Sonakshi Sinha and Adipurush both misrepresented the Ramayana, yet the two differ in their ignorance and arrogance.
The Adipurush scandal has undoubtedly swept the country. People are criticising the Om Raut movie, which is a Ramayana adaptation, for being blatantly distorted by using disparaging rhetoric and altering the appearances of the mythological figures. The movie has come under fire for interfering with what has been written as an epic and offending Hindu sensibilities.
But did you know that Sonakshi Sinha also had a distinct interpretation of the Ramayana? Om Raut and Manoj Muntashir were not the first ones who attempt to change the Ramayana. She and Om Raut-Manoj Muntashir are only distinguished by their ignorance and conceit. Sonakshi was humble enough to admit her error whereas Raut and Muntashir continued to defend their stupid errors and refused to acknowledge their mistakes.
To put things in perspective, let’s first recall that the Dabangg actress once took part in Kaun Banega Crorepati and answered a question about the Ramayana incorrectly. She was questioned about something extremely basic: Who did Hanuman carry the Sanjeevani plant for in the Ramayana? But when Shatrughan Sinha’s daughter looked at that query, she was completely baffled. She had Ram, Lakshman, Sugriva, and Sita as choices.
Before locking the right response, Lakshman, Sonakshi Sinha utilised a lifeline. She startled the host Amitabh Bachchan and Sonakshi’s mother Poonam Sinha, who were both watching from the audience, with her perplexity and expressionless face. Later, Big B made fun of the actress for being unable to respond to such a simple question.
While taking a dig at Sonakshi Sinha, Amitabh Bachchan said, “Aapke pitaji ka naam hai Shatrughan, aap jis ghar me rehti hain, uska naam hai Ramayan. Aapke jitne chacha hain, wo sab Ramayan se sambandhit hain, Aapko ye nahi pata ki Lakshman ke liye laaye they jadibooti? (Your father’s name is Shatrughan and you home is called Ramayan. Your uncles are all connected to the Ramayan. How do you not know that jadibooti was brought for?)”
Sonakshi’s brothers are curiously called Luv-Kush after the offspring of Lord Ram and Devi Sita! Later, this sparked a meme and laugh riot on social media, with others mocking the actress for being unaware of her surroundings. The majority of this teasing was motivated by the fact that the Ramayana inspired the names of the Dabangg actress’ family members and her home.
Sinha chose to engage with trolls after admitting her sincere and honest error and wrote, “Dear jaage hue trolls. I don’t even remember the Pythagoras theorem, Merchant of Venice, Periodic Table, Chronology of the Mughal Dynasty, aur kya kya yaad nahi woh bhi yaad nahi. Agar aapke paas koi kaam nahi aur itna time hai toh please yeh sab pe bhi memes banao na. I love memes.”
While Adipurush director Om Raut has addressed the flaws in the film, declaring that anyone claiming to have grasped the Ramayana is lying, Sonakshi even confessed for her sincere mistake in various interviews after she took on trolls.
