Apurva Asrani slams Yash’s 'Ramayana' defense: 'I won’t be surprised' if critics end up in jail.

Yash recently urged audiences not to nitpick the VFX in Ramayana and extend their full support to the much-awaited film, which stars him as Ravana and Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama. Now, screenwriter Apurva Asrani, known for critically acclaimed films such as Shahid and Aligarh, has criticised Yash's comments, comparing them to a sign of dictatorship.

‘Won’t be surprised if they throw us in Tihar Jail for disliking the film’

Apurva took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, “I won’t be surprised if they throw us in friggin’ Tihar Jail for disliking the new Ramayana, refusing to bang a thali to solve the oil crisis, or daring to eat a chicken burger on a Tuesday. Maybe even for switching off the TV during the supreme leader’s speech.”

‘Constitution of India has been reduced to a mockery’

Apurva went on to link Yash's comments to the India's current political climate. He also referred to the arrest of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, who have been held in Delhi's Tihar Jail for allegedly trespassing and entering the Jantar Mantar protest site after it was removed from the list of authorised demonstration venues.

Apurva wrote, “That’s how far down the road to dictatorship India is sliding. Watching how Saurav & Ashutosh are being treated, it is sad to see how the Constitution of India has been reduced to a mockery. Raise your voice now, before even a joke, a question or the slightest disagreement becomes grounds for state retaliation.”

What did Yash say?

At a recent Ramayana pre-release event in Hyderabad, Yash urged audiences to support the film and refrain from nitpicking over its visual effects. He also said India needed to protect filmmakers such as producer Namit Malhotra, who are striving to take Indian cinema to a global platform.

Yash said, “Anybody can dream of making a movie, but only a few people will have that kind of passion, dedication, determination and madness. As an Indian, I am telling you, we need to protect this guy. It's our responsibility because this man was comfortably doing business in LA. Every time I met him, he always spoke about one thing, ‘We all are doing so much and Indians have done so much, but we should do something for our Indian film industry and I want to do it. I am getting Oscars, but I am not happy. I want our country to be placed at that level and that's the day I am going to be happy.’ This is what he told me.”

Earlier, at Ramayana's trailer launch event in Bengaluru, Yash confirmed that the two-part epic has a combined budget of ₹4,000 crore.