Kathmandu cinema halls stop screening of 'Adipurush'

Kathmandu, June 16 (IANS) Cinema halls across Kathmandu on Friday stopped the screening of 'Adipurush', a day after Mayor Balen Shah warned that no Indian movie will be allowed in the Nepal capital if the film based on the Hindu epic Ramayana does not correct the "mistake" about the birthplace of Sita.

The Nepal Film Union has urged all the cinema halls in Kathmandu to stop showing 'Adipurush' and urged theatres outside the capital to release it only after assessing the security situation.

In a tweet on Thursday, the Mayor said that in 'Adipurush', it is mentioned that "Sita is the daughter of India". He added that until this mistake will not be corrected in India and Nepal, no Indian movie will be allowed to be shown within the Kathmandu metropolitan city limit.

The film is written and directed by Om Raut and produced by T-Series and Retrophiles. Shot simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu languages, the film has courted controversy in India as well.

In a statement, Nepal's QFX Cinemas said: "Keeping the security of our viewers, QFX is not going to show 'Adipurush'... We are waiting for the government's decision. As soon as this issue is resolved, we will issue another notice and apologise for the inconvenience to our viewers."

Nepal's Censor Board also decided to hold back permission to the upcoming Indian epic mythological film, based on the Hindu epic "Ramayana", for the same reason.

Sita was born in Nepal's Janakpur and Lord Rama came and married her, as per the Ramayana.

Besides Mayor Balen Shah, some sister organisations of various political parties have also protested against the film and warned that they will not allow the screening until the filmmakers correct the mistakes regarding the birthplace of Sita.

This is not the first time that Mayor Shah ratcheted up the nationalist planks.

Mayor Shah on June 8 placed the map of Greater Nepal in his chamber to counter the Indian "Akhand Bharat" map placed in the new Parliament building.

The main opposition, CPN-UML has demanded to send a diplomatic note to India to protest the "Akhand" map.