Deepika Padukone at an event in Mumbai.
New Delhi:
It's a red-letter day for Team Padmaavat and lead actress Deepika Padukone, for one, is confident that the box office performance will be nothing short of extraordinary. "I'm not someone who gets excited about the box office numbers but this time I am, because I think it will be earth-shattering," Deepika said while speaking to the press at an event in Mumbai last evening, reports news agency PTI. Padmaavat released today in a maelstrom of violent protests - yesterday, a school bus was attacked in Gurugram. The film has polarized opinion in the country over its depiction of a Rajput queen, and fringe groups like the Karni Sena violently opposed the release of the film last year.
Padmaavat opens after being belatedly cleared by the Censor Board this month, with five edits. Reviews of the film have singled Deepika Padukone's work as the titular Rani Padmavati out for praise - NDTV's Saibal Chatterjee wrote about her "inspired performance and exquisite screen presence" - and the actress professed herself 'overwhelmed.' She told the press, "I am extremely overwhelmed and emotional right now. I think this film has been through so much. To see that the film is finally releasing and to see the kind of reactions that the film is getting, reactions to my performance, it is extremely overwhelming," PTI reports.
Asked about the tense atmosphere that Padmaavat is releasing in, Deepika Padukone said, "There is a time for everything. The film has spoken for itself. The reactions to the film have been absolutely phenomenal. That is the best response we can give to anyone through the work that we do," reports PTI. Last year, violent threats were made against the actress after she defended her film, prompting a group of her female colleagues from the film industry to band together and sign a letter of protest addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Deepika posted this picture of herself and director Sanjay Leela Bhansali on Instagram:
Padmaavat co-stars Ranveer Singh and Alauddin Khilji and Shahid Kapoor as Padmavati's husband Ratan Singh of Chittor. The film releases unopposed at the box office after Akshay Kumar's PadMan, which was also meant to release today, voluntarily rescheduled itself to next month.
(With inputs from PTI)
Padmaavat opens after being belatedly cleared by the Censor Board this month, with five edits. Reviews of the film have singled Deepika Padukone's work as the titular Rani Padmavati out for praise - NDTV's Saibal Chatterjee wrote about her "inspired performance and exquisite screen presence" - and the actress professed herself 'overwhelmed.' She told the press, "I am extremely overwhelmed and emotional right now. I think this film has been through so much. To see that the film is finally releasing and to see the kind of reactions that the film is getting, reactions to my performance, it is extremely overwhelming," PTI reports.
Asked about the tense atmosphere that Padmaavat is releasing in, Deepika Padukone said, "There is a time for everything. The film has spoken for itself. The reactions to the film have been absolutely phenomenal. That is the best response we can give to anyone through the work that we do," reports PTI. Last year, violent threats were made against the actress after she defended her film, prompting a group of her female colleagues from the film industry to band together and sign a letter of protest addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Deepika posted this picture of herself and director Sanjay Leela Bhansali on Instagram:
Padmaavat co-stars Ranveer Singh and Alauddin Khilji and Shahid Kapoor as Padmavati's husband Ratan Singh of Chittor. The film releases unopposed at the box office after Akshay Kumar's PadMan, which was also meant to release today, voluntarily rescheduled itself to next month.
(With inputs from PTI)
