Actors Prabhas, Saif Ali Khan and Kriti Sanon’s upcoming mythological film Adipurush, an adaptation of the epic Ramayana, has courted controversy following the release of its teaser on October 2. A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking removal of “controversial” scenes related to Rama, Sita, Hanuman and Ravana, was reportedly filed by an organisation named Hindu Sena on Wednesday, October 12. Adipurush, which is set to hit the big screens next year, features Prabhas as Rama, while Saif will be seen as the antagonist, Lankesh. Kriti Sanon and Sunny Singh will be essaying the roles of Sita and Hanuman, respectively. Hindu Sena’s president Vishnu Gupta has moved the Delhi HC, claiming that the scenes in the promo are contrary to the depictions of religious characters in Ramayana, LiveLaw reported on October 12.
On October 8, a plea was filed in a Delhi court seeking injunction against the film. The petition filed by Delhi-based lawyer Raj Gaurav alleged that the promo released by the producers of the movie has hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus by depicting lord Ram and Hanuman in an “unwarranted” and “inaccurate” manner. “The promo of the film shows lord Ram as an angry man on a killing spree. Whereas lord Hanuman and Ram both were shown wearing leather accessories,” the plea stated.
Hearing the plea on October 10, senior civil judge Abhishek Kumar of Tiz Hazari courts granted producer Bhushan Kumar an opportunity to argue on maintainability of the suit filed by lawyer Raj Gaurav. The court ordered that arguments on the maintainability of the suit under Order VII Rule 11 of Code of Civil Procedure can be presented by the producer on November 5. "…. the defendant no.1 is given the opportunity to address the arguments on the maintainability of the suit at the pre-summons stage," read the statement from the court as per LiveLaw’s report.
Earlier on social media, the teaser of Adipurush, sparked a meme fest, where the makers were questioned and trolled for the poor standards of visual effects used in the video. Some users also raised questions about Saif Ali Khan’s look, and his modern haircut in particular, since Adipurush is a historical fiction.
Adipurush is slated for theatrical release on January 12, 2023. The film’s director Om Raut had announced earlier that the film will be released in IMAX as well as in 3D.