Siddhant Karnick, who plays Vibhishan in Om Raut's ‘Adipurush’, has now defended the film, which has been in the eye of the storm due to its dialogues and visual aesthetic. He mentioned that pop culture needs to be milked appropriately for the Hindu epic to resonate with the new generation.?

Siddhant plays Vibhishan, Ravana's altruistic brother, in the film. His character joins Rama and his forces in rescuing Sita and avenging the abduction.?

“I see my nephews and even some adult friends of mine wearing superhero T-shirts which are largely fictional characters like Spider-Man and Superman. And here we have our own itihaas (history) filled with superheroes and mythological gods whose stories and images are still in text form. We need to use pop culture smartly so we can pass on the stories of our gods to the next generation of children, show them that our gods are cooler and far more layered than fictional superheroes. I'm not saying we should shun Western superheroes. Not at all, but it's time we brought focus to our own gods and brought these stories in a language of superheroes that today's children are used to,” Siddhant told ETimes.

He added, “He looked like he was having the time of his life. And it just hit me that this is a film that kids must see to get acquainted intimately with our epics and stories.”

‘Adipurush’, meanwhile, has been facing flak on social media for its poor VFX and controversial dialogues.