A month after the release of Om Raut’s mythological film Adipurush which faced massive backlash, the film’s writer Manoj Muntashir Shukla issued an “unconditional apology” for hurting people’s emotions.
The retelling of the Ramayana was heavily criticised for its poor VFX and pedestrian language, triggering protests in several parts of the country. Many political parties, too, called for a ban on the film’s screening. Shukla came under fire particularly for Lord Hanuman’s dialogues in the “Lanka Dahan” sequence. The Mumbai Police also provided security to Shukla after the writer approached cops, alleging threat to his life. Shukla later announced that the team would revise some of the dialogues that offended viewers.
Taking to Twitter on Saturday, Shukla wrote: “I accept that people’s emotions have been hurt by ‘Adipurush’. With folded hands, I extend my unconditional apology,”
He further said: “May Prabhu Bajrang Bali keep us united and grant us strength to serve our sacred Sanatan and our great nation. #Adipurush” he added.
Adipurush which was released across the country in Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Tamil in June, stars Prabhas as Raghav (Ram), Kriti Sanon as Janaki (Sita) and Saif Ali Khan as Lankesh (Raavan).
The film was banned in Nepal over its dialogue referring to Sita as “India’s daughter”.
Many users responded to Shukla’s ‘late apology”. One of the users commented: “Too late. When the film flopped, the theaters started getting down from the house, when there was nothing left to lose, when the anger of the public itself cooled down, then you are apologising. This work should have been done within a few days of the release of the film.”
The film, reportedly mounted on a budget of Rs 500 crore, earned Rs 340 crore in first three days but the box office collections went significantly down after the opening weekend.
