Adipurush controversy: There is a famous saying, “to Err is human, to forgive, divine”. The Hindi Cinema Industry kept hurting the sentiments of audiences for a very long time. Assuming all the propaganda and anti-Hindu agenda as an unintentional mistake of the Bollywood cabal, audiences not only forgave them but also showered love and praises on them. However, Bollywood has forgotten that there is a limit of tolerance to shamelessness.
Within no time, disgruntled audiences have turned the table, stardom is shattered to pieces and boycott trends have crashed mega budget movies.
Unfortunately, at a time when Bollywood is facing heat for its propaganda against Sanatan Dharma, it is now trying to exploit the religious, cultural and nationalistic sentiments to its nefarious gains. But this time they seem to have crossed all the red lines and it may catalyse its downfall.
Veteran actors speak out at the misrepresentation of the Hindu Epic
Veteran actor Mukesh Khanna played the legendary role of ‘Bhishma Pitamah’ in Mahabharat and Superhero role of ‘Shaktiman’. He has been a vocal critic of the agenda being peddled through the Hindi cinema industry. Amid the calls of ban or demand for major changes in ‘Adipurush’, he has shared his views on the controversies around the movie. Disappointed with the teaser of Adipurush, the actor pointed out that there should be grace and authenticity with the character portrayal and costume/get-ups.
He said, “Not everyone may agree with me, but Hindu Gods are not handsome. They are beautiful. They are not handsome like (Arnold) Schwarzenegger. Look at Ram or Krishna for example. They are not bodybuilders, they have a soft, docile, and grand look on their faces. No one can claim they met Ram or Krishna, but from whatever we have seen over the years, they have a feminine look. People who worship them never think of Ram or Hanuman with moustaches.”
Also Read: Maulana Ravan, B-Town Sita and Ape Like Vanaras: Adipurush teaser is a disaster
He added that audiences and Hindu devotees have issues when you try to push your agenda in the name of adaptation of Ramayana. Sentiments and religious feelings of billions of people are associated with the epic Ramayana and all efforts to use the faith of audience and challenge it for profiteering will fail miserably.
He added, “You call the film Adipurush, you may tell me that it is the story of a man from the stone Age. Why do you have the title of Ramayan then? We had a huge beard for Bheeshma Pitamah , you cannot simply show him as a clean-shaven man. Let me tell you that such a film will not work, because you want to use the faith that the audience has in Ramayan but you also challenge the faith”.
Actor Dipika Chikhlia played the iconic role of Sita in Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan. She stressed that it is a grave misrepresentation to show a Lankan character as MUGHALS. She also added that in the name of technology or VFX, no one should hurt the sentiments of billions of devotees.
She said, “A film’s characters must appeal to the audience. If the character is from Sri Lanka, they should not look like Mughals. I agree that times have changed and VFX is an essential part but only as long as the people’s sentiments are not hurt.”
Adipurush facing flakes all across the nation
Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra objected to the distortions being done with the Hindu epic Ramayana in the Om Raut-directorial movie Adipurush.
The Home Minister also highlighted that Hanuman ji is shown wearing leather and nearly all characters are wearing modern sandals instead of Khadau. He added that dresses and the look of Hindu deities as seen in the trailer were not acceptable.
He stressed that all the objectionable scenes from the movie should be done away otherwise they may have to take action to correct the injustice being done.
फिल्म #Adipurush में हिंदू धर्म की आस्था पर कुठाराघात और धार्मिक भावना को आहत करने वाले कई आपत्तिजनक दृश्य हैं।
इस पर फिल्म के निर्माता-निर्देशक ओम राउत जी को पत्र लिख रहा हूं। इसके बाद भी आपत्तिजनक दृश्य नहीं हटाए जाते हैं, तो कानूनी पक्ष पर विचार किया जाएगा। pic.twitter.com/NlohyAXYhi
— Dr Narottam Mishra (@drnarottammisra) October 4, 2022
The head priest of Ayodhya Ram Mandir Satyendra Das also objected to the wrong portrayal of Hindu deities in the movie. He also demanded a ban on the movie if the changes are not done as per the scriptures.
Attempt to suppress the Adipurush controversy
When the controversy spiralled, director Om Raut responded to widespread criticism of the Adipurush film. Soon, the director and the whole movie staff, in some way or the other, started to justify their distortions and misrepresentations with the limiting advancement of YouTube and other technologies. He stated that he didn’t want to release it on YouTube but had no other choice to give it a larger reach.
Also Read: Adipurush Teaser Review – Here is what the Prabhas starrer hits and misses
However, Netizens also highlighted resemblance between the scenes shown in the movie teaser and several popular sci-fi films and fantasy TV shows like ‘King Kong’, ‘Monkey King’ and ‘Game of Thrones’. The controversy will cost dearly for the Adipurush movie and if it had an intention of minting money without doing authentic research and correctness with the epic, it will be the highest loss-making movie for the industry.
It has been four decades since the release of Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana, yet audiences see a spark of divinity associated with the actors who played parts in the timeless epic Ramayan. Many times, audiences have kept such actors on higher pedestal and even considered them revered just on the mere fact of their simplicity and attempt to be true and pious to the roles of the highly revered Hindu epic. So, Bollywood should realise that intentions matter more than the advancement of technology and grandeur of theatre or VFX or any other things.
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