After a film based on the ancient Hindu epic Ramayana generated controversy, the mayor of Nepal’s capital banned the screening of hugely popular Indian films on Monday.
Fans have criticised parts of dialogue in the film “Adipurush,” which was released globally on Friday in Hindi and four other Indian languages.
The Ramayana, which inspired the film, is about King Rama’s attempt to save his kidnapped wife Sita.
Sita was thought to have been born in Janakpur, a southern area of Nepal, but the film implies she was born in India, which sparked outrage in Kathmandu.
Before the film’s premiere, Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah threatened that if that segment stayed, it would not be broadcast, and censors removed the offending phrase for Nepali audiences.
However, because the video remained unaltered outside of Nepal, Shah announced a wider ban in protest.
“By banning only this film in Kathmandu while it continues to be shown in other parts of the country and abroad, we will establish a false fact,” Shah posted on social media on Sunday.
“As a result, screenings of any Indian film will be prohibited in Kathmandu municipality beginning tomorrow (Monday) unless the objectionable portion of the film is removed.”
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Shree Byankatesh Entertainment, the film’s distributor in Nepal, announced Monday that theatres in several other cities and towns have postponed screenings of “Adipurush” due to “security concerns.”
The restriction is being challenged, according to Nakim Uddin, founder of QFX Cinemas, Nepal’s largest theatre chain.
“The announcement has disrupted Indian film screenings in Kathmandu, but we are going to court,” Uddin told AFP on Monday.
Adipurush has also sparked debate in India, owing to its portrayals of the monkey deity Hanuman, Rama, and Sita.
Manoj Muntashir Shukla, the film’s screenwriter, and the producers have stated that some “objectionable” dialogue will be replaced.
“I wrote over 4,000 dialogues for Adipurush, and five of them hurt my emotions,” Shukla tweeted on Sunday.
The picture, which relied heavily on visual effects, cost approximately $61 million to produce and earned over half of that amount in its first two days of release.
Nepal has previously prohibited Indian films.
The Bollywood film “Chandni Chowk to China” was banned in 2009 after complaints over its assertion that Buddha, who is thought to have been born in Nepal, was actually born in India.
In 2012, a hardline Communist party urged that theatres stop playing Bollywood films in order to limit New Delhi’s influence in the Himalayan country.
