Adipurush collections crash on Monday, makers apologise to Kathmandu mayor
THE TIMES OF INDIA (June 20, 2023)

Kathmandu: All Hindi films, including ‘Adipurush’, were banned in Nepal on Monday following a controversy over its dialogues, including the mention of Sita as “India’s daughter”.

According to reports, the screening of Om Raut-directed ‘Adipurush’ has been halted nationwide, after the movie, a retelling of epic Ramayana, was banned in Kathmandu and Pokhara. Police personnel were deployed across 17 halls in Kathmandu to ensure that no Hindi film was screened.

Kathmandu mayor Balen Shah on Sunday said that no Hindi film will be allowed to run in Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) until the dialogue “Janaki is a daughter of India” is removed, not just in Nepal, but also in India. Sita, also referred to as Janaki, is believed by many to have been born in Janakpur in southeast Nepal.

According to Shah, screening ‘Adipurush’ without getting the dialogue removed will cause “irreparable damage”. Pokhara metropolis mayor Dhanaraj Acharya said ‘Adipurush, starring Prabhas and Kriti Sanon, would be barred from screening from Monday onwards.

“Screening of all the Hindi films will be barred within the KMC from Monday as the objectionable words in the dialogue of the film ‘Adipurush’ has not yet been removed,” the mayor said in a Facebook post on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Raju Pandey, KMC police chief, said that the police inspected cinema halls within the city on Sunday in accordance with the mayor’s instructions.

“We got a positive response during inspection on Sunday,” Pandey said. A security guard at Q’s Cinema situated at the Rising Mall in Kamaladi said that the theatre stopped screening ‘Adipurush’ after showing the movie once on Friday evening.

“Now, we are screening Nepali film ‘Neer Phool’ from Monday,” he said.
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HINDUSTAN TIMES (June 21, 2023)

It seems the negativity surrounding Adipurush owing to all the controversies has caught up with it. The collections of the Prabhas and Kriti Sanon-starrer have witnessed a huge dip for the first time since its release on June 16.

According to a tweet by trade analyst Taran Adarsh, “THE NEGATIVE WORD OF MOUTH HAS COME INTO PLAY... After a strong opening weekend, #Adipurush collapsed on Monday. #Hindi version. #India biz. (sic)”.

The first day’s collection of the film was said to be very good by the trade, estimated to be around ₹37 crore from the Hindi version. The makers had released the gross figures for the first day: Rs. 140 crore from the global box office. Day four figures, according to Box Office India, stood at Rs. 7.75 crores net, indicating that the film has been impacted.

Meanwhile, the makers have apologized to Kathmandu’s mayor, Balen Shah, for the controversy around Janaki’s birthplace. Kathmandu had banned all Hindi films until the line was revised.

“At the outset we would like to apologize if we have hurt the sentiments of the people of Nepal in any way. It was never intentional or deliberate to cause any disharmony for anyone. The dialogue spoken by Mr Prabhas portraying the character of Shri Raghav, ‘Aaj mere liye mat ladna, uss din ke liye ladna jab Bharat ki kisi beti par haath daine se pehle durachari tumhara paurush yaad karke thraa uthega’ has no reference to the birth place of Sita Mata but refers to, in general, the dignity of all women particularly the women of ‘Bharat’ Having said that, as Indians the respect of women all over the world is of utmost importance to us. We request you to view the film in its artistic form and support the intention of reaching out to a larger audience to create interest in our history,” the makers said in a statement.
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Dialogue writer gets police cover

THE TIMES OF INDIA (June 20, 2023)

After facing backlash for the dialogues in ‘Adipurush’, writer Manoj Muntashir has requested protection, citing a threat to his life. Mumbai Police has provided him security and said they are probing the matter. Earlier, Manoj along with directors and producers of the film decided to make changes in the dialogue of the movie. He said, “There is an objection to five dialogues and they will be changed. If people are not liking some parts, then it is our responsibility to fix them.”
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Film ‘hurtful’, ban it: Ayodhya seers

THE TIMES OF INDIA (June 20, 2023)

Seers of Ayodhya, Varanasi and Prayagraj demanded a ban on the film, saying the dialogues and scenes are hurtful to Hindu sentiments. “It should be banned immediately as its dialogues are demeaning —so much so they make our blood boil,” Acharya Satyendra Das, chief priest of Ram Janmabhoomi temple, said. Swami Avimukteshwaranand, Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Kashi, said “One who hears the condemnation of Lord Vishnu commits a sin similar to cow slaughter”.