Exclusive| Mahabharat actor Girija Shankar has asked how can a character like Hanuman or others speak the language that has been used in Adipurush.
Girija Shankar, better known for playing Dhritarashtra in BR Chopra’s Mahabharat, has said the makers of Adipurush could have done a better job than what is portrayed in the Om Raut film. He has outrightly refused to compare his hit TV show Mahabharat with the film, which he says boasted of a very learned cast. He has also added that had the language been better, it could have set an example for the future generations. Also read: Mukesh Khanna continues protest against Adipurush, says ‘whole team should be burnt alive at fifty degrees’
In an exclusive interview with Hindustan Times, Girija Shankar shares his views on the film, clips and trailers of which he has watched on the social media. “I haven’t seen Adipurush, but I have seen a few clips, teasers and trailers. And to tell you the truth, I didn’t kind of like that because it seems very platonic and a lot more computer graphics oriented things rather than the real content. But I can’t comment on the movie because I haven’t seen that,” he says.
Adipurush has no comparison with Mahabharat
He, however, is totally against even the idea of comparing Adipurush with his hit show Mahabharat. Singing praise of the 1988 show, he responds, “I don’t think anybody should think of comparing Mahabharat with Adipurush. Mahabharat is totally into its own league. It’s a classic and the whole team was very, very talented and highly educated or knowing more about our culture, about our heritage, about our Vedas and Shastras, and very experienced into their own fields like BR Chopra, Rahima Sun Raza, Ravi Chopra, Pandit Narendra Sharma, Bhing Tupkari, Satish Bhatnagar. And of course, the whole team of the actors and the technicians were very, very brilliant. I don’t think any television serial have been able to break the record of 98% of the viewership which Mahabharat had.”
Girija Shankar on Adipurush dialogues
Adipurush has been widely slammed by the audience for various reasons, with its colloquial language and dialogues being the main bone of contention. On being asked about his reaction to the film lines like ‘kapda tere baap ka (cloth belongs to your father)’, he says, “I have heard them in a couple of clippings on social media. And to tell you the truth, I don’t know how to react. How can a character like Hanuman or any other characters speak this language, the way they have been spoken into this film? I think they could have done better.”
“There was there’s no need to use this Tapori colloquial language which is the language of the masses. After all, we are portraying our much cherished Ramayan – Ram Charitramanas and this has been played for years and years and ages. I think instead of talking in this language, they could have done much better. They could have found better way of talking, better dialogues, so that would have set a trend for the coming generations that how good the content is and how good and how well portrayed it is in a very decent language and vocabulary,” he adds.
Certain dialogues have now been modified in the film amid severe backlash. Adipurush, starring Prabhas, Kriti Sanon and Saif Ali Khan in pivotal roles, has collected around ₹400 crore gross worldwide collection with ₹255 crore coming from India in all languages.
Girija Shankar’s current work commitments
Girija Shankar is settled in the US but was shuttling between India and the US for work. He is currently working on a documentary, a short film which will be shot in Himachal Pradesh and a feature film which is in the pre-production stage in the US.