Adipurush Protests: Ayodhya seers seek ban on movie; protests erupt in parts of India and Nepal

Seers in Ayodhya demanded an immediate ban on "Adipurush" saying its dialogues made their "blood boil" as different parts of Uttar Pradesh witnessed protests against the film on Monday. A group of people staged a protest in Varanasi and tore posters of the film and the Hindu Mahasabha lodged a complaint with the Lucknow police against its makers and actors. A Hindu outfit also staged a protest outside a theatre in the temple town of Mathura.

Joining the chorus against the film, the Samajwadi Party said the faithful are hurt by its "cheap and superficial dialogues" and that the film was part of an "agenda".

"Adipurush", a retelling of the epic Ramayana directed by Om Raut, was released on Friday. It has been panned over its colloquial dialogues and controversial depiction of some characters.

Seers in Ayodhya, believed to be the birthplace of Lord Ram, alleged that the film was made as part of a foreign conspiracy against Hinduism and its culture.

Acharya Satyendra Das, the chief priest of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, said, "The film's dialogues make our blood boil. The film should be banned immediately. The government should ensure that this does not happen again."

He alleged, "Inke paatro mein, Ram, Hanuman aur Sita ko Muslim paatra ki tarah dikhaya gaya hai. Yeh jaanbujhkar kiya gaya hai (In the movie, the characters of Ram, Hanuman and Sita have been shown as Muslim characters. It has been done intentionally)."

Mahant Ram Das, the chief priest of the Hanumangarhi temple in Ayodhya, alleged that the film was made under a "foreign conspiracy against Hindu religion and culture".

"The dialogues delivered by the characters playing Lord Ram, Lord Hanuman and Goddess Sita will destroy the ideal culture of Ramayana. We urge the Centre that the film should be banned immediately. A religious film, before being cleared, should be reviewed by Hindu religious leaders," he said.

Protesting against the film in Varanasi, activists of a Hindu outfit tore its posters and appealed to people not to watch it.

The activists gathered at a temple and marched to a mall in the Sigra area, raising slogans against the film.

They demanded that its screening be stopped and tried to enter the mall, but were stopped by police.

The protesters said the film "mocks our religion and we are not going to tolerate it at any cost. The film must be banned in Uttar Pradesh."

In state capital Lucknow, office bearers of the Hindu Mahasabha lodged a complaint at Hazratganj police station and demanded that a case be registered against the actors, producer and director of the film. They said the film has "insulted" the religion, Lord Ram, Goddess Sita and Lord Hanuman.

"The illustration in the film, the costume worn by the artistes, dialogues and choice of words are wrong. They have also portrayed the real Ramayan in a wrong manner," according to the complaint filed by Hindu Mahasabha spokesperson Shishir Chaturvedi.

"A case is yet to be registered in this connection," police said.

"Police have received the complaint and the matter is being investigated. A case has not been registered in this matter yet," Assistant Commissioner of Police Arvind Kumar Verma told PTI.

In Mathura, Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha activists staged a protest outside a cinema in the Govind Nagar police station area and raised slogans against the film.

Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha national treasurer Dinesh Sharma said that through the film's dialogues, an attempt has been made to tarnish the image of the Sanatan culture and this has caused "immense pain to us."

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said the Censor Board should check the "political character certificate" of those who play with the faith of people by making films with an agenda using the money of their political masters.

"Has the Censor Board become Dhritarashtra?" he asked in a tweet. Dhritarashtra, the father of the Kauravas, was a blind king in the epic Mahabharata.

Another Samajwadi Party leader, Shivpal Yadav, alleged that efforts are being made to belittle the great and inspiring character of Lord Ram and his story through cinema with "cheap and superficial dialogues".

"Crores of Sanatani believers are hurt. For this act, the so-called 'sanatani' BJP people should tender an apology to the country...Do not defame Lord Ram," he tweeted in Hindi.

Mob protests at mall in Maha's Palghar

A group of people on Monday disrupted a show of the recently-released film 'Adipurush' in a mall in Nalasopara in Maharashtra's Palghar district claiming it had hurt the sentiments of Hindus by taking objectionable creative liberties with the epic Ramayana and its characters.

