Om Raut’s new film Adipurush has been at the receiving end of a lot of criticism ever since it released yesterday. The film is rewriting box office records but there is still a large section of audience that has slammed the dialogue writer Manoj Muntashir for using ‘cringe’ and colloquial lines for mythological characters and gods themselves. The writer has now defended his work, only to be further trolled.
Manoj Muntashir’s defence of Adipurush dialogue
In an interaction with Republic, Muntashir was asked about the rationale behind some of the much-criticised lines in the film, mainly ones spoken by Lord Hanuman during the Lanka Dehan scene. “It is not an error. It is a very meticulous thought process that has gone into writing the dialogue for Bajrang Bali,” he responded, adding, “We have made it simple deliberately because we have to understand if there are multiple characters in the film, all cannot speak the same language. There has to be a kind of division.”
Addressing the one much-ridiculed line where Hanuman says ‘jalegi bhi tere baap ki’, Muntashir said, “Ours is an oral tradition. We all know Ramayana like that. I come from a small village where grandmothers used to tell these stories in this style, using this language. I am not the first one to write this dialogue.”
However, Muntashir’s defence did not go well with viewers. On social media, his defence was slammed for being insensitive. One comment read, “It is not over simplification.....it is derogatory language which we do not accept as coming from our revered God.” Another wrote, “Totally disconnected with Manoj Muntasir. And see his audacity...he is still defending it. Shame!!!!!” Many called for Muntashir to apologise for hurting religious sentiments. “Making dialogues simpler is understandable but making dialogues disrespectful and entirely out of the lexical and contextual plane is just ridiculous. He should be ashamed and aplogize instead of justifying it,” read one comment.
Why are Adipurush dialogue being criticised?
The dialogue of Adipurush are being criticised for being too flippant or unserious, and containing modern-day slang and lingo in a setting from centuries ago. Lines like ‘jalegi tere baap ki’, ‘teri bua ka bageecha hai kya’, and ‘Lanka laga denge’ being uttered by mythological figures with religious significance has not gone down well with a large section of the viewers.
The use of modern-day slang like ‘jali kya’ in a Ramayan adaptation took many by surprise. Some felt it was inappropriate while others said it did not fit the tenor and genre of the film.
