Prabhas starrer Adipurush has come under the legal scanner, after an advocate filed a plea against filmmaker Om Raut and actor Saif Ali Khan in a district court in Uttar Pradesh. The case has been filed in connection with Saif Ali Khan’s comment on his Ravana role. Adipurush is based on the Hindu epic Ramayana, starring Prabhas as Ram and actor Saif Ali Khan as Ravana.
The petitioner said that on December 6, Saif Ali Khan said in a media interview that "since Lakshman had cut off the nose of Ravan's sister Surpnakha, it was justified that Ravan kidnapped Sita".
Currently, the case is in the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) in Jaunpur district of Uttar Pradesh. The ACJM court has fixed December 23 as the next date of hearing in the case. Himanshu Srivastava, a civil court advocate, has given an application through advocate Upendra Vikram Singh.
According to the petition, the plaintiff has deep faith in 'Sanatan Dharma'. He said that Lord Ram has been considered a symbol of good and Ravan, a symbol of evil. In this context, the festival of Vijayadashami is celebrated every year.
Saif also said in the interview that through this film, "the benevolent and humane side of Ravan will be projected". Saif who plays the antagonist had later apologised and withdrawn his statements. The plaintiff alleged that Saif's interview is a negative portrayal of ‘faith’ and ‘faith in Sanatan Dharma’.
Apart from the plaintiff, witnesses Vinod Srivastava, Ajit Singh, Brijesh Nishad, Nilesh Nishad, Surya Prakash Singh and Vivek Tiwari also saw and heard the interview through Internet media at 8 p.m. on December 9. This has hurt their religious sentiments, the petitioner claimed.
Adipurush is a pan-Indian film which will be released in five languages-- Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam. The film is expected to go into production in 2021 and would be released in 2022, as per earlier TNM reports.