Prakash Jha responds to accusations that Aashram defames Hindus: ‘Aadmi dharma ko nahi bacha sakta, dharma aadmi ko bachata hai’

The Gangaajal director advised Zoom Digital, “This is the first time I have heard that. It’s okay. I give you the freedom to say that. It is your point of view.” He added, “There’s a very beautiful saying about dharma in India. It is not people who protect dharma, it is dharma which protects people. Aadmi dharm ko nahi bachaa sakta, dharm aadmi ko bachata hai. Toh jo log dharm ko bachaane nikale hai, woh galat fehmi mein hain. (People can’t save dharma, dharma saves man. So those who go out to save dharma are mistaken.)”

Stating that his present Aashram is a piece of fiction, Prakash Jha mentioned, “Dharma kya hai? Jo sach hai woh dharma hain, aur koi cheez agar sach nahi hain, toh woh dharma ho hi nahi sakti. Toh hum jhooth bata rahe hai toh dharma ho hi nahi sakta, dharma se koi lena dena hi nahi hai uska. Jo woh jhooth ki rastein pe nikal gaye hain, unki soch waisi hogi, par sach ke raastein pe laakhon log chalte hai, pura samaaj chalta hai. (What is dharma? The truth is dharma, and if something is not true, it cannot be dharma. We are making a fictional show and it cannot be dharma, it has nothing to do with dharma. People who are on the path of lies, their thinking must be of that kind, but lakhs of people walk on the path of righteousness, the entire society functions on that.) ”

Aashram Season 3 is at the moment streaming on MX Player. In her overview of the sequence, The Indian Express’ Shubhra Gupta wrote, “Bobby Deol and Chandan Roy Sanyal-starrer rechristens itself Ek Badnaam Aashram, but offers just more of the dreary same.”