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Producers Ravi Shankar and Naveen Yerneni of Mythri Movie Makers have got partial relief in the Pushpa 2 stampede case, but there is another legal battle that they may have to deal with. A high court advocate- Mamidal Thirumal Rao, has filed a case against actor Rishab Shetty, director Prasanth Varma and the producers for depicting Hanuman with a ‘human face’ in the film Jai Hanuman.
The complainant, held a press meet recently to talk about the case he has filed at the Nampally Criminal Court, alleging that the teaser of Jai Hanuman, released on October 30 last year, depicted Lord Hanuman ‘offensively’.
Thirumal claimed that instead of a traditional avatar, the Hindu god Hanuman was depicted with a 'human face' thus putting more focus on the Shetty- who featured in the film- instead of the God.
He said, “The teaser of Jai Hanuman was released in October by Mythri Movie Makers, which is represented by their producers Ravi Shankar and Naveen Yerneni, directed by Prasanth Varma and acted by Rishab Shetty, an award-winning actor. The poster shows Rishab as a mighty king with a muscular body. But his face is human. This means they have offensively depicted Lord Hanuman with a human face.”
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The complaint further states, “Rishab Shetty is the focus because he’s an award-winning actor and not Hanuman. I filed a case in criminal court over this, which was accepted. I put forth my argument. Because of this, I have to prove how Hanuman looks. I took examples from how He’s depicted in different countries to do that.”
Thirumal claimed that more filmmakers would take inspiration from this and take liberties in depicting Gods, “If we let this continue, the younger generation won’t know that Hanuman isn’t human. We will have to prove otherwise, even when it comes to other Gods like Ganesh and Varaha Swami when they make whatever they want to make money. We cannot let that happen.”
About Jai Hanuman
Jai Hanuman is a sequel to the hit 2024 film HanuMan, which told the story of an underdog gaining superpowers from Hanuman in a time of need. Teja Sajja, who headlined that film, and Rana Daggubati will also be featured in the sequel along with Shetty who plays Hanuman in the film.
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The Pushpa 2 stampede case
Meanwhile, Mythri Movie Makers recently secured partial relief in the ongoing Pushpa 2 stampede case. During the premiere of Pushpa 2: The Rule on December 4, Allu Arjun’s visit sparked chaos and a stampede, resulting in the death of a woman and hospitalisation of her young son in a critical state.
Arjun received bail from the Nampally Court in the matter. The police have been instructed not to arrest the producers in the matter.