Manoj Muntashir

Manoj Shukla (born 27 February 1976), better known by his stage name Manoj Muntashir Shukla, is an Indian lyricist, poet, dialogue writer and screenwriter. He wrote several Hindi songs for films, including "Teri Mitti", "Galliyan", "Tere Sang Yaara", "Kaun Tujhe", "Dil Meri Na Sune", "Kaise Hua" and "Phir Bhi Tumko Chaahunga".

Early life
Shukla was born on 27 February 1976 into a Brahmin family in Gauriganj, Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, India, where he attended a HAL School Korwa. After graduating from Allahabad University in 1999, he moved to Mumbai to seek work, and subsequently entered the TV and film scene following an opportunity to write for Kaun Banega Crorepati.

Career
Muntashir has written the lyrics of several Hindi film songs including "Galliyan" from Ek Villain, "Tere Sang Yaara" from Rustom, "Kaun Tujhe" from M.S Dhoni: The Untold Story and "Dil Meri Na Sune" from the film "Genius".

He has voiced concerns with regards to acknowledgments to song and script writers. His lyrics to "Phir Bhi Tumko Chaahunga" (2017), a song which registered more than four million views through unofficial versions prior to its official release, were originally compiled for his wife in 2001. When he failed to receive acknowledgement for the song, he voiced that he didn't "know why certain people can't accept an age old fact that lyricists have an equal amount of contribution in making a song successful". Following a nomination for the 2020 Filmfare award for best lyrics for the song 'Teri Mitti' from the 2019 film Kesari, he tweeted his disappointment when the award went to someone else. He has won National Film Awards for best lyrics in Saina (film).

He has written scripts for India's Got Talent and Indian Idol Junior. Muntashir wrote the Hindi dialogues for Baahubali 2, dubbing the words in Hindi to match the lip movements which were spoken in Telugu. Later, he was commissioned to do the same for the Hollywood film, Black Panther.

He published a book titled Meri Fitrat Hai Mastana.

Dialogues of Adipurush
Muntashir wrote the dialogues of Om Raut's film Adipurush. The dialogues of the film were criticised for being too flippant, and containing modern-day slang and lingo in a setting from centuries ago.

Prem Sagar, whose father Ramanand Sagar directed the iconic television serial Ramayan (1987), questioned how Muntashir "conceived such dialogues" in the film. Speaking with news agency ANI, he said, "It might be a misjudgement that the younger generation would like it. But you can't do this with the audience. Don't say it is based on Valmiki Ramayana, give it any other name. Make it a fantasy film. But if you're making Ramayan then you cannot hurt the sentiments. People watch this with devotion."

One of the lines in the movie, which refers to Sita as "Bharat ki beti" (India's daughter) caused anger among the people of Nepal. This is because Sita is believed to have been born in Janakpur, located in present-day Nepal. Manoj was then accused of misrepresenting historical facts, leading to calls for a ban on all Hindi movies in Nepal. Priyanka Chaturvedi criticized the use of "pedestrian dialogues" in the film. She demanded an apology from the film's makers and said that the dialogues were disrespectful to the characters of Ramayana. Similarly, Bhupesh Baghel alleged that dialogues in the film are "objectionable and indecent" and questioned the "silence" of political parties which call themselves the custodian of religion, an apparent jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party. When asked by reporters whether the state government will ban this movie, Baghel said, "The government will think about it if people will raise a demand in this direction".

In an interview with Republic World, Muntashir said, "It is not an error. It is a very meticulous thought process that has gone into writing the dialogues for Bajrang Bali and for all the characters. We have made it simple because we have to understand one thing if there are multiple characters in a film, all cannot speak the same language. There has to be a kind of diversion, a kind of division."

Muntashir also said "When our grandmothers narrated the tales of Ramayana, they used this language. The dialogue that you mentioned, priests and narrators used to say that in the same way I have written. I'm not the first one to write this dialogue, it's already there."

Later, he announced that some lines of the dialogue in the film would be altered. In a statement on Twitter, he concluded, "I can give countless arguments in favour of my dialogues, but this will not reduce your pain. Me and the producer-director of the film have decided that some of the dialogues which are hurting you, We’ll revise them, and they’ll be added to the film this week. May Shri Ram bless you all!”

Backtracking and making contradictory statements
A video, which went viral on social media, showed Muntashir's contrary statements on Adipurush. Over eight months ago, he had appeared for a TV interview along with director Om Raut, on ABP news and said: "If people think we are trying to modernise the Ramayan, I want to tell them that not at all. We have presented the Ramayan just like how people heard in stories during their childhood."

But in a recent interview with Aaj Tak, Muntashir seemed to contradict himself by claiming that it wasn't an "adaptation" of the epic, but an "inspiration". "The film’s name is Adipurush. We have not made the Ramayan; we are just inspired by it," he said.

Claiming that Hanuman is 'not a god'
In another interview with Aaj Tak, he tried to defend the dialogues of Adipurush. It was during this time that he also claimed Hanuman is "not a god" but is considered one because of the power of his "bhakti" for Lord Ram. He said, “Lord Hanuman is not God but a mere devotee. We made him God because his devotion had that power.” This statement led to a political slugfest, where the AAP and Congress attacked the governing BJP for ‘blessing’ the movie whose makers don't consider Bajrang Bali as God.

While the Shiva Purana specifically refers to Hanuman as an 'incarnation' of Shiva, other Puranas and scriptures provide alternative perspectives. According to these sources, Bajrang bali is commonly regarded as the spiritual son of Vayu, the deity of wind, or as an incarnation of Vayu himself. In some instances, Hanuman is also identified as an avatar of Rudra, another name associated with Vayu.

Apology
मैं स्वीकार करता हूँ कि फ़िल्म आदिपुरुष से जन भावनायें आहत हुईं हैं. अपने सभी भाइयों-बहनों, बड़ों, पूज्य साधु-संतों और श्री राम के भक्तों से, मैं हाथ जोड़ कर, बिना शर्त क्षमा माँगता हूँ. भगवान बजरंग बली हम सब पर कृपा करें, हमें एक और अटूट रहकर अपने पवित्र सनातन और महान देश की सेवा करने की शक्ति दें!🙏

I accept people’s emotions have been hurt by Adipurush. With folded hands, I extend my unconditional apologies. May Prabhu Bajrang Bali keep us united and grant us strength to serve our sacred Sanatan and our great nation.🙏 8 July 2023 On 8 July 2023, Shukla issued an apology on X (formerly Twitter).