Still from a video shared by Dipika Chikhlia. (courtesy: dipikachikhliatopiwala)
Television actress Dipika Chikhlia rose to prominence by playing the role of Sita in Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan in 1987. The cast of the iconic show has come to be recognised by their characters in the mythological drama and decades later continue to be loved and respected for their portrayal of the revered figures. Now, as another interpretation of Ramayana is running in theatres across the world in the form of Adipurush, several admirers of the epic are looking back fondly at the show. With Adipurush drawing negative feedback for its retelling of the epic, Dipika Chikhlia has now treated fans to a video in which she has once again stepped into the shoes of Sita. In the video, the actress is seen dressed in saffron robes as she did in the original with the song Ram Siya Ram from Adipurush, playing in the background.
In the caption, Dipika Chikhlia wrote, “This post is on public demand … I am grateful for the love I have always received for the role I played … Me … as Sita ji …could not have asked for more.”
Sachet Tandon, music director of Adipurush replied with heart and folded hand emojis. Fans have registered their displeasure with Adipurush while praising Dipika Chikhlia in the comments section. One fan wrote, “No one can replace you as Sita ji role.” “So beautiful… Actual reflection of Sita mata,” said another user. “600 crore times better than anyone,” another follower said, taking a dig at Adipurush's reported budget.
Watch the video here:
For the unversed, Adipurush features Prabhas as Raghav, Sunny Singh as Sesh, Kriti Sanon as Janaki and Saif Ali Khan as Lankesh. The film has been directed by Om Raut. As mentioned above, Adipurush has faced severe criticism from various quarters following its release. In NDTV's review of the film, Saibal Chatterjee said, “Adipurush is part Planet of the Apes, part King Kong, and part all the Hollywood superhero movies that the director and his ilk have been weaned on. It presents Lord Rama (Prabhas) as a comic book hero with a bow and a quiver that never runs out of arrows, Sita (Kriti Sanon) as a whimpering damsel in distress, Ravana as a cross between Thanos and Voldemort, and Bajrang/Hanuman (Devdatta Nage) as a mighty acrobat barely aware of his incredible powers until somebody reminds him that he can leap across a sea…What Adipurush thinks of women is made amply clear in the cavalier manner in which it places them on the periphery of the saga and deprives them of the power to intervene in a meaningful manner when push comes to shove. Be it Rani Mandodari, Ravana's neglected wife, or Surpanakha, the demon king's sister who seeks vengeance after her nose is chopped off by Lakshmana, they can only whine and complain.”
With several sections of the audience expressing displeasure at the use of seemingly disrespectful language by characters such as Hanuman, Adipurush dialogue writer Manoj Muntashir Shukla on Sunday said the makers of the mythological epic film have decided to "revise some of the dialogues.”
“For me, there is nothing greater than your feelings. I can give countless arguments in favour of my dialogues, but this will not lessen your pain. Me and the producer-director of the film have decided that we will revise some of the dialogues which are hurting you and they will be added to the film this week," Manoj Muntashir said in a statement shared on Twitter.
The criticisms, however, do not seem to have made a dent in the box office collections of the film, with the three-day collection of them standing at ₹105 crores (net collection), as per Box Office India. Adipurush has been produced by T-Series and Retrophiles.