Adipurush, Om Raut's contemporary retelling of the revered Hindu epic Ramayana, has been making making headlines even before its release. Merely a day old at the box office (since its release on 16 June), the film has found itself mired in several controversies.
The film, featuring Prabhas as Raghav (or Ram), Kriti Sanon as Janaki (or Sita), and Saif Ali Khan as Lankesh (or Ravana), has sparked intense debates, violent incidents, and even a PIL lodged in the Delhi High Court.
Here's a detailed account of the controversies the film is courting:
1. Hindu Sena Files PIL
The Hindu Sena, a right-wing organization, lodged a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against Adipurush in the Delhi High Court. In the writ petition filed in the HC, Hindu Sena National President Vishnu Gupta raised concerns about the film's depiction of religious leaders or characters and alleged that it was done in bad taste.
The petition sought the court's intervention to remove objectionable scenes and prevent the certification and public exhibition of the film.
The petition argued that Adipurush hurt the sentiments of the Hindu community by "inaccurately and inappropriately portraying the religious leaders/characters/figures".
Gupta also highlighted that the film deviated from the descriptions of Hindu religious leaders/characters as depicted in renowned texts such as Ramayana by Maharishi Valmiki and Saint Tulsidas.
2. Attack On Cinegoer
In a distressing incident, a group of Prabhas fans physically assaulted a cinegoer who expressed displeasure with the film.
A video clip of the incident, shared on Twitter, shows how the altercation erupted when the individual shared a negative review of Adipurush to a Telugu news outlet asking for audience's opinions on the film, outside Prasads Multiplex.
The clip shows him expressing how the acting and VFX in the film was disappointing. This was not taken well by an ardent fan of Prabhas, who threatened and verbally abused him. Matters took a turn for the worse when the altercation led to a group of fans physically assaulting the movie-watcher.
3. Hanuman Seat Controversy
Before the film hit the silver screen, the producers of Adipurush implemented a unique move by reserving one seat per theater to honor Lord Hanuman.
However, an unwitting cinegoer inadvertently occupied the seat intended for Lord Hanuman. This led to a confrontation, resulting in the audience member being attacked and verbally abused.
Sharing the clip of the altercation, a Twitter user wrote, "A person was attacked by Prabhas fans for sitting in a seat allocated to Lord Hanuman in Bramarambha theatre Hyderabad in the early hours of this morning. (Audio muted due to abusive words)".
4. Prabhas Fans Vandalise Hyderabad Theatre
Five individuals, including three juveniles, were arrested by the Ramachandrapuram police of Cyberabad for vandalizing the premises of a theater due to a technical glitch causing a delay in the screening of Adipurush.
According to the police, they attended the 8:30 am show at Asian Jyothi theater. However, due to a technical issue, the movie did not start until 9:15 am. This delay prompted two men to create a ruckus and vandalize the interiors of the theater.
A video circulating on social media captured the incident, showing the men vandalising the food stalls inside the theater and breaking glass panes by throwing parts of the damaged stalls. The police were able to identify the culprits involved in the incident through the video evidence and apprehended them during the first half of the movie.
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