Adipurush row: From negative reviews and declining box office to Saif Ali Khan and Manoj Muntashir’s controversial statements, a rundown of major events

Adipurush has been attracting controversy for over a year now, and amid a new wave of backlash against the Prabhas-starrer, here's a rundown of every major event that has transpired in the months leading up to and in the days following its release.

Prabhas in a still from Adipurush.

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The mythological epic film Adipurush, a big-budget adaptation of the Ramayana, has opened to disappointing critical and audience response. And the negative word-of-mouth seems to be affecting its box office collections as well. The negativity surrounding the movie has spurred several protests across the country, and has also prompted the producers to make certain changes to the film after its release.

Starring Prabhas as Raghav, Kriti Sanon as Janaki, and Saif Ali Khan as Lankesh, Adipurush is directed by Om Raut, and features extensive use of computer-generated imagery (CGI) to create expansive fantasy landscapes and creatures. The film was reportedly made on a budget of Rs 600 crore, and is being released in multiple languages across the country.

Adipurush opened to negative reviews from critics on Friday, which snowballed into widespread criticism from devotees of Lord Rama. Many took offence to certain lines of dialogues, which the filmmakers initially said had been colloquialised to penetrate the minds of the youth. But after the protests intensified and box office tracking slowed down, it was announced that the movie would be altered post-release. Adipurush also failed the all-important Monday test at the box office, which signals a mass disinterest. The opening weekend, however, delivered record-breaking box office collections, thanks mostly to Prabhas’ loyal fandom, and the must-see nature of the film.

Here’s condensing the Adipurush saga into eight points:

01
First signs of controversy
Even before a single frame of the movie had been released, actor Saif Ali Khan's comments about humanising Ravana in the film attracted controversy. In an interview with Mumbai Mirror in 2020, Saif said, “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 his nose.”

Saif subsequently issued an apology after his comments didn't go down too well with a certain section of the film's core audience. “I’ve been made aware that one of my statements during an interview has caused a controversy and hurt people’s sentiments. This was never my intention or meant that way. I would like to sincerely apologise to everybody and withdraw my statement,” he said in a statement.
02
The teaser
The first teaser for Adipurush was released in October 2022. This was when the movie was slated for a January 2023 release. But the response to the teaser was unanimously negative, with many complaining about the subpar quality of the visual effects. After director Om Raut's initial comments about the film being made for the big screen, T-Series quickly made the decision to delay its release in order to fine-tune the effects. Adipurush was moved to June.
03
A new trailer, with refined effects
In May, a new trailer for the film was released, showcasing the refined visual effects. While viewers appreciated the changes that were made to shots that previously looked only half-complete, there was a sense of cautiousness even then, considering just how CGI-driven the movie seemed as a whole. The bulk of the changes seemed to revolve around character appearances and textures in the background. Saif, whose appearance had received criticism, had a reduced screen time.
04
Tribeca premiere
In April, it was quietly revealed that Adipurush would have a world premiere at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival in New York. The film, it was announced, would play in the midnight section at the fest, co-founded by legendary actor Robert De Niro. But without any official word or explanation, the premiere appeared to have been cancelled, with the film being removed from the fest's listings. Some reports suggested that the film wasn't complete in time for the premiere, which was scheduled to take place just a few days before its global release.
05
Theatrical release
The movie finally debuted in theatres on June 16, and immediately attracted negative reviews. Most complaints were focused on the poor quality of the visual effects, the cringeworthy dialogue writing by Manoj Muntashir, and the superhero movie parallels that Raut had introduced. As the day went by, even the film's core audience began voicing their disapproval of how certain characters had been portrayed in the film.

While some complained about 'Tere baap ki' lines given to Hanuman, others found fault with Lord Rama's depiction as an Angry Young Man.
06
Director, writer defend decisions
A day after the film's release, Raut and Muntashir appeared on television and defended their creative choices. While Raut said that the movie only focuses on one portion of the Ramayana, Muntashir suggested that there is a conspiracy to defame the film. Raut also addressed the negative reviews, and said that audience response matters more to him.

Muntashir, in an interview with Aaj Tak, went on to claim that Adipurush isn't an adaptation of the Ramayana at all, but is merely inspired by it. His comments were in direct contradiction of a previous statement that he made about replicating the Ramayana faithfully. “First of all, not even 1% of our film is a deviation from actual Ramayana," he told News18 in 2022.

T-Series eventually decided to alter the controversial lines of dialogue in an effort to promote a 'unified film experience'.
07
Protests
The first official to formally protest against the film was Kathmandu mayor Balen Shah, who threatened to impose a ban on all Hindi movies in the region if a certain line of dialogue about Sita being 'India's daughter' wasn't amended. He said that Sita is considered as Nepal's daughter, and said that the movie could offend the religious sensibilities of his compatriots if released. He gave T-Series three days to make the changes, which the studio complied with. Later, as the protests escalated, T-Series also issued an apology.

Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur said that no film should get away with offending the sensibilities of people, even as the Aam Aadmi Party called for a ban on the movie, and the Samajwadi Party raised objections about its content. Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor also demanded a temporary ban on the screening of the movie, until the scenes and dialogues are re-examined. Protests broke out on the streets of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi.

Incidentally, the filmmakers had secured the 'blessings' of several prominent BJP leaders before releasing the movie. The film’s credit roll begins by thanking Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma and Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, apart from Maharashtra CM and BJP ally Eknath Shinde.
08
Box office
Adipurush opened strongly on Friday, grossing Rs 140 crore worldwide. The movie showed great promise over the weekend, ultimately finishing with Rs 340 crore globally. But either because of the toxic reviews or the negative word-of-mouth, it suffered a historic drop on Monday, generating only Rs 20 crore nett across India. Considering its reported Rs 600 crore budget, the film finds itself in major trouble.
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Adipurush was also expected to revitalise Prabhas' flailing career after the Baahubali films made him a pan-India star. Prabhas previously starred in the back-to-back critical and commercial disasters Saaho and Radhe Shyam.