The makers of Adipurush have landed in a big trouble after a police complaint was filed against them in Mumbai for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus in the film’s new poster.
The complaint was registered by Sanjay Dinanath Tiwari through Mumbai High Court Advocates - Ashish Rai and Pankaj Mishra at Sakinaka police station against the producers, artist and director Om Raut, according to a report in India Today.co.in. The complainant described himself as a preacher of Sanatan Dharma.
The complaint states that “the religious sentiments of the Hindu religion society have been hurt by the filmmaker Om Raut by inappropriately displaying the character of the Hindi religious text Ramcharitmanas in the new poster of the film."
As per the complaint, the poster shows “Maryadapurushottam Lord Shri Ram in a costume contrary to the natural spirit and nature of Ramcharitmanas mentioned in the Hindu scripture." The complainant further claimed that Adipurush shows all the characters of Ramayana “without Janeu." Janeu has special importance in Hindu Sanatan Dharma, which has been followed for many centuries by the followers of Sanatan Dharma on the basis of Puranas.
The makers of Adipurush had unveiled the poster in question on the auspicious occasion of Ram Navami, a festival celebrated to mark Lord Ram’s birth anniversary. In the new poster, Prabhas and Sunny are seen carrying a bow and an arrow donning armour and dhoti. Kriti is in a simple sari with her head covered, while Devdatta is seen bowing down in the service of the trio.
Touted as a film celebrating “the victory of good over evil”, multilingual period saga Adipurush is an on-screen adaptation of the Hindu epic Ramayana. The poster came days after production houses T-Series and Retrophiles announced the new release date of the film starring Prabhas as Raghav, Kriti Sanon as Janaki, Sunny Singh as Shesh, and Devdatta Nage as Bajrang. Directed by Om Raut, the film also stars Saif Ali Khan as the antagonist Lankesh.
Earlier, Adipurush courted controversy, including boycott calls, when the teaser of the magnum opus was launched in October over the depiction of Hindu deities and inferior quality of visual effects.
The makers were also slammed for the apparent Islamisation of Lankesh over Saif’s look as the demon king, who was seen sporting a beard and buzz cut.
The film was initially set to arrive in cinema halls on August 11, 2022, but the release date was further pushed to January 12, 2023. Adipurush is now slated to hit the screens in 3D on June 16, 2023.
