Chhattisgarh chief minister and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel also chimed in on the growing dissention to the latest rendition of Indian literature’s Itihasa Ramayana, in the film Adipurush starring Prabhash, Kriti Sanon, Saif Ali Khan, and directed by National Award winner Om Raut.
The Congress leader was talking to reporters on the increasing protests against the Adipurush movie. The Chhattisgarh CM said that one needs to understand the ‘chronology’.
He further alleged that ‘Maryada Purshottam Ram’ had been changed to ‘Yudhak Ram’ , and that ‘Lord Hanuman’ had been changed into ‘angry bird’. The CM, however, did not specify who had caused this drift in perception. He said ‘inhone’ (they) evading pinning the blame on anyone specific.
The Chhattisgarh chief minister was heard invoking Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s wildly (in)famous ‘Aap Chronology Samjhiye’. The CM said, “You need to understand the chronology…They (BJP) changed the image of ‘Maryada Purshottam Ram’ into ‘Yudhak Ram’ and ‘Lord Hanuman’ into ‘angry bird’…,” says Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel on controversy around film ‘Adipurush’.
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“Adipurush”, a multilingual retelling of the Ramayana, has found itself at the centre of protests in several cities. Controversy over dialogue and depiction of has led to a ban on all Hindi films in Nepal with Union minister Anurag Thakur stepping in to say that nobody has the right to hurt the sentiments of people.
As the row over the film escalated and audiences in various parts of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Delhi took to the streets, Mumbai Police agreed to give security to dialogue writer Manoj Muntashir Shukla on his request.
The film, directed by Om Raut and fronted by Prabhas and Kriti Sanon, has come under attack for its dialogue, colloquial language and representation of some characters from the much-loved mythological Itihasa.
In Mumbai, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Thakur said the film’s writer and director have agreed to make some changes after the nationwide uproar.
“Adipurush”, which was released across the country in Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Tamil on Friday, stars Prabhas as Raghav (Ram), Kriti Sanon as Janaki (Sita) and Saif Ali Khan as Lankesh (Raavan).
According to production banner T-Series, it has grossed ₹340 crore in three days at the global box office.
Different parts of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and the national capital witnessed protests against the film on Monday.
While seers in Ayodhya demanded an immediate ban on the film saying its dialogues made their “blood boil”, in Varanasi, a group of people staged a protest and tore posters of the Om Raut-directed film. A Hindu outfit also staged a protest outside a theatre in the temple town of Mathura.
On Sunday, Shukla announced that the makers have decided to “revise some of the dialogues” in the Hindi version and the amended lines will be added to the movie by this week.
Later, T-Series said the team has decided to make alterations to the dialogues of “Adipurush” in order to value “the input of the public”.
(With PTI inputs)
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Updated: 19 Jun 2023, 09:23 PM IST