The police will provide security to the cinema halls and their owners for the release
Sanjay Leela Bhansali's much controversial film "Padmaavat", which did not release in Madhya Pradesh over protests, will now hit the screens in Indore on Thursday amid high security.
The police will provide ample security to the cinema halls and their owners for the release of the movie, which was mired in controversy due to protests by Rajput outfits.
Indore police chief Harinarayanachari Mishra told IANS that cinema hall owners have demanded security to release "Padmaavat" peacefully.
"
Padmaavat" might be screened on February 8 in Indore and elsewhere in the state," Central Circuit Cine Association president Jaiprakash Chouksey had told PTI on Tuesday.
Theatre owners in Madhya Pradesh had last month decided not to screen the period drama following large-scale protests and
bandhs in several places.
"We have made preparations to provide security cover at the cinema halls for the release of the movie," Indore range deputy inspector general (DIG) H C Mishra told PTI on Wednesday.
Secretary of Bhopal Cinema Owners Association, Azizuddin, told PTI that within three hours of the release of the film in Indore, it would be screened in the state capital.
Of the 361 cinema halls across Madhya Pradesh, owners of 200 theatres are eagerly waiting to screen the movie, he said.
On January 23, two days before the nationwide release of "
Padmaavat", the
Supreme Court had refused to modify its earlier order, which had cleared the decks for its screening.
Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh had petitioned the apex court to modify its order and stop the release of the movie.
Madhya Pradesh was one of the states where the movie did not release. Rajasthan and Gujarat were the other states where it didn't see the light of the day.
Based on 16th century poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi's poem "
Padmavat", the film features Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor in lead roles.
Shri Rajput Karni Sena and other Rajput outfits, had been protesting over the movie over alleged "distortion of facts" and reaffirmed its stance that they would stage peaceful protests against its release in Madhya Pradesh.
"As the film has portrayed the history in a distorted manner, we will continue to oppose," Raghu Parmar, state in-charge of Karni Sena, told PTI.
We are going to stand outside cinema halls and request the people not to watch the movie," he added.
(With inputs from PTI and IANS)