Why Ramayana adaptation Adipurush is in the eye of storm in Nepal, India

Protests have erupted over reference to Sita as India's daughter, and dialogues, graphics that are seen as banal, shoddy

Nepal has banned all Hindi films, including Adipurush, which was released on June 16, from being screened in the country. The action was taken over a contentious dialogue in the film, which refers to Sita as India’s daughter. Many believe that Sita, also known as Janaki, was born in Janakpur in southeast Nepal and not in India.

The film’s screening was first stopped in Kathmandu, followed by Pokhara. Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah said no Hindi film would be allowed to be screened in the city until the contentious dialogue was edited out, not just in Nepal but also in India. According to the 2021 census, Hindus account for over 81 per cent of Nepal’s population.

Directed by Om Raut, Adipurush is an adaptation of the Ramayana. It stars Prabas as Raghava (Rama), Kriti Sanon as Janaki (Sita), Devdatta Nage as Hanuman and Saif Ali Khan as Lankesh (Ravana).

The film has been embroiled in controversy in India, too. On Monday, the Mumbai Police agreed to provide security to its writer Manoj Shukla Muntashir, who has allegedly been receiving death threats. Adipurush has been criticised for its problematic dialogues, pedestrian language, poor VFX effects, and what is perceived to be misrepresentation of mythological characters.

In Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, movie-goers demanded a ban on the film. The Hindu Mahasabha lodged a police complaint in Lucknow against the makers of the film and the actors.

At a mall in Maharashtra’s Nalasopara, a group of people disrupted the film’s screening, asking people to boycott it.

Political parties, too, have joined in. While accusing the makers of crossing all boundaries of “maryada” (decency) for box office success, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi demanded an apology from the director and dialogue writer for hurting the sensibilities of Indians.

The film’s VFX effects, too, have been criticised for making the characters seem cartoonish and graphics shoddy.

“In the opening moments of 'Adipurush', we see Raavan throwing his head back, and laughing. He is stomping through the snow, one shoulder rising, the other dipping, just like a cartoon character, and going ha-ha-ha-ha. That laugh is called the villain’s ‘thahaka’ in Bollywood…you see Saif Ali Khan’s Lankesh tossing that one off, and it is an indication that Om Raut’s version of ‘Ramayana’ will be a series of clunky computer graphics, bathed in Bollywoodese. And that’s exactly what this nearly three-hour long film is,” writes film critic Shubhra Gupta in The Indian Express.

Reacting on the film’s reception, its writer said on Sunday that some dialogues would be re-written and inserted into the movie.

With a budget of Rs 500 crore, Adipurush remains one of the costliest films made in India and earned Rs 140 crore worldwide on its opening day.