T-Series, which has produced the recently released film Adipurush along with Retrophiles and UV Creations, has penned an apology letter to the Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City Balendra Shah and Film Development Board of Nepal for unintentionally hurting people's sentiments.
Respected Sir,
At the outset we would like to apologise if we have hurt the sentiments of the people of Nepal in any way. It was never intentional or deliberate to cause any disharmony for anyone.The dialogue spoken by Mr Prabhas portraying the character of Shri Raghav, "aaj mere liye Mat Ladna, us din ke liye ladna jab Bharat ki kisi beti par haath daine se pehle durachari tumhara paurush yaad karke thraa uthega" has no reference to the birth place of Sita Mata but refers to, in general, the dignity of all women particularly the women of "Bharat" Having said that, as Indians the respect of women all over the world is of utmost importance to us. We request you to view the film in its artistic form and support the intention of reaching out to a larger audience to create interest in our history," read the letter.
All Hindi films, including "Adipurush", were banned in the Nepal capital Kathmandu and the tourist town of Pokhara on Monday following a controversy over its dialogues, including the mention of Sita as "India's daughter".Police personnel were deployed across 17 halls in Kathmandu to ensure that no Hindi film is screened. At the centre of the row is "Adipurush", a retelling of the Ramayana directed by Om Raut and Prabhas and Kriti Sanon in the lead.
Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah on Sunday said no Hindi film will be allowed to run in Kathmandu Metropolitan City until the dialogue "Janaki is a daughter of India" in "Adipurush" is removed not just in Nepal but also in India Sita, also referred to as Janaki, is believed by many to have been born in Janakpur in southeast Nepal. Pokhara was quick to follow suit. Pokhara Metropolis Mayor Dhanaraj Acharya said "Adipurush" will be barred from screening from Monday onwards.