"They should be jailed": Theatre owner hits out at 'Adipurush' makers amid dialogue row

Mumbai: The executive director of the Gaiety Galaxy cinema hall in Mumbai, Manoj Desai, on Friday slammed the makers of the recently released pan-India magnum opus 'Adipurush', saying "they should be jailed for this".
Speaking exclusively to ANI, Manoj Desai said, "Strict action should be taken against these people (makers of Adipurush). The film has hurt the sentiments of Hindus. All those involved in the making of the film, especially the writer, Manoj Muntashir, should be sent to jail." Directed by Om Raut, 'Adipurush', which is which is an adaptation of the epic Ramayana, has drawn heavy criticism post release.
From critics to reviewers, many voiced misgivings over certain dialogues in the film. Among the dialogues over which the makers have drawn flak are Marega bete', 'Bua ka bagicha hain kya' and 'Jalegi tere baap ki'.
The film stars Prabhas as Lord Ram, Kriti as Goddess Sita, Sunny Singh as Laxman, and Saif Ali Khan as Ravana, the mythical hydra-headed demon king in the epic.
On the losses theatre owners have incurred as the film failed to live up to to its pre-release hype and got embroiled in controversies, he said, "Viewers have rejected this film. Yesterday, two of our shows were cancelled and today, our matinee shows had to be cancelled due to poor word-of-mouth and response. This movie will be removed from theatres very soon and we didn't think it will come to this. Not just ours, the owners of all theatres where the film has been released have suffered losses."
On the makers amending the contentious dialogues in the face of criticism, Desai told ANI, "They have made some changes to the dialogues, but it's too little too late. Changing dialogues in a film after release does not make sense."
Earlier, the mayor of Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, Balendra Shah, had enforced a ban on Indian movies following the 'Adipurush' dialogue row. Less than an hour after the Kathmandu mayor's decision, Pokhara Mayor Dhanraj Acharya also sent letters to three movie theatres in the city to halt the screening of all Indian movies. With orders from the mayors of both these cities, theatre owners removed the film.