The High Court of Delhi on Wednesday refused to grant urgent hearing to a public interest litigation (PIL) petition, which sought ban on Hindi movie ‘Adipurush’ on the grounds that it had portrayed Hindu gods and characters such as Lord Ram, Sita, Hanuman and Ravan in poor light.
The Counsel for petitioner organisation Hindu Sena case mentioned the matter before the Vacation Bench of Justice Tara Vitasta Ganju and Justice Amit Mahajan.
The Advocate representing the petitioner contended that the movie had several controversial scenes, which were even affecting India’s relations with other countries. He pointed out that Nepal has banned the flick due to certain dialogues mouthed by the main characters in the movie.
However, the Court observed that there was no urgency in the matter since the movie has already been released and directed the petitioner to come back on June 30, when the matter has been listed for hearing.
Directed by Om Raut and starring actors such as Prabhas, Saif Ali Khan and Kriti Sanon, the film was released in theatres on June 16.
Since its release, Adipurush has witnessed adverse reactions from different quarters over the portrayal of Hindu Gods and characters in the movie, along with the dialogues, written by Manoj Muntashir.
national president Vishnu Gupta under Article 226 of the Constitution, the writ petition sought directions to the respondents for removal of objectionable scenes from the feature film, apart from a writ of mandamus to the respondents, directing them not to certify Adipurush for public exhibition.
The PIL further alleged that the flick, directed by Om Raut, ‘hurt’ the sentiments of Hindu community as it had portrayed religious leaders/characters/figures in an inaccurate and inappropriate manner, contrary to the description of Hindu religious leaders/characters as described in Ramayana authored by great writers like Maharishi Valmiki and Saint Tulsidas.
The petitioner contended that he had given a representation to the Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) on October 4, 2022. However, the Ministry failed to respond to the representation, added Gupta.
He said the depiction of Ravana, Lord Ram, Mata Sita and Hanuman in the feature film was contrary to the image and descriptions of these religious leaders/characters/figures as depicted in Maharishi Valmiki’s Ramayana and Tulsidas’ Ramcharitmanas.
The PIL contended that the depiction of religious leaders /characters such as Ravana, played by actor Saif Ali Khan and Lord Hanuman in the film were completely detached from the Indian civilisation. It said the bearded look of Ravana’s character in the film was hurting the sentiments of Hindu community as the Hindu Brahmin Ravana was shown making a ghastly face in a wrong manner, which was an absolute insult to the Hindu civilisation, Hindu religious figures, idols and ideals.
It further noted that the scene related to Ravana in the film was an absolute distortion from the real facts and story of Ramayana. Since these were essentially religious leaders/characters, the filmmakers, producers and actors could not be permitted to take an unimpeded creative liberty to commercialise the religious leaders/characters, their faces, personalities and looks, including their hair. This was a sheer violation of religious rights under Article 25 of the Constitution of India, it added.
The PIL said that wrong depiction of Hindu religious leaders / characters including Ravana in this feature film was also discriminatory and against the principle of secularism because the same has invited criticism and resentment from all over the country, including from those actors who played the role of religious Hindu leaders/characters in Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana.
The Hindu Sena chief submitted that he had filed the PIL for the ‘benefit’ of the public in general, who may be incapable of accessing the court themselves because they were not fully/properly equipped, financially as well as legally.
Respondents in the petition include the Union government by way of the I&B Ministry Secretary, the Chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification, the Home Secretary of Tamil Nadu, Director and Producer of Adipurush OM Raut and Chairman & Managing Director of T Series, Bhushan Kumar.