Manoj Muntashir calls Adipurush a ‘failed attempt’, says not to compare it with Ramayana

During the interaction, the lyricist praised actor Yash, who plays Ravana in Ramayana. “Yash is a very good actor, and there is no doubt about that. My best wishes are with every film that takes our stories to the world stage. I have a lot of good wishes for Ramayana,” he said.

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‘Adipurush is the biggest mistake of my life’

Earlier, in an interview with Times Now, Manoj had expressed regret over his association with Adipurush and said,

“In the beginning, I was dismissive of all the backlash and criticism. I won’t lie. I want people to know that Adipurush was the biggest mistake of my life. It was an even bigger blunder to come forward and defend it. I am deeply ashamed of everything that happened around that film, and I am extremely sorry for my actions.”

Acknowledging his mistakes, Manoj said, “We couldn’t do justice to Lord Ram and Hanuman with this film. I couldn’t understand that at the time. All the mistakes I made happened in those two days. The film released on June 16, 2023, and everything went wrong between June 16 and June 18. People called to congratulate me, but that was when I realised many people don’t necessarily wish you well.”

Addressing the controversy surrounding the film’s colloquial language, which drew widespread criticism, Muntashir said, “The dialogues were extremely crass. I wrote them, and I admit they were bad. When I look back today, I feel deeply ashamed. I don’t know why I wrote them. What was I even thinking?”

About Ramayana

Following Adipurush, filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari announced his own cinematic adaptation of the Ramayana, starring Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama and Sai Pallavi as Goddess Sita. The makers recently unveiled the film’s trailer, which introduced Arun Govil, Ravi Dubey, Lara Dutta and Rakul Preet Singh as King Dashrath, Lakshmana, Kaikeyi and Shurpanakha, respectively. The first instalment is set to hit theatres this Diwali, while the second part is scheduled for release during Diwali next year. Produced by Namit Malhotra and Yash—who also plays Ravana—the film has reportedly been made on a massive budget of Rs 4,000 crore. Upon the trailer release, many trolled the film for its “modern” costumes.