The head priest at the Ram temple at Ayodhya on Wednesday demanded an immediate ban on the upcoming film Adipurush, alleging that it has wrongly portrayed Lord Ram, Hanuman and Ravana.
The portrayal of Lord Ram, Hanuman and Ravana did not conform to the epic and is absolutely wrong and condemnable, Mahant Satyendra Das, chief priest of Ram Janmabhoomi temple, said. He added that the big adaptation of the Ramayana in the film went against the dignity of Lord Ram, Hanuman and Ravana, PTI reported.
BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh said the filmmakers appeared to create controversies deliberately. While making a film is not a crime, creating deliberate controversies to hog limelight is inappropriate, PTI quoted Singh as saying.
Controversy erupted following the release of the 1:46-minute teaser of the film in Ayodhya on Sunday. Baahubali actor Prabhas plays Lord Ram, while Saif Ali Khan plays the role of a 10-headed demon king Lankesh. However, Khan’s look of the demon king has prompted many to call out the filmmakers for the apparent Islamisation of Ravana.
Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak had said the teaser was disrespectful towards the Hindu deities and would therefore not be tolerated.
Pathak said a number of saints had objected to the way the Hindu deities were portrayed in ‘Adipurush’ and their demand to ban the film was justified, IANS reported.On Wednesday, Maurya said he had not seen the trailer of the film. However, if it hurt the religious sentiments then it needs to be corrected before presenting it to the audience, ANI quoted him as saying.
BJP spokesperson Malavika Avinash earlier said the filmmakers failed to do proper research before developing Ravana's character. She said Ravana appeared to have blue eye makeup and wearing leather jackets.
“This is our history they are representing; they cannot do it in the guise of creative liberty," Hindustan Times quoted Avinash as saying.
