Writer Manoj Muntashir gets death threat over Adipurush dialogues

Bollywood writer Manoj Muntashir received a death threat from someone possibly aggrieved by the dialogues he wrote for the movie Adipurush. He has requested police protection.

Bollywood writer Manoj Muntashir on Monday approached police claiming that he had received a death threat from someone who could have been aggrieved by the dialogues he had penned for the movie, Adipurush. He also met the deputy commissioner of police for zone 9, Krishnakant Updhayay, and requested him for police protection.

Indian film writer and director Om Raut (L), producer Bhushan Kumar (C) and poet, screenwriter Manoj Muntashir Shukla attend the trailer launch of their upcoming mythological movie 'Adipurush' in Mumbai on May 9, 2023. (Photo by Sujit JAISWAL / AFP) (AFP)

Confirming the development, Upadhyay said, “We have received an application from Muntashir and are making the necessary arrangement for his security.”

Later in the day, a team from Amboli police station visited Muntashir’s office in Andheri, and some guards were deployed outside the building, a police officer said.

The police officer further said they would try to track the IP address from where and from whom the threatening emails had come. “For now, we are taking his request with utter seriousness and will ensure that he is safe.”

Muntashir lives in Goregaon.

Adipurush, which is based on the epic Ramayana, has been drawing backlash for its dialogues. They have angered the right-wing group Kshatriya Karni Sena so much that they announced at a recent press conference held in Madhya Pradesh that they would kill the movie director Om Raut and Muntashir. The group further claimed that they were planning to send an armed group of their workers to Mumbai to accomplish this task.

Twisting one of the controversial dialogues, a Kshatritya Karni Sena leader said, “Sheher bhi tera, ghar bhi tera, sar bhi tera, aur joota rahega Kshatriya Karni Sena ka”.

Considering the outpouring of negative comments about the “modernised” dialogues being uttered by the revered characters, the film producers on Sunday announced that they would make some changes in the dialogues soon.