Lucknow/Varanasi, June 19: In the midst of a blazing debate over “Adipurush,” a group of individuals organised a demonstration in Varanasi and tore down posters of the film, and the Hindu Mahasabha filed a complaint with the Lucknow police on Monday against the film’s directors.
The Samajwadi Party has joined the clamour of those opposing the film, claiming that its “cheap and superficial dialogues” have offended the devout and that the film is part of a “agenda.” Om Raut’s version of the epic Ramayana “Adipurush” was launched on Friday.
It has received criticism for its informal dialect and contentious portrayal of some characters. In Varanasi, campaigners from a Hindu organisation tore down the film’s posters and urged people not to see it.
The activists met in a temple and marched to a mall in the Sigra district, shouting anti-film chants. They asked that the screening be halted and attempted to enter the mall, but were detained by police.
In the state capital of Lucknow, office-bearers of the Hindu Mahasabha filed a complaint at Hazratganj police station, demanding that a case be filed against the film’s performers, producer, and director. According to authorities, no case has been filed in this matter.
Akhilesh Yadav, head of the Samajwadi Party, said the Censor Board should review the “political character certificate” of individuals who toy with people’s trust by creating films with an agenda using the money of their political masters. In a tweet, he queried, “Has the Censor Board become Dhritarashtra” In the epic Mahabharata, Dhritarashtra, the father of the Kauravas, was a blind monarch.
Shivpal Yadav, another Samajwadi Party leader, claimed that efforts are being made through movies with “cheap and superficial dialogues” to denigrate the noble and inspirational character of Lord Ram and his narrative. “The sentiments of Sanatani have been hurt. The so-called’sanatani’ BJP should apologise to the country for this atrocity…Do not defame Lord Ram,” he said in Hindi on Twitter.
