The controversy surrounding Om Raut’s Adipurush, which is a retelling of the Ramayana, refuses to die down. Not only are clarion calls for a blanket ban on the film growing louder, but the backlash has also translated to a dip in box-office collections, despite a positive opening weekend. Here’s a roundup of all that ensued.

All India Cine Workers Association president Suresh Shyam Lal Gupta has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling for an immediate ban on the film for “hurting religious sentiments”. He has also urged an FIR against director Om Raut, co-writer Manoj Muntashir and the producers. 

“The screenplay and dialogues are clearly defaming the image of Lord Ram and Lord Hanuman,” read the letter written on Tuesday, adding, “The movie depicts Lord Ram and even Raavan like characters from a video game. We request Modi ji to ban screening Adipurush in theatres and OTT platforms immediately.”

In response to the backlash, the makers of Adipurush said recently that they would omit the dialogues found objectionable and release a fresh cut. Actor Prem Sagar, whose father, late Ramanand Sagar, helmed the iconic 1987 television serial Ramayan, wonders how writer Manoj Muntashir “conceived the dialogues”. “It might be a misjudgment that the younger generation would like it. Don’t say it is based on Valmiki Ramayan; give it any other name. Call it a fantasy film. But, if you’re making Ramayan, you can’t hurt sentiments,” he told ANI, adding that he “doesn’t even want to watch the film”.

The box-office collection of the Prabhas-starrer fell drastically during the week. From a Friday figure of Rs. 87 crores (nett), the India collection across languages dipped to Rs. 67 crores (approx) over the weekend. On Monday, it further dipped to Rs. 19.5 crores while on Tuesday, it fell to Rs. 13 crores.

Actor Kriti Sanon held a screening of her film for the students of her alma mater, Delhi Public School, RK Puram, on Wednesday. Sanon booked a show at PVR Sangam in RK Puram. “Since the film is based on the Ramayana, children would enjoy it,” says a source.

Actor Dipika Chikhlia Topiwala, who played Sita in the iconic TV show Ramayan, feels it’s high time an epic like the Ramayana stops being remade. Taking to Instagram, she shared a video clip, saying: “We often see the Ramayana being recreated after every few years, be it for a film or a TV show. Ramayana is our epic. We should not recreate it. Whenever it is made, there is some or the other controversy around it. It is a subject we should worship. We should [instead] teach it in educational institutions.”