Director Om Raut’s interpretation of Valmiki Ramayanam in his film Adipurush has faced severe criticism and backlash from various quarters. The modern portrayal of Ravana and Indrajith’s characters has not been well-received by many traditional and orthodox fans of Ramayana.
One particular comedy scene in Adipurush featuring Hanuman and Lakshmana (Seshu) has failed to resonate with the audience. The jokes in the scene are bland and fail to connect with the viewers. Lakshmana poses a series of seemingly silly questions to Hanuman to test his intelligence, which has shocked and disappointed several audience members.
Sunil Lahri, who played Lakshmana in the popular Ramayana television series, openly expressed his dissatisfaction with Adipurush and its dialogues. He found fault with director Om Raut and the makers of Adipurush for deviating from the traditional narrative.
Priyanka Chaturvedi, a member of Maharashtra’s Shiv Sena party, also criticized the dialogues of Hanuman in the film. She took issue with a particular dialogue where Hanuman responds to Indrajith setting fire to his tail by saying, “When the cloth, fire, and oil belong to your father, the one that burns also belongs to your father.” While the dialogue does not contain any double meaning or offensive language, the politician demanded an apology for what she deemed indecent language used for Lord Hanuman’s words.
In response to the criticism, Adipurush’s dialogue writer Manoj Muntashir Shukla defended the dialogues in the film, stating that they were crafted with great care. He explained that some dialogues were simplified to highlight the divergence in the characters. Despite the controversy, Adipurush continues to make headlines for various reasons.