Manoj Muntashir has finally admitted to the shortcomings in his work on ‘Adipurush.’ Here’s a retrospective on the peculiar statements he made about Prabhas’ film.

For the first time, Adipurush writer Manoj Muntashir has conceded to being completely mistaken in his contribution to the epic disaster based on the Ramayana. The film, starring Prabhas as Lord Ram, Kriti Sanon as Devi Sita, and Saif Ali Khan as Lankesh, faced severe criticism for its loose interpretation of the Ramayana when it hit theaters. The audience was taken aback by the casual treatment of the sacred narrative. Manoj Muntashir, the dialogue writer for the film, bore the brunt of the backlash over the film’s dialogues.

The film featured peculiar dialogues, such as Lord Hanuman uttering phrases like ‘Jalegi Tere Baap Ki’ and ‘Teri Bua Ka Bageecha.’ Initially, Muntashir defended these dialogues, attributing them to simplification for a better understanding of the common audience. However, as his stance on the issue became controversial, it led to a public outcry.

Muntashir continuously asserted that ‘Adipurush‘ was crafted for today’s generation, expressing concern that contemporary children might forget our traditional superheroes like Ram, Hanuman, and Angad in favor of characters like Captain America and Hulk, as nothing had been made on our native heroes for an extended period.

Manoj Muntashir persisted in glorifying his mistakes on four separate occasions before ultimately issuing an apology. Here’s a recap of his statements during the contentious period before bowing down to public pressure.

The Intentional Confession: Despite the escalating dissent, Muntashir adhered to his stance on using simplified language for the film. He stated in an interview that the intention was not to remake the Ramayana but to draw inspiration from its narrative.

Brutal Bashing: Muntashir faced severe criticism after his statements went viral. Actors like Sunil Lahiri and Mukesh Khanna expressed their disapproval, labeling the use of such language as shameful and the most disgusting joke of the century, respectively.

Replicated Lines & Additional Assertions – Hanuman wasn’t a deity, but a devotee! The controversy deepened as Muntashir refused to acknowledge his mistakes, even making grand claims about Lord Hanuman not being a god but a devotee. A video surfaced where a spiritual leader recited dialogues from ‘Adipurush’ during a discourse, fueling accusations of plagiarism against Muntashir.

The ‘Fiery’ Rumor!: Rumors circulated that Muntashir’s persistent defense of his dialogues irked the producers, leading to tensions with T-series. However, he dismissed these reports and affirmed his continued collaboration with T-series on their next project, ‘Animal.’

The Final Apology: Muntashir eventually apologized for the ‘tapori’ flavored dialogues in ‘Adipurush,’ acknowledging that he unintentionally hurt the sentiments of those who hold the Ramayana in reverence.

The Revision: Subsequently, Muntashir and the ‘Adipurush’ team revised the dialogues, sparking further debate. The updated dialogues were incorporated into the film a week later.

For those unfamiliar, the Hindi version of ‘Adipurush’ collected only 147 crore at the box office and was deemed a disaster.