New Delhi: After the top court's unequivocal order yesterday rejecting the final attempts by Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to ban the film 'Padmaavat'', protests against the release of the movie turned violent. Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra stressed "People can't come and say law and order problems, ban the movie. Let us not come to a state where the exhibition of a movie, despite certified by the censor board, is crippled." Groups of people
vandalised shops at a mall and a cinema hall in Ahmedabad and targeted vehicles parked. Nearly a dozen two-wheelers, many of them belonging to a fast-food chain, were gutted. Section 144 has also been imposed in Gurgaon till Sunday to maintain law and order. Police also had to fire two shots in the air to disperse the mob. The Karni Sena, which has been spearheading the protests against the film, responded to a letter by Sanjay Leela Bhansali productions and disclosed that a six member panel would watch the film before its release as proposed by the filmmakers.
Police presence has been beefed up a day ahead of the film's release.
The period drama stars Deepika Padukone as Queen Padmini, Shahid Kapoor as king Ratan Singh and Ranveer Singh as Sultan Alauddin Khilji, who leads an invasion to try to capture the queen. A year ago, members of the Karni Sena attacked the film's director Sanjay Leela Bhansali and vandalised the set during filming in Rajasthan. They alleged that the film showed a romance between Queen Padmini and Khilji, which the makers have emphatically denied.
Here are the highlights of the controversy surrounding 'Padmaavat':
Jan 24, 2018 13:36 (IST)
In Rajasthan's Sikar a bus has been stoned in the protests. Tyres have been burnt in the Ajmer-Jaipur highway.