'Sai Pallavi, The Wrong Sita': Ramayana Makers Under Fire For 'Horrible Casting' After Ek Din Event Exposes Actress's Struggle With Hindi

Sai Pallavi made headlines following the pre-release event of Ek Din held in Mumbai on Sunday. The movie, produced by Aamir Khan, marks her Bollywood debut before the release of her next pan-India film, Ramayana. Several videos from the Ek Din event featuring the actress have now gone viral on social media. However, her appearance has also sparked concern among fans.

Why are Ramayana makers facing backlash online? 

Months before the release of the first part of Ramayana, director Nitesh Tiwari and producer Namit Malhotra had been embroiled in back-to-back controversies. Most recently, they invited the ire of social media users over the casting of Sai Pallavi. Appearing at the Ek Din event, the actress, who has earned critical acclaim for her roles in movies like Premam and Amaaran, struggled to speak in Hindi. She even addressed the challenge and apologised for it. “I didn't know we were going to speak at the event. At least I would've learned something in Hindi. Personally, I thank you so much,” she said. She also admitted to being nervous since the movie, co-starring Junaid Khan, is her first Bollywood release.

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While Sai Pallavi's candid confession earned her applause at the event, it invited wrath on social media. Netizens pulled up the makers of Ramayana for casting her in the role of Goddess Sita. They argued that the actress is struggling with basic Hindi and wondered how she could be given such an important role in what is said to be the most expensive film in India ever.

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However, fans of Sai Pallavi quickly jumped to her defence. Some noted that she perfectly dubbed for Amaaran in Hindi earlier, while others argued that, as per mythology, Goddess Sita was from Mithila and thus spoke Maithili. They also pointed out that the Nitesh Tiwari directorial also features South Indian actor Yash as Raavan, another important character in the movie. It must be noted that most that no dialogue promo or first look visuals of Sai Pallavi as Sita have not been released yet, therefore it would not be fair to draw a judgment on the actress's performance in the movie.  

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