Amid Adipurush backlash, Om Raut says Prabhas was his ‘only’ choice; reveals reason he cast him: ‘He fit perfectly because… ‘

“If you see I have chosen only one particular segment within the Ramayan, which is the Parakarmi Ram, the Paramvir, the Rajaram, and the Yudhkand. Within the Yudhkand, we see Prabhu Ram’s several qualities but the Paramvir quality is something that comes across, that is something that appealed to me individually and I have only tried to recreate that.

“And so, Prabhas fit perfectly for this role because his heart is very clean and also your eyes are a reflection of your heart and you can see the sincerity, honesty, and genuineness in Prabhas’ eyes. He is a big star but so humble. So when I thought of doing this, I could only think of him.”

The mega-budget spectacle released on Friday and almost immediately started getting trolled for its subpar VFX, poor character design and dialogues by Manoj Muntashir Shukla, which eventually snowballed into a major controversy. The backlash was widespread, as political parties, actors, and filmmakers came down heavily on the makers for using “tapori” language with respect to Gods.

Even the casting of Prabhas was questioned by a section, which wasn’t convinced with the Baahubali star’s portrayal. Veteran actor Mukesh Khanna was among those who criticised the actor, saying, “Prabhas is a good human, a good actor but this was a different film. You have to imbibe Ram, let him enter your heart to play him on-screen. Showing off ones body doesn’t make anyone Ram.”