Aastha Thakur
Published on: 10 October 2022 at 10:56 IST
The petition has been filed in the Delhi Court seeking an injunction against the release of the movie ‘Adipurush’ in its present form. It is alleged by the petitioner that the promo released by the film producers depicts the Hindu Gods, Lords Ram and Hanuman, in an “inaccurate manner”. Hence, the theatrical release of the movie will hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindu community.
In his petition, Advocate Raj Gaurav asks the Court to order the film producer and director to remove the allegedly offensive portions of the teaser from all social media platforms, including YouTube and Facebook.
The suit seeks a decree for a permanent injunction restraining the defendants from depicting “Lord Ram, Lord Hanuman, and Ravana” in the way they have been depicted “in the objectionable promo/teaser” of the movie in question.
The movie is slated for theatrical release on January 12, 2023.
The plea filed submits that the defendant’s movie is against morality and decency and has the capacity to offend the religious sentiments of majority of Hindus.
It is further argued that, “The defendants in the garb of free speech and expression cannot manipulate the essence of the epic Ramayana, which is part of the plaintiff’s culture, civilization, spirituality and religion. The defendant cannot be allowed to play with the golden ithihas of India as a whole,”
It is contended by the petitioner that the traditional image of Lord Ram is a ‘serene and calm person’, in the movie’s promotional video, he has been portrayed as an ‘atrocious, revengeful, and angry’ person.
In one of the scenes, the actor portraying Lord Ram is shown to be wearing a leather strap instead of a sacred thread and, instead of khadau, he is shown to be wearing leather like boots.
Furthermore, it is contended that the Lord Hanuman has been shown in totally different attire. He is dressed in leather instead of sacred thread (janew).
The petition also alleged that the character of Ravana’s, played by actor Saif Ali Khan, has been shown to be ‘awfully cheap and appalling’. However, the mythological character Ravana is believed to be a loyal devotee of Lord Shiva and always wore a tilak on his forehead with a golden crown.
“It is submitted that the portrayal of Ravana in the promo teaser is so horrid that the sentiments of the plaintiff is hurt, he being a brahmin himself, Even though Ravana has a villainous character in Ramayana, even then he is to be treated with respect, being a scholar of Vedas and a genuinely learned man,” the plea argues.
As per the argument presented by the petitioner, it is prayed that the promo must be banned and removed from the internet on an immediate basis, considering the ‘defamatory impact and enrage it would cause among the Hindu community’.
Further the petition submits that, “That the defendants, if are not stopped from propagating hate towards Hindus with objectionable depiction of Lord Ram and Lord Hanuman, might lead to much furor and uprising among the public at large and may also cause law and order situation in the country. Right now, the objectionable teaser/promo has caused huge protests across the country, and TV debates are laden with this topic, “