Ban Adipurush, demands Ayodhya Ram Temple head priest

Amid the ongoing row over the teaser of Bollywood movie Adipurush over the alleged wrong depiction of Lord Ram, Hanuman and Ravana, the head priest of the Ram temple of Ayodhya on Wednesday demanded an immediate ban on the movie.

He said the portrayal of Lord Ram, Hanuman and Ravana does not conform with the epic and therefore is against their dignity. Making a film is not a crime but they should not be made to create deliberate controversies to hog the limelight, chief priest Satyendra Das said.

The 1.46-minute teaser of the movie has been released in Ayodhya on Sunday and led to controversies.

Uttar Pradesh deputy chief ministers Kesav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak condemned the teaser and said the disrespect towards the Hindu gods and goddesses would not be tolerated. “Whatever saints have said needs attention. Movies have often hurt the sentiments of Hindus. Whenever our culture was attacked it was these saints and akharas that saved our culture. We are proud of our culture,” Pathak said in a statement.

Keshav Maurya on Wednesday said he did not watch the teaser but if it has hurt the religious sentiments, it needs to be corrected before presenting it to the audience.

Earlier, BJP spokesperson Malavika Avinash said the makers of the film did not do any research before developing Ravana’s character. “The Ravana in the photograph that I see floating around is a guy who looks nothing Indian, has blue eye makeup and is wearing leather jackets. This is our history they are representing; they cannot do it in the guise of creative liberty,” she said. Saif Ali Khan will be seen as Ravana in the movie while Prabhas is Lord Ram and Kriti Sanon is Sita.

The Vishva Hindu Parishad objected to the teaser and said the way Lord Ram, Ravana and Lakshman have been portrayed is a mockery of Hinduism. “The values of Hindu society have been ridiculed. Hindu society will not tolerate this,” Ajay Sharma, Prachar Pramukh of the VHP’s Sambhal unit said. “The VHP will not allow this film to be screened in theatres,” he added.

Madhya Pradesh home minister Narottam Mishra on Tuesday warned of legal action if the scenes showing Hindu religious figures wrongfully are not removed. . “Hanuman ji is shown wearing leather, whereas the description (in the scriptures) of the deity’s costume is different… These are scenes that hurt religious sentiments. I am writing a letter to Om Raut to remove all such scenes from the film. If not removed, we will consider legal action,” Mishra said.