The film Adipurush starring Prabhas, Saif Ali Khan and Kriti Sanon has been mired in controversy ever since its teaser was out.
Now, the film’s director Om Raut has sparked a row after he was papped kissing Kriti on her cheek at Tirupati temple when both visited the Lord Venkateswara temple for ‘darshan’ on Wednesday morning.
The team of Adipurush launched the final trailer of the film at a pre-release event which took place at Sri Venkateswara University Stadium in Tirupati. The event was attended by Prabhas and Kriti.
In the video that has gone viral, Raut is seen giving a goodbye kiss on Kriti’s cheeks as she leaves in her car.
However, this didn’t go down well with many including Ramesh Naidu Nagothu, the BJP State Secretary in Andhra Pradesh.
“Is it really necessary to bring your antics to a sacred place? Engage in public displays of affection, like kissing and hugging in front of the Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirumala is deemed disrespectful and unacceptable," tweeted Nagothu. The tweet was later deleted.
While many defended Raut pointing out that there was nothing wrong with his actions and blamed the vulgar mindset of such people, others came up with criticisms.
One of the internet users wrote, "There is no vulgarity in om rout gesture but of course, if vulgar people would like to see it that way they will, just like you." A netizen wrote, "Your mindset is inappropriate."
Raut refrained from commenting on the viral video but wrote on social media about his visit to the temple.
“After coming to the temple, I feel extremely amazing. It felt nice. We had a great darshan today morning. Yesterday, we put out the trailer. It’s a mesmerising feeling and I cannot put it into words," Raut wrote.
Adipurush is a cinematic adaptation of the epic Ramayana and has been courting controversy ever since the film's first teaser came out last year.
Fans had raised objections to the depiction of Raavan in the film being played by actor Saif Ali Khan. Then earlier this year, an FIR was filed against the makers for the incorrect poster.
The complaint stated that the religious sentiments of the Hindu religion and society were hurt by the makers as they had inappropriately displayed the characters of the Hindi religious text Ramcharitmanas in the new poster of the film.
while Prabhas plays Raghav in the film, Kriti will play Janaki and Sunny Singh will don the role of Lakshman. Saif Ali Khan plays the antagonist, Ravana.
Made on a reported budget of Rs 500 crore, the mythological drama is reportedly the biggest film in Prabhas’ career. It will be released on June 16. The film is jointly bankrolled by Bhushan Kumar’s T-series and Retrophiles.