New Delhi : Ahead of Gujarat Assembly elections 2017, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has called for either a ban on Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film Padmavati or a “temporary” delay in the release of the movie. The BJP has approached the Election Commission and Gujarat’s chief electoral officer, saying that the release of Padmavati would cause tension ahead of Assembly polls in the state.
The BJP has asked the ECI “to arrange for a pre-release viewing of the film by select Rajput representatives to alleviate their raised tempers and provide fair opportunity to prevent unnecessary tension ahead of polls”, according to a report.
Gujarat will hold elections on December 9 and 14. The results will be declared on December 18. The period drama, starring Deepika Padukone in the lead role of Rani Padmavati, Ranveer Singh as Sultan Alauddin Khilji and Shahid Kapoor as Maharawal Ratan Singh, is slated to release worldwide on December 1.
“We have received representations from the Kshatriya community opposing any purported distortion of history and character of Rani Padmavati in the movie. History says that Padmavati never met Alauddin Khilji,” BJP’s Gujarat unit vice-president IK Jadeja was quoted as saying. “Any distortion in the movie which hurts sentiments of Rajput/Kshatriya community should be avoided as Gujarat is going to polls in December,” he said.
Earlier, Maharashtra tourism minister Jaykumar Rawal also demanded a ban on Padmavati ,claiming that he was a descendant of the clan of Rawal Ratan Singh, Padmavati’s husband. “I have told chief minister Devendra Fadnavis how facts are being twisted and passed off as history. You cannot take liberty with history and the film needs to be banned. We even intend to move the Centre over the Rajput community’s demand for a ban on the film,” he said.
Manubhai Patel, president of Gujarat’s Multiplex Owners Association, said he has received a letter from Shree Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena voicing its concerns and threatening to protest if Padmavati is released. The upcoming movie had earlier run into controversy after Rajasthan-based Rajput community group Karni Sena raised objections over depictions in the movie, claiming that history was being distorted.
Earlier this year, Bhansali was attacked by Karni Sena members during the shooting of the film in Rajasthan. Last month, alleged Karni Sena members burnt posters of the film after the first look of main characters was released.
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