Information and Broadcasting Minister, Anurag Thakur, has responded to the controversy surrounding the recently released movie Adipurush and assured that the disturbing dialogues of the movie are changed.
Om Raut’s movie has been receiving criticism from all quarters due to its depiction of Ramayan and the language used by the characters in the movie based on Ramayana, especially lines spoken by the character of Hanuman.
Speaking to ANI, Anurag Thakur said that the CBFC has taken the decision needed. He also said that the writer and the director have also agreed to change some of the dialogues in the film and nobody is allowed to hurt the sentiments of people. He added that religious sentiments will not be hurt under his watch and that he will oversee the changes in the dialogues.
#WATCH | Union I&B Minister Anurag Thakur reacts to uproar over a few dialogues in the film 'Adipurush'
— ANI (@ANI) June 19, 2023
"CBFC has taken a decision on this. The film's director and dialogue writer have spoken about changing the dialogues. No one has the right to hurt anyone's sentiments," says… pic.twitter.com/0sGwppGSC5
A day after defending the dialogues, Manoj Muntashir assured to change them
Notably, following widespread criticism, Muntashir announced on Sunday that the problematic dialogues of Adipurush will be revised within this week itself. He shared this announcement through his official Twitter handle. However, he claimed that the team created Adipurush for Sanatan Seva, which audiences are seeing in large numbers and will keep seeing in the future as well.
This followed a day after he had defended the dialogues after there was massive outrage over the language used by the characters in the movie based on Ramayana, especially lines spoken by the character of Hanuman.
Released on the 16th of June, Adipurush has found itself stuck in one controversy after another. At the centre of it lies the ‘problematic’ dialogues including those attributed to Hanuman, named Bajrang in Adipurush.
Manoj Muntashir defended the dialogues
Earlier, Manoj Muntashir had defended the use of uncivilized dialogues, claiming that a very meticulous thought process has gone into writing the dialogues. In an interview given to Republic, he had said that it was not an error, and it was done deliberately. He stated that he wrote the dialogues keeping the ‘modern, contemporary’ speaking styles of the general public in the country.
Talking on Lallantop, he even went on to compare the controversy with the opposition faced by poet Tulsidas for writing Ramcharitmanas in the Awadhi language instead of Sanskrit.
What is the controversy surrounding Adiprush?
Adipurush makers drew flakes from fans and the general public alike for using uncouth language in Adipurush. Several dialogues of Adipurush went viral on social media where netizens claimed that they demeaned, trivialised Hindu Mahakavya Ramayana, and hurt the sentiments of Hindus.
In the film, there are several characters that have used street-level language like “Bete”, “Tere Baap ki Jali” and ”Bua ka Bagicha” among others. A few of those dialogues are as follows –
“कपड़ा तेरे बाप का! तेल तेरे बाप का! जलेगी भी तेरे बाप की”
“तेरी बुआ का बगीचा है क्या जो हवा खाने चला आया”
“जो हमारी बहनों को हाथ लगाएंगे उनकी लंका लगा देंगे”
“आप अपने काल के लिए कालीन बिछा रहे हैं”
“मेरे एक सपोले ने तुम्हारे शेषनाग को लंबा कर दिया अभी तो पूरा पिटारा भरा पड़ा है”
Earlier, Muntashir defended his approach and asserted that he intentionally crafted relatable dialogues to connect with the audience. The makers also claimed that they had not altered the original Ramayana. However, when the controversy spiralled they claimed that Adipurush is not an adaptation of Ramayana rather it is heavily inspired by Ramayana.
Despite intense criticism and fans registering their protests, Adipurush has entered Rs 200 crore club.
