Nepal Mayor Bans Indian Movies Over ‘Adipurush’ Row

International

oi-Prakash KL

The Mayor of Nepal city has announced that all Indian movies will be banned over the controversy around ‘Adipurush’ which stars Prabhas and Kriti Sanon.

Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah on Sunday said that no Indian movie will be shown in the Kathmandu Metropolitan area over a dialogue in the movie where Goddess Sita is referred to as the daughter of India. The cinema halls have been informed about it, he said on Twitter.

“3 days ago, we called for the removal of the objectionable message that ‘Janaki is the daughter of India’ included in the Indian movie Adipurush from the main part of the movie. There is no doubt that it is the first duty of every government, government agency, non-governmental sector and Nepali citizen to protect the national interest by keeping Nepal’s freedom, independence and self-respect intact. Clause (6) of Article 5 and Article 56 of the Constitution of Nepal assigns the responsibility of protecting the national interest to the Union, State and local governments,” he said.

The post added, “If the film is shown as it is, it seems that Nepal’s nationality, cultural unity, and national identity will be severely damaged and irreparable damage will be done. Due to cultural encroachment on Nepal from that movie, this metropolitan city has attracted serious attention. By prohibiting the showing of the said film against the national interest within the Kathmandu metropolitan area, if the film is allowed to be shown in other areas of the country and abroad, it will establish a misleading fact, so it is prohibited to show any Indian film in the Kathmandu metropolitan city until the objectionable parts are removed from the said film.”

On Friday, the screening of the mythological film was put on hold in cinema halls across Kathmandu after City Mayor Balendra Shah asked the makers to rectify the mistake about the birthplace of Sita.

“Until the line ‘Janaki is a daughter of India’ contained in the South Indian film ‘Adipurush’ is removed not just in Nepal but also in India, no Hindi films will be allowed to run in Kathmandu Metropolitan City (sic),” Mayor Shah wrote on Facebook on Thursday.

Nepal’s film certification board also said that the permission to screen the film in theatres will be granted only after changing the dialogue that describes “Sita as India’s daughter”.

According to mythological books, Sita is believed to have been born in Janakpur, which is located in Nepal.

In his Facebook post, Shah had asked the makers to change the dialogue within three days.

Meanwhile, the mega-budget flick has minted over Rs 75 crore at the Hindi box office in two days. The movie is registering good business on Sunday as well.