Prem Sagar calls out Adipurush makers for not doing justice to Ramayana: Cinema is driven by a lot of commercial factors
Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding Adipurush, son of Ramanand Sagar, Prem Sagar answers why it was a poor decision to make a film on Ramayan
Prem Sagar, whose father Ramanand Sagar helmed the iconic television serial Ramayana, points how the decision to make the epic for the big screen was the first step where the makers went wrong. “Filmmaking is a commercial art and makers create content keeping people’s requirement of a ‘paisa vasool’ film in mind. The need of commercially successful cinema sometimes lead to makers compromising with the sanctity of the subject, in this case Ramayana,” he says and goes on to talk about Adipurush writer Manoj Muntashir.
“Manoj is a very knowledgeable man who knows about his roots. I have seen his videos on YouTube and he comes across as someone who knows about his roots. So if he wrote anything like this, there might have been many more commercial requirements behind it,” says Sagar.
He shares that when his father decided to make Ramayana for TV, he was a movie mogul. “People called him crazy for moving from movie to TV, and nobody around the world came forward to support him. But he was clear that with TV he can show what he wants whereas cinema would restrict him. TV generates revenues from its advertisers and that’s why makers can entirely focus on creating art which is not driven by commercial factors. My father even had fights with Doordarshan and government of India regarding the time span for each episode because he was convinced that 22 minutes per episode is not enough to tell a story like Ramayan. And that’s why the show became one of the biggest and most popular series of the time,” Sagar shares.
The 53-year-old further clarifies that it’s not about taking creative liberty with just Ramayana, but all granths from all religion. “If you are picking a subject with which people’s faith and religious sentiments are attached, you have to understand the responsibility that comes with it. You cannot ignore the fact that cinema is driven by a lot of commercial factors.”
Addressing people’s anger, which he says is a result of being hurt, Sagar says, “When you create an art for yourself, you can do whatever you want because everyone has a different understanding of it. However, if you are giving it out to the masses for consumption, you become responsible towards them. People are angry because they are hurt. But I appreciate that the makers have come forward and accepted their mistake, keeping their egos aside. This is a huge thing.”
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