New Delhi: Actor and BJP spokesperson Malavika Avinash has slammed filmmaker Om Raut for "misrepresentation" of Ramayana and the way he has portrayed the character of Raavana in the teaser of his upcoming period epic `Adipurush`.


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Raut made this film with the dream of bringing the story of Ramayana to the silver screen but even since the first teaser of Prabhas, Saif Ali Khan and Kriti Sanon starrer `Adipurush` dropped yesterday, there has been a unanimously negative response from various quarters.


 



People have largely been disappointed due to the film`s poor VFX and the unrealistic look of various characters including Saif`s Raavan. Seeing Saif donning short spiked hairs, long beard and kajal eyes, several netizens have compared the actor`s look in the film with that of Alauddin Khilji rather than Raavana.


 



Speaking to ANI, about the same, Malavika expressed her concern with the portrayal of Raavana and said, "I am saddened by the fact that the director let alone researching the Valmiki`s Ramayana, Kamba Ramayana or Tulsidasa`s Ramayana, or the umpteen numbers of interpretations of Ramayana that are available across board as far as Thailand where they do beautiful performances of the Ramayana. The least he could have done is gone back and researched our own films; there are so many Kannada films, Telugu films, Tamil films, which show how Raavana looked."


"He could have just looked up NT Rama Rao or Dr Rajkumar in `Bhookailasa` or any of these great actors, SV Ranga Rao in `Sampoorna Ramayana`, to understand how Raavana looked. The Raavana in the photograph that I see floating around is a guy who looks nothing Indian, who has blue eye makeup and is wearing leather jackets. This is our history they are representing; they cannot do it in the guise of creative liberty," she continued.


Malavika stated that "Ramayana is who we were" and added, "it represents this nation, its civilisation and its people. So no one can take it for granted, let alone a film director. I am angry and I am saddened by this misrepresentation".


Earlier today, the BJP spokesperson had also shared a Twitter post criticising the way Raavana has been shown in `Adipurush`.


She wrote, "Ravana, a Shiva-Bhakta Brahmin from Lanka had mastered the 64 arts!Jaya(Vijay) who was guarding Vaikunta descended as Ravana owing to a curse! This may be a Turkish tyrant but is not Ravana! Bollywood, Stop misrepresenting our Ramayana/History!Ever heard of the legend NTRamaRao?"


Meanwhile, apart from Saif`s Raavana, the depiction of the Pushpak aircraft, which has always been represented aesthetically, has also been widely panned by netizens because in the teaser Saif is seen riding a dreadful creature that looks like some sort of a mutated bat.


Criticising the teaser, one user wrote, "#SaifAliKhan looks like an Islamic invazher than Ravan in #Adipurush?" Another one added, "THIS IS HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY DISAPPOINTING. A 500cr Cartoon movie and that disgusting Ravana Look! #Prabhas could have carried that #Bahubali look rather than this animated Joke!"


`Adipurush` has been produced by T Series and Retrophiles. It is slated to hit the theatres on January 12, 2023, in IMAX and 3D. Produced by Bhushan Kumar, Om, Prasad Sutar, and Rajesh Nair, the film will be released in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada.