After Kathmandu, Nepal’s Pokhara Bans Indian Movies Over 'Adipurush' Controversy

After Kathmandu, the Pokhara Metropolitan City has announced a ban on all Indian movies over the controversy around Prabhas' 'Adipurush'.

Pokhara Mayor on Sunday directed the theatres in the Metropolitan city of central Nepal to halt the screening of Indian movies from Monday.

It came shortly after Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah said that no Indian movie will be shown in the Kathmandu Metropolitan area over a dialogue in the movie where Goddess Sita is referred to as the daughter of India. The cinema halls have been informed about it, he said on Twitter.

"3 days ago, we called for the removal of the objectionable message that 'Janaki is the daughter of India' included in the Indian movie Adipurush from the main part of the movie. There is no doubt that it is the first duty of every government, government agency, non-governmental sector and Nepali citizen to protect the national interest by keeping Nepal's freedom, independence and self-respect intact. Clause (6) of Article 5 and Article 56 of the Constitution of Nepal assigns the responsibility of protecting the national interest to the Union, State and local governments," he said.

The post added, "If the film is shown as it is, it seems that Nepal's nationality, cultural unity, and national identity will be severely damaged and irreparable damage will be done. Due to cultural encroachment on Nepal from that movie, this metropolitan city has attracted serious attention. By prohibiting the showing of the said film against the national interest within the Kathmandu metropolitan area, if the film is allowed to be shown in other areas of the country and abroad, it will establish a misleading fact, so it is prohibited to show any Indian film in the Kathmandu metropolitan city until the objectionable parts are removed from the said film."

On Friday, the screening of the mythological film was put on hold in cinema halls across Kathmandu after City Mayor Balendra Shah asked the makers to rectify the mistake about the birthplace of Sita.

On the other hand, T-Series, the production company of 'Adipurush', has written a letter to the Nepali Mayor claiming that it was "never intentional or deliberate to cause any disharmony for anyone", Indian Express reported.

Meanwhile, the movie, which is based on the Hindu epic 'Ramayana', has set the box office on fire. In three days, the movie has reportedly minted over Rs 300 crore.