''They must have thought that this kind of tapori language would please the common man, but they don't suit Hanumanji.'
Moti Sagar, whose father Ramanand Sagar made the iconic Ramayan television series, is reluctant to speak about comparisons to Adipurush.
"Ever since this film (Adipurush) released, I have been flooded with requests for interviews," he tells Subhash K Jha.
"I have not seen the film. In principle, I am not against any film. Jo hai woh hai. They have made their film according to their point of view. The Ramayan is open to multiple interpretations. This is one of them."
"When my father made the Ramayan, it was for a different audience on another format. This film (Adipurush) is probably made for a new generation of viewers who watch a lot of CG-driven shows. They probably felt the younger viewers would appreciate what they interpreted the Ramayan to be."
But Moti Sagar finds it hard to condone some of the dialogues spoken by Lord Hanuman in Adipurush.
"How can Hanuman speak like this? They should have been careful. There is no maryada (dignity) in such dialogues. They must have thought that this kind of tapori language would please the common man, but they don't suit Hanumanji. One one hand, you are honouring Hanumanji by keeping a seat for him in every show, but on the other, you are making him speak like a tapori..."
Speaking about his father Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan, the proud son says, "A lot of thought had gone into the making of the series. It was my father's dream to give the Ramayan a visual interpretation."
"Papaji could have made a feature film with all the top stars, but he chose the serial format. He knew the story couldn't be told in two-three hours. He knew it couldn't be made with stars. He auditioned hundreds for the role of Ram, Sita, Laxman, Ravan and the other characters. He went deep into every character."
"He studied the Ramayan for years. In fact, we should not be comparing my father's serial to this film. They are two different genres."
About the nation fondly recalling Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan after seeing Adipurush, Moti Sagar says, "Sab Ramji ki kripa hai. Papaji used to say he was born to make the Ramayan and he proved it. During the pandemic, new generations discovered the Ramayan. Our serial has made an everlasting impact."
Meanwhile, Moti Sagar's brother Prem Sagar tells ANI: "Manoj Muntashir is well-informed about Hinduism. I don't understand how he even conceived such dialogues in the film. It might be a misjudgement that the younger generation would like it, but you can't do this with the audience."
"Don't say it is based on Valmiki's Ramayan, give it any other name. Make it a fantasy film. But if you're making the Ramayan, then you cannot hurt the sentiments. People watch this with devotion," Prem Sagar said.
"I have seen clips of the movie and had interactions with people like Sunil Lehri (who played Laxman in Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan), so some problem is there. I don't want to watch the film. Ravan was very knowledgeable and you are blackening the golden Lanka (sone ki Lanka), and his look with five heads up and five heads down."
With the dialogues being changed, Prem added, "I am happy that they've realised their mistake. Realisation itself is a very big thing. I have great regard for Manoj in my heart because I have seen many of his reels, he does very good work. I don't know what happened this time. It may be that sometimes nature makes such a thing happen that it distracts the intellect."
