Despite its record-breaking earnings, Adipurush is suffering significant reaction in India, and Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital, has officially banned the release of Indian films. In response to concerns voiced by the mayor of the nation’s capital over how Sita is portrayed in the movie Adipurush, Kathmandu outright banned all Indian movies. According to reports, Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah declared a ban on the screening of any Indian films in the city’s theatres. He is also said to have sent out police to ensure that no Indian films are shown there.
In the past, Balen Shah has questioned how Sita is portrayed in the Adipurush. Balen Shah reacted negatively to the claim that Sita was the “daughter of India” when, in fact, she was the “daughter of Nepal.” According to reports, the Adipurush film’s creators also made alterations to address the complaints of Nepal’s lawmakers. “If the movie is allowed to be telecast in other areas and abroad by prohibiting the performance of anti-national films within the Kathmandu Metropolitan area, then it is prohibited to perform any Indian movie in Kathmandu metropolitan from tomorrow until objectionable portions are removed from the movie,” Balen Shah mentioned in a Facebook post.
The controversial dialogue on Sita had been cut by the T-series, and the Nepali censor board had previously approved Adipurush, but the movie’s premiere had been delayed. Adipurush has other issues as well, including criticism from Indian viewers of the film’s subpar VFX, offensive vocabulary, and underwhelming acting. With Congress and other opposition parties criticising BJP and other right-wing organisations for their silence against the movie, the issue is also gathering political traction.
The movie is now performing quite well commercially and is projected to gross over 100 crore in India in only the first weekend. Over 200 crores have been made by the movie worldwide. However, as the movie received a tonne of pre-bookings and is being shown in some schools, analysts have noted that the collections can be described as “barely organic.”
