‘Not even 1% of Adipurush is a deviation from Ramayana’: dialogue writer Manoj Muntashir on row

Filmmaker Om Raut and writer Manoj Muntashir have defended their film Adipurush amid fresh calls for ban and boycott. A few sections in the country are miffed since the film’s teaser was released earlier this week and see the film as an insult to the Hindu epic Ramayana. (Also read: ‘Sita’ Dipika Chikhlia on Adipurush teaser: ‘If the character is from Sri Lanka, they should not look like Mughals’)

Now, in a latest interview, dialogue writer Manoj and director Om have said that the film doesn’t attempt to change the story of Lord Ram. Many have previously raised objections on social media against how Raavan, played by Saif Ali Khan, doesn’t look like what we have come to expect of the demon king.

Speaking to News 18, Manoj said, “First of all, not even 1% of our film is a deviation from actual Ramayan. When we speak about Ramayan what comes to our mind and what have you seen in the teaser. Ramayan is an epic in which demon king Raavan kidnaps Ma Sita and Lord Ram goes to Lanka to save her with help from Vaanar Sena. In a nutshell, this is Ramayana as told to a five-year-old kid. This is the story we have lived with, are retelling and showing in our film.”

Om Raut chimed in, “The idea is to recreate Ramayana on celluloid. I don’t want anyone to misunderstand that we have changed it. It is to translate from books to celluloid. So this is not a film for us. This is a representation of our bhakti, shraddha (devotion and faith) and what we stand for.”

A plea seeking stay on the release of Adipurush has been moved in a Delhi Court. The plea alleged that Lord Rama and Hanuman are portrayed in an unwarranted and inaccurate depiction of wearing leather straps. It also said that Raavana has been shown in a wrong appearance. It has been claimed that the defendants have hurt the religious, cultural, historical and civilisational sentiments of the plaintiff and many other Hindus by depicting Lord Rama and Hanuman in an unwarranted and inaccurate way in the teaser/promo video of their upcoming movie Adipurush.

“Lord Rama is shown as an angry man on a killing spree. Lord Hanuman and Lord Rama are also shown wearing leather accessories in a teaser uploaded on the YouTube page of the producer,” the plea said.