Mukesh Khanna slams Adipurush makers for giving Ravana a ‘Mughal look’, says ‘Ram didn’t have a beard’

The teaser of Prabhas’ highly-anticipated Adipurush was unveiled on October 2 with much fanfare. The entire team of the mythological epic flew to Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Ram, to launch the teaser. However, merely hours after its release, negative reviews started coming in for the film's shabby VFX.

Moreover, a certain section of the audience wasn’t very pleased with Saif Ali Khan’s look as Ravana in the Om Raut directorial. Things escalated soon as boycott calls were made against Adipurush whereas several religious and political leaders came down heavily on the makers of the film based on the Hindu epic Ramayana.

The latest to voice his criticism over the Adipurush teaser is veteran actor Mukesh Khanna. Expressing his displeasure over the depiction of mythological figures in upcoming film, he said in a YouTube video, “Not everyone may agree with me but Hindu Gods are not handsome like (Arnold) Schwarzenegger. They are not bodybuilders, they have a soft, docile, and grand look on their faces. No one can claim they met Ram ji or Krishna ji, but from whatever we have seen over the years, we believe that Ram didn’t have a beard or moustache. Hanuman ji’s image is set in people’s minds, how can you make him look like that in the film?”

Mukesh, who portrayed Bhishma in TV show Mahabharat, further added, “You cannot change the look of our characters. Saif Ali Khan’s character has been given a Mughal look. Are you making fun? Pardon me for saying it straight but the film will not work, there will be reactions. With VFX or by spending Rs 100 or Rs 1000 crore you cannot make Ramayan. It is based on values, characterizations, performances, dialogues, and looks.”

Meanwhile, besides Prabhas and Said, Adipurush features Kriti Sanon as Sita. The film is slated to release on January 12 next year.