‘Deeply ashamed’ of Adipurush controversy, says Manoj Muntashir: ‘Biggest mistake of my life’

Recalling the initial backlash following the poster launch, he said, “We all sat down after that. I trusted the makers and defended them. When the film was criticised, the makers asked me to speak to the audience. As soon as Neelam heard that, she said, ‘You won’t be the face of this film. You’re just the lyricist and dialogue writer.’ That had already been decided by the makers. But I didn’t listen. Maybe I was arrogant. I assumed that if they had made a film worth Rs 600 crore and wanted me to represent it, I should. Despite her repeated requests, I took the film on my shoulders and gave interviews across television channels. The rest is history.”

‘I was dismissive of the backlash’

“In the beginning, I was dismissive of all the backlash and criticism. I won’t lie. I want people to know that Adipurush was the biggest mistake of my life. It was an even bigger blunder to come forward and defend it. I am deeply ashamed of everything that happened around that film, and I am extremely sorry for my actions.”

Acknowledging his mistakes, Manoj said, “We couldn’t do justice to Lord Ram and Hanuman with this film. I couldn’t understand that at the time. All the mistakes I made happened in those two days. The film released on June 16, 2023, and everything went wrong between June 16 and June 18. People called to congratulate me, but that was when I realised many people don’t necessarily wish you well.”

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‘I became overconfident’

He also reflected on how his work as a lyricist was overshadowed by the controversy.

“If you remember, ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Ram Siya Ram’ had become hugely popular even before the film’s release. I wrote both those songs, but I was never given credit for them. Mostly because I had done so much wrong with the film’s dialogues that nobody paid attention to the songs. I have also written songs like ‘Narayan Mil Jayega’, ‘Ram Aayenge’ and ‘Mere Ghar Ram Aaye Hain’. All of them became hits. I was blinded by the confidence that I knew the Lord. Sometimes, love for your God turns into arrogance. I loved Lord Ram so deeply that I started taking Him too lightly. I became overconfident.”

He also recalled another controversy that resurfaced around the same time.

“Some old videos of mine containing controversial statements started circulating. In one of them, I had said Lord Hanuman is not a God. That clip caused me immense suffering. If you watch the full video, I was talking about how, as a four-year-old child, I didn’t see Hanuman as Bhagwan. But only selective portions were shown, and I received tremendous backlash. By then, it was too late for me to defend myself because I had already lost credibility by defending Adipurush.”

‘Adipurush’s dialogues were extremely crass’

Muntashir also admitted that the film’s dialogues deserved the criticism they received.

“The dialogues were extremely crass. I wrote them, and I admit they were bad. When I look back today, I feel deeply ashamed. I don’t know why I wrote them. What was I even thinking?”

He said the only silver lining during that difficult period was discovering who truly stood by him.

“Adipurush helped me rediscover my marriage because my wife was the only person who stood by me throughout. Not once did she say, ‘I told you so.’ My son was only 11 years old then, and he was abused online. There came a point when even people in our residential building felt embarrassed to say Manoj Muntashir lived there. Television channels criticised me relentlessly, including many run by people I considered friends. Around that time, I was constantly flooded with television offers and barely had space in my schedule. Then, overnight, everything disappeared. I was supposed to return for a new season of India’s Got Talent, but after the controversy, I was asked to leave the show.”

‘My television appearances stopped’

He added, “My television appearances stopped. I had already taken advances for multiple projects, but they were all cancelled. I returned all the money—not because anyone demanded it, but because in showbiz, it’s an unspoken rule that if someone suffers because of your mistake, you compensate them. The one positive was that writers in this country had finally started receiving royalties for their work. I had written many songs that continued to perform well, and those royalties supported me. Thankfully, I never had to ask anyone for financial help.”

Looking back, he said the experience fundamentally changed his priorities.

“Things are finally getting back on track. But unlike before, when earning money was my biggest motivation, I am now extremely careful about the projects I choose. Money is no longer my driving force.”

Adipurush dialogue controversy

A day after the film’s release, Muntashir in an interview with Republic defended the film and its colloquial language. “I grew up hearing these stories in this same language.” The film’s dialogues received a lot of criticism shortly after the release. Dialogues like, “Kapda tere baap ka… toh jalegi bhi tere baap ki,” “Mere ek sapole ne tumhare iss sheshnaag ko lamba kar diya… bhara pada hai,” “Tu andar kaise ghusa… tu jaanta bhi hai kaun hoon main” were  a part of the film, and were later modified.