Ramayan actor Dipika Chikhlia doesn’t approve of Adipurush teaser: ‘I don’t associate Ramayana with VFX’

Over the decades, Ramayan has seen many iterations on film and television but the version Ramanand Sagar, which aired on Doordarshan in the 1980s, continues to be the most popular one. After the release of the teaser of Adipurush, Om Raut’s take on the Ramayan for the big screen, many have criticised the film’s shoddy VFX and now, actor Dipika Chikhlia has said that she doesn’t think the story of Ramayan should have VFX.
Dipika famously played Sita in Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan. When asked about Adipurush teaser, Dipika told IndiaToday.in, “Maine Adipurush ka teaser definitely dekha hai. And I think Ramayan is a story, jo sachchai ki kahani hai aur satvikta ki kahani hai. (I have seen the teaser of Adiprush. I think Ramayan is a story of truth and morality.) I don’t associate Ramayan with VFX, that’s my personal take on this.”
Dipika Chikhlia said that she had heard that many were criticising Hanuman’s leather attire in the teaser, but she could not see it clearly in the teaser. “And there were people talking about how Hanuman ji is wearing leather and teaser mein mujhe itna clearly kuch nazar nahi aaya. (I could not see it clearly in the teaser.) Agar aisa hai toh mujhe lagta hai ki Valmiki ji aur Tulsi ji ne jis sacchai se likhi thi kahani granth, mujhe lagta hai usko hume maintain karna chahiye kyunki ye hamare desh ki dharohar hain (If that is the case, then I think that the intention that Valmiki and Tulsidas had while writing the epic, should be maintained because it is an asset of our country.),” she said.

Madhya Pradesh Home Miner Narottam Mishra on Tuesday warned the makers of Adipurush of legal action if scenes showing Hindu religious figures in the ‘wrong’ way were not removed. “Hanuman ji is shown wearing leather, whereas the description (in the scriptures) of the deity’s costume is different… These are scenes that hurt religious sentiments. I am writing a letter to Om Raut to remove all such scenes from the film. If not removed, we will consider legal action,” he told reporters.
Om Raut, the director of the film, said that he was “disheartened” the response that the teaser received. He told , “I was disheartened for sure, not surprised because the film is made for a larger medium—the big screen. You can cut it down to some extent but can’t bring it down to a mobile phone.”
Starring Prabhas, Saif Ali Khan and Kriti Sanon, Adipurush is scheduled to release in theatres in January.