Adipurush writer promises to revise dialogues that hurt religious sentiments

Mumbai: After the Bollywood film Adipurush, a rendition of the epic Ramayana, received backlash for the use of pedestrian language and low-quality VFX, the makers decided to revise the dialogues.

Produced by T-series and directed by Om Raut, Adipurush is a big-budget film of Rs 600 cr.

Manoj Muntashir Shukla, who wrote the Hindi dialogues and songs, said that the lines that hurt religious sentiments will be revised and added to the film by this week. Lord Hanuman's dialogues in the 'Lanka Dahan' sequence are particularly receiving backlash. Some even opined that the film is a mockery of the Hindu epic.

"For me, there is nothing greater than your feelings. I can give countless arguments in favour of my dialogues, but this will not lessen your pain. Me and the producer-director of the film have decided that we will revise some of the dialogues which are hurting you and they will be added to the film this week," he tweeted.

He further said that he, in a three-hour-film, may have written something different from your (audience's) imagination for a three-minute duration. Responding to Hindutva organisations labelling him as a 'Sanatan drohi', he said: "The first lesson one can learn from Ramkatha is to respect every emotion. What is right or wrong changes with time, but the feeling is constant."

"I wrote more than 4,000 lines as dialogues in Adipurush, some sentiments got hurt on five of those lines. In those hundreds of lines, where Shri Ram was glorified, Maa Sita's chastity was described, I was hoping to receive praise for them, which I don't know why I did not get," he added.

"If we stand against each other, Sanatan will lose. We have made Adipurush for Sanatan Seva, it's a film which you are watching in large numbers and I believe you will watch it in the future as well," he further said.

T-Series also said that the team has decided to alter dialogues and value the input of the public.

A statement released by the company said: "Adipurush is garnering an overwhelming response across the world and is conquering the hearts of audiences across all ages. Making this visual spectacle a memorable cinematic experience, the team decides to make alterations to the film's dialogues – Valuing the input of the public and the audience."

"The makers are revisiting the said dialogues, ensuring to resonate with the core essence of the film and the same will reflect in the theatres in the next few days. This decision is a testament that in spite of unstoppable collections at the Box Office, the team is committed and nothing is beyond the sentiments of their audiences and harmony at large," added the production house.

The multilingual film is being screened in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam. It stars Prabhas as Raghav (Ram), Kriti Sanon as Janaki (Sita), and Saif Ali Khan as Lankesh (Raavan).