Om Raut's much awaited Adipurush, starring Prabhas, Kriti Sanon and Saif Ali Khan in important roles, released on June 16.
The epic drama is expected to open to huge numbers at the box office. Based on the Indian mythology Ramayana, Adipurush is reportedly one of the most expensive Bollywood films ever made. However, it has also been in controversies at various points in time.
Here are some of the instances when Adipurush and its makers made headlines for the wrong reasons.
Saif Ali Khan justified Sita's abduction
Speaking about his character of Raavan in the film, Saif Ali Khan had triggered a controversy saying that the movie would showcase a more "humane" side of his character. He had also justified the act of Raavan kidnapping Sita.
“It’s interesting to play a demon king, less strictures in that. But we will make him humane, up the entertainment quotient, justify his abduction of Sita and the war with Ram as revenge for what was done to his sister Surpanakha by Lakshman, who cut off her nose," Saif had told Mumbai Mirror in an interview in December 2020.
He had later withdrawn his statement and issued an apology after he faced huge backlash on social media.
Teaser release
The first teaser of the film was revealed on October 2022. The teaser was harshly trolled for its poor VFX despite the high budget of the film. Netizens took to Twitter sharing memes on how the special effects looked silly, while others compared it to mobile game 'Temple Run'.
Saif Ali Khan’s appearance was also criticised with users saying that he does not show any likeliness to Raavan, instead looked similar to Mughal rulers. The portrayal of Hanuman also received public ire.
Plagiarism allegations
A concept artist, a few months before the film's release, took to social media sharing his designs claiming that the Adipurush team had stolen his designs, mixing it with those of other artists.
This was not the only time the movie had to battle these allegations. Following the poster release, a Maharashtra-based animation company accused the makers of plagiarising the poster of animation film Lord Shiva.
Tirupati temple controversy
During a pre-release event in Tirupati, a video showing director Om Raut kissing Kriti Sanon at the religious site went viral. This led to an uproar with the head priest at Telangana's Chilkur Balaji Temple strongly reacting to the "condemnable act".
"This is a condemnable act. Even a husband and wife do not go there (temple) together. You can go to a hotel room and do it. Your behaviour is like insulting Ramayan and Goddess Sita," the head priest had said.