From Mukesh Khanna to Ramanand Sagar Ramayan cast, how are the oldies reacting to Adipurush?

With every passing hour, a new person gets hurt or offended by Adipurush, Om Raut’s controversial take on Ramayan. Fans of the Ramanand Sagar serial are also naturally taken aback by Raut’s version, including the original cast members and even Mukesh Khanna, the actor known for playing Shaktimaan and Bhishma in Mahabharat. 

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Mukesh Khanna wants the Adipurush team to be burnt alive

Khanna who was already bothered with Prabhas’s moustachioed look as Ram much before the release of Adipurush, has now come out with even more aggressive statements. The actor now wants the entire film’s cast and crew to be “burnt alive”!

Donning an awkward cowboy hat, the Mahabharat actor told ANI that Adipurush has turned Ramayana into a joke and stressed on the need for 100 crore Hindus to “awaken”. 

Pointing out the mythological errors in Adipurush, Khanna expressed his disappointment over Shiva’s blessing on Ravan being replaced by Ravan getting blessing from Brahma much like the demon king Hiranyakashyap (whose lifetime preceded Ram and Ravan in Hindu mythology). 

Strongly believing that Om Raut and dialogue writer Manoj Muntashir haven’t even read the Ramayana, Khanna called for their burning. 

To put it in his words, 

What annoyed Khanna even more is the fact that Manoj Muntashir has continued to defend his take on the Ramayana, “I thought that when all this has happened, they will hide their face, but they are coming forward and explaining this much.” 

ALSO READ: Why Manoj Shukla became Manoj Muntashir, copying work after work on way to Adipurush

If this wasn’t enough, Khanna also criticised Saif Ali Khan’s casting and look as Ravan. “He looks more like a smuggler than Ravan,” the Shaktimaan actor could be heard saying. 

The original Ram feels the damage has already been done

Actor and BJP member Arun Govil, who played Ram in Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan, has not spoken in as violent a tongue as Mukesh Khanna. But naturally, Govil himself is disappointed with what Raut has done. 

Muntashir’s “pedestrian” dialogues for Hanuman also disappointed Govil who told India Today, “a god talking in this language is not done”. Even though the producers have agreed to edit out the controversial dialogues, Govil feels the damage has already been done. 

“It's not going to be like that if they remove the dialogue and people will then go to the cinemas. It should not have been there. From the names like Lord Ram, Hanuman, and Sita, we worship them and if something goes lower than their standard, it's not done.”

Even though he still has not watched Adipurush, another major complaint that Govil has had is with the costume and makeup. He feels that despite Prabhas being a big star in his own right, he hasn’t been made to look enough like Ram. “If the looks are correct, half of the battle is won.” Adipurush has clearly not won this battle!

The Lakshman actor is miffed with Lanka, Sita and a lot more 

Sunil Lahri, the actor who played Ram’s brother Lakhsman in the 80s era serial, was similarly miffed with the mythological liberties that Raut has used in Adipurush. For instance, the illusion of Sita’s death on the battlefield and turning Lanka from a city of gold to a darkened version of Asgard didn’t sit well for Lahiri. 

He lamented on how Om Raut had a great opportunity on his hands with enough budget but he just wasted the potential on Adipurush. 

Ramanand Sagar’s son admits that creative liberties are justified (but not to Raut’s level)

While Ramanand Sagar is no more, his son Prem Sagar expressed his views in an interview with Live Hindustan. He admits that even his father used some creative liberties in his TV series but “he never tried to tamper with facts”. 

Like many, Prem Sagar even criticised how Raut was more focused in Marvel-ising Ramayana and has hurt sentiments in this process. He added how many writers have reinterpreted Ramayan in the past but “no one changed the content”. What was changed, in his opinion, was the language and colour unlike Raut who seems to have changed entire facts.