Nepali regions unveiled bans on all Indian movies.
The announcement comes amid calls from saints in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya city, famous as the birthplace of the central character Lord Rama, for the movie to be banned in India also, with critics citing "cringe-worthy dialogues" and "narrating Ramayana wrong".
Similarly, the makers and actors of the movie have landed themselves in legal trouble after the national spokesperson of the Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Mahasabha, Shishir Chaturvedi, filed charges. Shishir alleges that the film insults Hindu sentiments by distorting the images of Hindu Gods with offensive dialogue and costumes.
Calls to Ban 'Adipurush'
Nepal’s Pokhara Metropolitan City has joined the Kathmandu Metropolis in enforcing a ban on the screening of all Indian films.
The mayor of Pokhara, Dhanraj Acharya, issued a statement ordering movie theaters in the area of central Nepal to stop showing all Bollywood films as of Monday morning.
On Sunday night, Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah protested against the film script which depicts one of the characters, Janaki (Sita), as being Indian. Legend has it that Sita, Rama's wife, was born in Janakpur in present-day Nepal.
Shah announced a ban on the screening of any Indian films on social media and wrote, “Indian film Adipurush had a dialogue claiming Janaki was India’s daughter which is objectionable and we had given three days’ ultimatum to correct it. There is no doubt that it is the first duty of every government, government agency, non-governmental sector and Nepali citizen to protect the national interest by keeping Nepal’s freedom, independence and self-respect intact.”
The movie's production house, T-Series, replied to the mayor, asserting that it was "never intentional or deliberate to cause any disharmony for anyone."
Following the criticism, the scriptwriter Manoj Muntashir Shukla said on Sunday that producers will "revise some of the dialogues."
Meanwhile, movie theaters have replaced Hindi and Bollywood films with Hollywood and Nepali screenings in both Kathmandu and Pokhara.
Facing Backlash From Saints, Netizens
Calling it a disrespect to the ancient Indian epic, the star cast of the 1987 ‘Ramayan’ TV series created by Ramanand Sagar also bashed the movie and criticized the portrayal of some characters.
Important saints in Ayodhya have likewise alleged that the film misrepresented the characters of Ramayana and showed Hindu deities in a "distorted" manner, including monkey-faced Hindu God Lord Hanumana being shown with a beard and without a mustache.
“The dialogues are shameful, and the film should be banned immediately,” the head priest of Ram Janmabhoomi, Acharya Satyendra Das, told Indian media.
“Lord Rama, Lord Hanumana, as well as (demon King) Ravana, have been presented in totally different manner. It depicts our deities in a completely different form against what we have read and known so far,” Das added.
Raju Das, the priest of the famous Hanuman Garhi temple, also sought a ban on the movie.
“Bollywood is hell-bent on distorting Hindu religion. The movie ‘Adipurush’ is a classic example of how it is least concerned about Hindu sentiments,” Das said.
Meanwhile, the screening of the movie was disrupted in Mumbai after a fringe group barged inside a movie hall and forced the it to be halted.
Adipurush at the Box Office
The movie showcases superstar Prabhas as Ram, actress Kriti Sanon as Sita, and actor Saif Ali Khan as Ravan and was directed by Om Raut.
Despite facing criticism from both Indian and international audiences, it has managed to earn a whopping INR 2.21 billion ($26.97 million) in just three days since its release.