Why netizens fuming over Baahubali actor Prabhas’s new movie Adipurush

Four months after its release, "Adipurush," a big-budget Ramayana adaption, is already mired in controversy for a variety of reasons, including the representation of Ravana and Hanuman, as well as its poor visual effects. 

The movie's 1.46-minute teaser, by Tanhaji director Om Raut was released on Sunday in Ayodhya. And the backlash was swift. The multilingual period tale is led by "Baahubali" actor Prabhas, who plays Lord Ram in the title role. Saif Ali Khan plays Lankesh, a 10-headed demon ruler. Here we will look into the trending controversies that made the film stay in the headlines across the nation.

The Hanuman wearing leather controversy

As the hashtags #BoycottAdipurush and #BanAdipurush grew in popularity, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra on Tuesday warned the film's creators with legal action if sequences depicting Hindu holy icons in the "wrong" way were not deleted.

"I have seen the teaser of 'Adipurush'. There are objectionable scenes in it. The dresses and look of Hindu deities as seen in the trailer were not acceptable”, Mishra, who is also the spokesperson of the state government, told reporters in Bhopal.

"Hanuman ji is shown wearing leather, whereas the description (in the scriptures) of the deity's costume is different... These are scenes that hurt religious sentiments. I am writing a letter to Om Raut to remove all such scenes from the film. If not removed, we will consider legal action," Mishra said.

Saif Ali Khan’s Ravana look compares to Khilji

Some were impressed by the teaser, while many were disappointed with the VFX. Not only that, but Saif, who plays Lankesh in the film, had a negative reaction from the internet. Some even compared him to Taimur AKA Timur, the Mughal conqueror.

A Twitter user linked Saif's appearance to that of Khilji and commented, “ this movie is an insult to Ramayan Firstly why are Ravan and Hanuman not wearing Mukut? What kind of hair cut is Saif given? he’s looking like Khilji Ravan was one of d wisest Bramhin can't see his Janva Pls stop hurting our sentiments #DisappointingAdipurish #AadiPurush (sic)”. 

This movie is an insult to Ramayan
Firstly why are Ravan and Hanuman not wearing Mukut?
What kind of hair cut is Saif given?he’s looking like Khilji
Ravan was one of d wisest Bramhin can't see his Janva
Pls stop hurting our sentiments #DisappointingAdipurish #AadiPurush pic.twitter.com/W3TiLgKhch

— Mahadev Mundhe🇮🇳 (@mundhemahadev77) October 3, 2022

Adipurush’s poor VFX is termed as a filter copy of Games of Thrones

Following the release of the teaser, the internet was swamped with criticism over the film's visual effects. Netizens mocked the 'Adipurush' trailer, calling it a rip-off of 'Temple Run' and 'Game of Thrones.' 

And now,  the VFX company has published a statement clarifying that they did not work on the film's visual effects. Leading VFX Studio, NY VFXwaala, has confirmed that they have not worked on the CG/special effects of Adipurush and will not be working on them in the future. An official note on their behalf clarified, "We are putting this on record because we have been asked by a few media people," read the statement.

Ravan riding a giant bat with weird-looking characters

There's also a hilarious copy-pasted clip of Saif as Ravan riding a gigantic, monstrous bat. Social media users quickly pointed out that it was a clumsy effort to mimic the Night King character from Game of Thrones, who rides a skeletal zombie dragon.

There were some images of Ravan's army among the profusion of misplaced, weird, and cheap Hollywood horror movie-inspired graphics. Surprisingly, Ravan appears to have an army of the skeleton, rotting demons that resemble a mix between Harry Potter's Dementors and Game of Thrones wights, skeletal animating zombies. These, on the other hand, can fly.