Padmavati, which reportedly cost Rs 200 crore to make, will release on December 1
Highlights
- Film suggests romance for Queen Padmini and Alauddin Khilji: detractors
- Incorrect, says director Sanjay Bhansali, film set and he were attacked
- Former royals of Jaipur, local influencers, demand preview of film
The former royals of Jaipur have joined the opposition to Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film, Padmavati, which stars Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh and is scheduled to release on December 1. Divya Kumari, whose grandfather was the last ruler of Jaipur, said "The women of Rajasthan are very upset with this film made on a queen who is the epitome of sacrifice." Ms Kumari is a BJP law-maker in Rajasthan. The controversy around "Padmavati" is based on its 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. Mr Bhansali has rubbished all reports of a romantic sequence between Padmavati and Khilji in the film.
Here are the 10 latest developments in this big story:
Our sentiments have been hurt," said Ms Kumari in Jaipur today. "Rather than highlighting Padmini's sacrifice, the film-maker has sought to highlight the romantic angle in this film," she said asking that representatives of groups opposed to the movie be allowed to preview the film and decide which scenes should be deleted.
Her mother, Padmini Devi, the former maharani of Jaipur, added "If all is well with the film, why don't they show it to a few representatives and then there will be no problem, otherwise, naturally we will ask for it to be banned."
Those demanding a ban - and they include more than one BJP leader - say that Mr Bhansali has romanticized the relationship between Padmavati and Khilji in the 13th-14th century.
Mr Bhansali says his script and movie do not malign the queen or suggest a love story between her and Khilji. His movie has cost more than 200 crores to make.
In January, he was attacked and his set was vandalised when the movie was shooting at The Jaigarh Fort in Jaipur.
Recently, there have been protests by women Rajputs and others demanding that the film be banned. A massive demonstration was held against the movie last week in Queen Padmini's hometown of Chittorgarh in Rajasthan.
Union Minister Uma Bharti tweeted last week that the film-makers must engage with detractors and historians to resolve the dispute. "No non-sense with Indian woman's pride - past, present or future," she said.
Detractors say the film is based on a distorted version of events written by the court poet of Alauddin Khilji.
In Madhya Pradesh, a BJP parliamentarian, Chintamani Malviya, blogged on Facebook, "We will not tolerate any distortion of our history." He threatened violence, stating, "People like Bhansali do not understand any other language. People like him only understand the language of shoes."
The 48-year-old MP also said that "How come filmmakers whose women family members change their husbands every day can understand 'Jauhar' (the practice of women setting themselves on fire to avoid being captured by invaders)?" The remark triggered criticism for degrading women.
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