Protests against the 190-crore movie accused of having a romantic scene between Alauddin Khilji and Rani Padmavati.

Padmavati Controversy

Padmavati is a multi-stared movie that is directed by Sanjay Leela Bansali with the main role taken up by Shahid Kapoor, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone. The film is mainly based on the Rani Padmavati sacrifice. It is said to be inspired by an epic poem, “Padmavat” . But it looks like the movie has been mired by controversies ever since the film’s shoot started. The film was slated to release on December 1. Divya Kumari, whose grandfather was the last ruler of Jaipur, said that the women of Rajasthan are very upset with the film.

The controversy is based on the depiction of the interaction between Rajput queen Padmini and Delhi ruler Alauddin Khilji, who was infatuated with her. The legend is that she set herself on fire to prevent him from capturing her.

Bollywood’s Reaction To The Controversy

According to Mr.Bhansali, the script and the movie do not malign the queen or suggest a love story between Khilji and her. In January, he was attacked and his set was vandalised when the movie was shooting at the Jaigarh Fort in Jaipur. The Rajput Karni Sena workers created a ruckus and also slapped and assaulted Mr. Bhansali on Friday. Mr. Bhansali and Ms. Padukone have been receiving threats since then.

Many Bollywood celebrities, including filmmakers Karan Johar, Farhan Akhtar, Ram Gopal Verma, Anurag Kashyap and Madhur Bhandarkar along with actors Hrithik Roshan and Sonam Kapoor have expressed their anger against the Karni sena in a series of social media posts. The entire film fraternity stands with Mr. Bhansali in his tough times.

The state governments of  Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have already declared a ban on Padmavati in their respective states. States like Bihar, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are waiting for a go-ahead from the censor board first. Whereas the Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, gave a clean chit to the movie.

Conclusion

Many a times a movie is not taken only as a movie in India. Everybody has to understand that cinema is only there to entertain us and no movie will intentionally be made to hurt the feelings of people belonging to any caste, creed, religion or sex. There is Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) that is established to scan the movies before release. It is not a right thing for people to take law in their hands. Also, the political parties should not take it as an advantage to promote their parties. Cinema is only for entertainment and it should be taken up with a positive spirit.