Screening of ‘Adipurush’ banned in Kathmandu

Kathmandu (IANS) | The screening of ‘Adipurush’ was stopped in cinema halls in Kathmandu on Friday. Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah warned that no Indian film would be allowed to be screened in the capital if the “mistake” about Sita’s birthplace from the film Adipurush was not rectified. The Nepal Film Union has urged all cinema halls in Kathmandu to stop screening “Adipurush” and cinemas outside the capital to release it only after assessing the security situation.

In a tweet on Thursday, Mayor said that in ‘Adipurush’ it is mentioned that ‘Sita is the daughter of India’. He said that until this mistake was rectified, no Indian film would be allowed to be screened within the Kathmandu metropolitan city limits.

The film is written and directed by Om Raut and produced by T-Series and Retrophiles. The film, shot simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu languages, has created controversy in India as well.

Nepal’s QFX Cinemas said in a statement, “Keeping in mind the safety of our audience, QFX will not be screening ‘Adipurush’… We are waiting for the government’s decision.” As soon as this issue is resolved, we will issue another notice. We apologize for the inconvenience caused to the viewers.

The Censor Board of Nepal also decided to withdraw the permission for the screening of ‘Adipurush’ citing the same reason.

According to the Ramayana, Sita was born in Janakpur, Nepal and Lord Rama came and married her.

Apart from Mayor Balen Shah, some organizations of different political parties have also opposed the film and warned that they will not allow the screening until the filmmakers correct the mistakes regarding Sita’s birthplace.

–IANS