It isn’t easy any longer to play Gods and Goddesses. A close fact-check and a rigorous scrutiny to fob off the moral policing are the order of the day. It is reliably learnt that the producers and director of Adipurush, the proposed new-age interpretation of the Ramayana, have an in-house research team to ensure their version of the haloed scripture doesn’t slip up.
A prominent member of the film's cast revealed to me, “Nowadays you can’t be too careful, especially with a film that touches on a religious subject. The public sensitivities are hugely amplified. We have to move very carefully.”
Saif had said in an interview that his interpretation of Raavan would be more humane and intellectualised, less demonised. This infuriated the purists, and the makers of Adipurush had to issue a hasty clarification.
While Prabhas’s Rama, Kriti Sanon’s Sita and Saif Ali Khan’s Raavan in Adipurush would be monitored by experts, Kangana Ranaut’s Sita in the film directed by Alaukik Desai would be overseen by the actress herself.
“Her right-wing leanings will make her less vulnerable to censure than Kriti Sanon’s Sita,” opines a major filmmaker.
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