Days after actor, Saif Ali Khan in his interview glorified Raavan and justified his abduction of Sita and the war with Ram as revenge for what was done to his sister Surpanakha by Lakshman, who cut off her nose, the Hum Tum star has now apologized for his comments. According to a Pinkvilla report, reacting to the same, Saif has now clarified and withdrawn his statement and said that he never intended to hurt anyone. "I’ve been made aware that one of my statements during an interview, has caused a controversy and hurt people’s sentiments. This was never my intention or meant that way. I would like to sincerely apologise to everybody and withdraw my statement. Lord Ram has always been the symbol of Righteousness & Heroism for me. Adipurush is about celebrating the victory of good over evil and the entire team is working together to present the epic without any distortions," Saif said.
The statement did not go down well with many as Mumbai BJP leader Ram Kadam criticised the actor for the same. Kadam had tweeted, "Actor #SaifAliKhan makes an extremely shocking statement regarding his forthcoming film Adipurush. Saif who plays Ravan's character says Ravan's abduction of Sita Maa will be justified in the film. Ravan's humane side will be shown and his war against Sri Ram will be justified. Previously, Saif’s comments about Tanhaji’s historical inaccuracy landed him in a soup. Adipurush will reportedly be shot from January 2021 in one long schedule. Soon after, Saif's controversial statements the actor began trending on Twitter, with fans demanding the makers to replace him. #WakeUpOmRaut and #ReplaceSaifasLankesh. Netizens have demanded his removal as Lankesh in Adipurush. Prabhas fans believe that if Ravana is portrayed in this way in Om Raut’s movie, the image of the Baahubali actor as Lord Ram will be affected.