Bollywood lyricist Manoj Muntashir, who was heavily criticised for the colloquial dialogues in Prabhas, Kriti Sanon and Saif Ali Khan's mythological epic Adipurush, has said that the film has given him 'unbearable pain' and that he takes complete responsibility for the controversial dialogues.
In an interview with Zoom, Muntashir revealed what he would change in his life and career if given a chance.
"If given a choice and if I could go back in the timeline, I may not write dialogues for Adipurush. It has given me unbearable pain. Though no one else is responsible for it. I take complete onus," the 48-year-old lyricist said.
Directed by Om Raut, Adipurush hit the screens in June 2023 and received significant backlash on social media for its VFX, script and direction. However, its dialogues also drew merciless criticism from netizens as well as celebrities from the film industry. After facing flak, the makers revised the problematic and controversial dialogues of Adipurush within a week of the film's release.
In an earlier interview, the writer had also stated that he deliberately simplified the dialogues to create a distinction between characters. He was also accused of 'copying' one of the dialogues of Hanuman's character Devdatta Nage from an old video of a spiritual leader. However, it was not the first time that the writer was accused of plagiarism.
In 2021, Muntashir faced widespread condemnation for allegedly plagiarising a poem written by Robert J Lavery in 2007 and publishing it as his own (Mujhe Call Karna).
At that time, he had shared a video on his social media accounts to address the plagiarism accusations that were levelled against him. He had stated that all artistes are inspired by one another, and added, "None of my creations are 100 per cent original."
He added that many of his other works have been inspired by other writers as well.
Meanwhile, on the work front, after Adipurush, Muntashir worked in films like Bawaal, Animal and Crakk.
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