On Saturdsy, 8th July 2023, contentious lyricist and dialogue writer Manoj Muntashir posted a tweet from his Twitter handle in which he unconditionally apologised to respected sages and devotees of Lord Shri Ram and finally agreed that the dialogues he wrote for the film ‘Adipurush’ hurt the public sentiments. Manoj Muntashir furnished his apologies to all the devotees with folded hands.
Unconditional apology by Manoj Muntashir
Manoj Muntashir tweeted, “I accept that public sentiments have been hurt by the film Adipurush. To all my brothers and sisters, elders, respected sages and devotees of Shri Ram, I apologise unconditionally with folded hands. May Lord Bajrang Bali bless us all, and give us the strength to serve our holy Sanatan and great country by being one and unbroken!”
He further wrote, “I accept people’s emotions have been hurt by Adipurush. With folded hands, I extend my unconditional apologies. May Prabhu Bajrang Bali keep us united and grant us strength to serve our sacred Sanatan and our great nation.” With this post in Hindi and English, he also posted an emoji of folded hands as a symbol of apologising with folded hands.
Manoj Muntashir took this step weeks after the Ramayan-based film ‘Adipurush’ witnessed a disaster at the box office with Manoj Muntashir’s cringe dialogues in this film being one of the major reasons for the flop show. Manoj Muntashir came under public criticism for his brazen backing of the work citing that he wanted to make the story of Ramayan more relevant to the kids of the current generation through the dialogues he wrote.
Earlier Manoj Muntashir defended his work for the film Adipurush
The uncouth dialogues written by Manoj Muntashir for the character of Lord Hanuman in the film Adipurush drew most of the criticism he received. Justifying his dialogues, he said, “Hanuman ji is not God, he is a devotee. We have made him God later because his devotion had such power.”
Earlier he had tried to explain that the Bajrang character in his movie speaks like a pedestrian goon because “all characters in a story cannot be at the same level (of linguistic sophistication). He even tried to defend his dialogues like ‘Kapda there baap ka” saying he wrote them to make it more relatable to young masses.
He further said that Bajrang Bali (another name for Lord Hanuman) does not speak philosophical things; an insolent statement to say the least. The statement by Manoj (Muntashir) Shukla enraged Hindus across the country.
Manoj Muntashir was defending the film Adipurush from the beginning. Even when the film’s trailer was released, people questioned Ravana’s appearance. Muntashir said at the time, “Every era’s evil has its own face. For me, Ravana is the face of evil, and Alauddin Khilji is the face of evil in this era, and even if it is similar, we did not do it on purpose, and even if it is discovered, there is nothing wrong with it.”
Security demands, old videos going viral, losing TV shows
After facing heavy criticism and trolling from people over the dialogue in the movie, Adipurush dialogue writer Manoj Muntashir also sought security from the Mumbai Police.
Amid all of this, several old videos of the popular lyricist went viral on the internet. In one such video, the Adipurush dialogue writer was seen explaining the back story behind choosing the Urdu pen name ‘Muntashir’. He said, “I became Muntashir from Shukla and it changed me immediately. Whenever my father chanted Shiv Stotra, I would sing Rasool Allah.”
In another viral video, Manoj Muntashir again re-iterated his backstory of desperately finding a unique pen name. He was Manoj Shukla and he claims that Shukla carried no weight (meaning – impact), as per his Urdu poetic taste so he adopted the Urdu pen name, Muntashir. The said interaction is still available on the official youtube channel of Magic 106.4 FM Mumbai.
The misery for the lyricist that started with the release of the film Adipurush did not stop. Manoj Muntashir was reportedly removed as a judge from Sony TV’s show India’s Got Talent. Earlier it was reported that Muntashir will be on the show as a judge alongside actresses Shilpa Shetty, Kirron Kher, and singer Badshah. Taking to Twitter, journalist Deepak Chaurasia claimed, on 6th July 2023, that Manoj Muntashir who was a part of the previous season of India’s Got Talent, will not be seen this time.
Adipurush – a box office disaster of its own kind
The film ‘Adipurush’ directed by Om Raut is reportedly made with a humongous budget of Rs 700 crore. Despite being one of the most highly anticipated films of 2023, director Om Raut’s ‘Adipurush’ has not lived up to expectations at the box office. Although the film managed to cross the Rs 450 crore mark worldwide, trade reports indicate that the Prabhas-starrer has not been profitable in many regions. With daily earnings falling below Rs 50 lakh, it appears that “Adipurush” is approaching the end of its theatrical run.
‘Adipurush’, featuring Prabhas in the lead role was released in multiple languages on June 16. The film had a tremendous start, earning over Rs 250 crore in just three to four days. However, after the initial weekend, ‘Adipurush’ struggled to maintain its momentum.
‘Adipurush’ is a mythological tale based on Valmiki’s Ramayana. Directed and written by Om Raut, the 3D film has faced criticism nationwide for its “tapori” dialogues, subpar visual effects, and unengaging screenplay. The movie stars Prabhas as Raghava, Kriti Sanon as Janaki, and Saif Ali Khan as Lankesh. Supporting roles are played by Sunny Singh as Lakshman and Devdatta Nage as Lord Hanuman. Manoj Muntashir has written the dialogue of this film.