Meet Manoj Muntashir, writer of Adipurush's 'cringe' dialogue, would take his shoes off out of respect when writing film

In the first day of its release, Om Raut’s ambitious Ramayana adaptation Adipurush has come under the scanner. While its VFX had already been a strong talking point ahead of release, now, even the dialogue are being criticised by those who have watched the film. Amid this, writer and lyricist Manoj Muntashir, who has written Adipurush dialogue, is copping a lot of trolling himself.

Who is Manoj Muntashir, dialogue writer of Adipurush?

Manoj Muntashir’s real name is Manoj Shukla. He uses muntashir (Urdu word for disruptor) as his pen name. Born in a farming family in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi in 1976, he finished his schooling in the city and went to college in Allahabad before moving to Mumbai to seek work in 1999. He began his career writing for the quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati, before moving on to other reality shows later.

Muntashir began writing film songs a few years later, most notably working on popular tracks like Galliyan from Ek Villain, KaunTujhe from MS Dhoni An Untold Story, and Rashk-e-Qamar from Badshaaho. In 2022, he won the National Film Award for his lyrics in the sports biopic Saina. He has also translated dialogue for Hollywood films like Black Panther and Telugu film Baahubali 2 in Hindi.

Manoj Muntashir’s award show controversy

At the 2020 Filmfare Awards, Muntashir was nominated in the Best Lyrics Award category for his work in the film Kesari, specifically for the critically-acclaimed song Teri Mitti. However, the award went to Gully Boy. Muntashir expressed his disappointment at losing out in a tweet and vowed never to attend award functions ever again. He broke this vow last year when was selected for the National Film Award.

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. Twitter is full of memes and trolls criticising the makers and Muntashir for writing these lines. In a 2020 interview, Muntashir had said that he wrote the dialogue of the film very respectfully and would even take his shoes off while doing so as a mark of respect for the subject matter.