Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Nepal bans screening of Hindi movies amid 'Adipurush' dialogue row

Police personnel were deployed across 17 halls in Kathmandu to ensure that no Hindi film was screened.

Nepal bans screening of Hindi movies amid 'Adipurush' dialogue row

All Hindi films, including Adipurush, were banned in Nepal on Monday following a controversy over its dialogues, including the mention of Sita as "India's daughter".

According to reports, the screening of Om Raut-directed Adipurush has been halted nationwide, after the movie, a retelling of the epic Ramayana, was banned in Kathmandu and Pokhara.


Police personnel were deployed across 17 halls in Kathmandu to ensure that no Hindi film was screened.

Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah on Sunday said no Hindi film will be allowed to run in Kathmandu Metropolitan City until the dialogue "Janaki is a daughter of India" in Adipurush is removed not just in Nepal but also in India Sita, also referred to as Janaki, is believed by many to have been born in Janakpur in southeast Nepal.

Pokhara Metropolis Mayor Dhanaraj Acharya said Adipurush, starring Prabhas and Kriti Sanon, will be barred from screening from Monday onwards.

According to Kathmandu mayor, screening Adipurush without getting one of its dialogues removed will cause "irreparable damage".

"Screening of all the Hindi films will be barred within Kathmandu Metropolitan City from Monday, June 19, as the objectionable words in the dialogue of the film 'Adipurush' has not yet been removed," he said in a Facebook post on Sunday.

As controversy spiralled, Adipurush dialogue writer Manoj Muntashir Shukla on Sunday said the makers of the movie had decided to "revise some of the dialogues" after the film was criticised heavily for its pedestrian language.

Shukla, who has penned the Hindi dialogues and songs of the multilingual saga, said the amended lines will be added to the film by this week.

Raju Pandey, Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) Police chief, said the police inspected the cinema halls within the city on Sunday in accordance with the mayor's instructions.

"We got a positive response during the inspection on Sunday and we are now monitoring all the cinema halls from Monday morning," Pandey said.

"While monitoring QFX Hall at Civil Mahal in Kathmandu... they said they will show Nepali and English movies instead of Hindi ones. We will not allow screening of Hindi movies until the KMC authority gives permission," he added.

A security guard at Q's Cinema situated at the Rising Mall in Kamaladi Kathmandu said the theatre stopped screening Adipurush after showing the movie once on Friday evening. "Now, we are screening Nepali film 'Neer Phool' from Monday," he informed.

Produced by T-Series, Retrophiles, and UV Creations, the film also stars Saif Ali Khan as Lankesh (Ravana), Sunny Singh as Shesh (Lakshman) and Devdutta Nage as Bajrang (Hanuman).

More For You

Exclusive: 'Starmer must fill NHS staffing defecit'
Dr Chaand Nagpaul

Exclusive: 'Starmer must fill NHS staffing defecit'

LABOUR's latest announcement to cut NHS waiting lists, while welcome, does not go far enough, the former leader of the doctors’ union, Chaand Nagpaul has told Eastern Eye.

Prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, unveiled his plans on Monday (6). He pledged Labour would set up more NHS hubs in community locations in England, and the service would make greater use of the private sector to help meet the challenge.

Keep ReadingShow less
Exclusive: 'Stop spreading racial hatred'
Nazir Afzal

Exclusive: 'Stop spreading racial hatred'

POLITICIANS must dial down “dangerous and inflammatory” rhetoric and recognise the contributions of all communities in Britain, prominent south Asians have told Eastern Eye.

They are concerned that recent social media attacks on asylum seekers, immigrants, especially British Pakistanis, as well as ministers will lead to unnecessary deaths.

Keep ReadingShow less
Lisa-Nandy-Getty

The culture secretary retains powers to refer the case to the Competition and Markets Authority, which could trigger an investigation into press freedom concerns linked to Abu Dhabi’s involvement. (Photo: Getty Images)

Calls grow for Lisa Nandy to end Telegraph ownership stalemate

THE SALE of The Telegraph newspaper has drawn widespread political calls for culture secretary Lisa Nandy to intervene and end the prolonged uncertainty surrounding its ownership.

The newspaper has been in limbo for 20 months after an auction process initiated by RedBird IMI, an Abu Dhabi-backed investment fund, failed to secure a suitable buyer.

Keep ReadingShow less
illegal-migrants-getty

According to government data, over 36,800 people crossed the Channel in 2024. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Labour government reports highest illegal migrant removals since 2018

THE LABOUR government announced on Thursday that it had removed 16,400 illegal migrants since taking office in July, the fastest rate of removals since 2018.

On taking office, prime minister Keir Starmer scrapped the previous Conservative government's scheme to send migrants who arrive illegally to Rwanda, instead setting up a Border Security Command to crack down on illegal migration – a huge political issue in Britain.

Keep ReadingShow less
Two men jailed for trying to smuggle migrants into UK

Shafaz Khan (L), Choudhry Rashied (Photo: Home Office)

Two men jailed for trying to smuggle migrants into UK

TWO London-based men have been sentenced to over 10 years behind bars after being convicted of breaching UK immigration law by trying to smuggle four Indian migrants in a hidden van compartment disguised by a stack of dirty tyres.

According to the UK Home Office, British nationals Shafaz Khan and Choudhry Rashied, who operated under the alias ‘Manzar Mian Attique’, hid the group of migrants behind the tyres in a “purpose built” hidden space in the vehicle.

Keep ReadingShow less