Mumbai, Jun 19 (IANS): Questioning whether the Censor Board was 'sleeping', the Maharashtra Congress on Monday demanded a ban on the Bollywood film "Adipurush" for insulting Hindu religious idols.

State party president Nana Patole said that Lord Ram and Lord Hanuman have been 'insulted' in the film that was released last weekend and sparked outrage in different states.

"The Bharatiya Janata Party always keeps shouting that it is a pro-Hindutva government, but when it concerns a movie that heaps abuse on Lord Ram and Shri Hanuman, it has kept silent," said Patole.

He said that the character of Shri Hanuman has been given 'slang dialogues' and in the name of making the Rs 500-crore budget movie, "they have made a cartoon film".

"How was this film cleared in the first place? Was the Central Board of Film Censors sleeping at the time? We demand that the film be banned and the film-makers should apologise to the people of India for the insults to Lord Ram and Shri Hanuman," said Patole.

Meanwhile, the film -- an adaptation of the epic 'Ramayana' -- has sparked off strong protests in different parts of India, including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Rajasthan and other states, with several Hindu groups taking strong umbrage over the dialogues.