The protesters claimed they belong to a group called 'Rashtra Pratham', a Mira Bhayander Vasai Virar (MBVV) police official said, adding personnel was deployed at the Capital Mall site but no case had been registered as yet.

"The protesters shouted 'Jai Shri Ram' slogans and asked people to boycott the film," he said.

Incidentally, a couple of days ago, the Hindu Janjagruti Samiti had issued a statement seeking action against "objectionable imaginative scenes" in the Om Raut-directed film.

A film on Lord Ram, who is revered by millions, must be made after reading and understanding the scriptures rather than through imagination in the name of creative freedom, the HJS national spokesperson Ramesh Shinde had said.

On Monday, T-Series, the producer of the film, informed through a tweet that the film had grossed Rs 340 crore at the box office on the opening weekend.

The film stars Prabhas as Raghav (Ram), Kriti Sanon as Janaki (Sita) and Saif Ali Khan as Lankesh (Raavan). It is produced by Bhushan Kumar of T-Series.

The multilingual 3D spectacle, which hit the theatres on June 16, was heavily criticised over its pedestrian language. Its Hindi dialogue writer Manoj Muntashir Shukla on Sunday said the makers have decided to "revise some of the dialogues" and the amended lines will be added to the film by this week.

Kathmandu, Pokhara ban screening 'Adipurush'

All Hindi films, including "Adipurush", were banned in the Nepal capital Kathmandu and the tourist town of Pokhara on Monday following a controversy over its dialogues, including the mention of Sita as "India's daughter".

Police personnel were deployed across 17 halls in Kathmandu to ensure that no Hindi film is screened.

At the centre of the row is "Adipurush", a retelling of the Ramayana directed by Om Raut and headlined by Prabhas and Kriti Sanon.

Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah on Sunday said no Hindi film will be allowed to run in Kathmandu Metropolitan City until the dialogue "Janaki is a daughter of India" in "Adipurush" is removed not just in Nepal but also in India.

Sita, also referred to as Janaki, is believed by many to have been born in Janakpur in southeast Nepal.

Pokhara was quick to follow suit. Pokhara Metropolis Mayor Dhanaraj Acharya said "Adipurush" will be barred from screening from Monday onwards.

According to Kathmandu mayor, screening "Adipurush" without getting one of its dialogues removed will cause "irreparable damage".

"Screening of all the Hindi films will be barred within Kathmandu Metropolitan City from Monday, June 19, as the objectionable words in the dialogue of the film 'Adipurush' has not yet been removed," he said in a Facebook post on Sunday.

"We have already issued notice three days ago to remove the objectionable portion of the dialogue that 'Sita is India's daughter' from the movie within three days," he added.

Shah's post sent Nepali social media into a frenzy, with many users welcoming the mayor's decision and others denouncing it.

As controversy spiralled, "Adipurush" dialogue writer Manoj Muntashir Shukla on Sunday said the makers of the movie had decided to "revise some of the dialogues" after the film was criticised heavily for its pedestrian language.

Shukla, who has penned the Hindi dialogues and songs of the multilingual saga, said the amended lines will be added to the film by this week.

Raju Pandey, Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) Police chief, said the police inspected the cinema halls within the city on Sunday in accordance with the mayor's instructions.

"We got a positive response during the inspection on Sunday and we are now monitoring all the cinema halls from Monday morning," Pandey said.

"While monitoring QFX Hall at Civil Mahal in Kathmandu... They said they will show Nepali and English movies instead of Hindi ones. We will not allow screening of Hindi movies until the KMC authority gives permission," he added.

"No one is greater than the nation, so all the parties must support the move when our national interest and cultural identity is in question," remarked Sunil KC, lawmaker of Bagmati Province and youth leader of Rastriya Prajatantra Party.

A security guard at Q's Cinema situated at the Rising Mall in Kamaladi Kathmandu said the theatre stopped screening "Adipurush" after showing the movie once on Friday evening. "Now, we are screening Nepali film 'Neer Phool' from Monday," he informed.

Produced by T-Series, Retrophiles, and UV Creations, the film also stars Saif Ali Khan as Lankesh (Ravana), Sunny Singh as Shesh (Lakshman) and Devdutta Nage as Bajrang (Hanuman).