Ramayana faces fresh controversy as Shri Ramlila Mahasangh seeks preview screening, warns of protests over alleged inaccuracies
Here's the latest update from the Bollywood world:
President Arjun Kumar has urged the makers of the movie to hold a special screening before rollout, citing concerns over scenes that could hurt religious sentiments.
Adding to this, During a recent press conference, Kumar opened up that he has written a formal letter to the filmmakers requesting an advance screening of Ramayana . According to him, the demand stems from concerns that certain portions of the movie could potentially hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus in India and abroad.
Meanwhile, In conversation with PTI, Kumar maintained that the Mahasangh supports the rollout of the movie but wants to ensure that it preserves the sanctity of the epic. He shared, "We welcome this movie and encourage millions of people to watch it. We will even arrange free screenings for members of the Ramleela Committee. However, the trailer caused us some distress as it lacked the appropriate sentiment that should have been present. The costumes appeared rather odd and this prompted us to urge the producers and directors to screen the movie for the Ramleela Committee before its rollout.”
Notably, He continued, “If any shortcomings are found, we can offer our input and we would certainly welcome the movie. However, if the movie is rolled out without such a screening much like 'Adipurush' and ends up hurting religious sentiments, we warn that we will not allow it to run. We have made this declaration in consultation with the Ramleela Mahasangh and Delhi's Ramlila committees that our religious sentiments must not be offended."
As per the latest buzz, Referring to the backlash faced by Adipurush , Kumar shared that inaccuracies in the adaptation had led to widespread criticism. One of the major objections raised against the 2023 movie was its depiction of Lanka in black instead of the traditionally described golden kingdom, among other creative liberties that many believed deviated from the original epic. Kumar suggested that such deviations contributed to the movie's poor reception at the ticket-window.
In further updates, Apart from concerns arising from the trailer, Kumar also claimed that the organisation had received information suggesting that certain portions of Ramayana could prove objectionable to audiences, although he did not specify the scenes in question. “According to information received by the Mahasangh, Ramayana may also contain certain scenes that could hurt the sentiments of Hindus living in India and abroad. In light of this, the organisation has requested a special preview screening to ensure that any potentially objectionable scenes or dialogues are identified and removed prior to rollout."
On top of that, The Shri Ramlila Mahasangh President has also as per reports warned that if the filmmakers do not agree to their request for a preview screening and if the movie is found to contain inaccuracies, the organisation will stage protests and demonstrations outside cinema halls across various cities during its rollout.
Meanwhile, Ramayana remains one of the most anticipated Indian films in recent years. Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, the epic stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita Maa, Ravie Dubey as Lakshman, Sunny Deol as Lord Hanuman, Rakul Preet Singh as Surpanakha, Lara Dutta as Kaikeyi, while producer Yash also essays the role of Ravana.
Source: Bollywood Hungama