Former royal family fires fresh salvo at censor board

JAIPUR: The garb of artistic licence and creative freedom is a blank cheque, extending to extreme violation in every sense of the word and profit off the exploitation of any gender and community

STATEMENT FROM ERSTWHILE ROYAL FAMILY OF MEWAR

The erstwhile royal family of Mewar has issued another statement attacking the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) after reports that the film ‘Padmavat’ will be releasing on January 25.

“A release date for the film Padmavati (without the i!) is being suggested. As private citizens, we continue to stand for our rights to dignity and personal and cultural safety and express absolute abhorrence for the unabashedly strong-arm tactics employed to promote and release the film. The release is further evidence of the fact that authorities and regulatory bodies have deliberately ignored the many transgressions of their obvious zeal to have a discredited film released,” the statement said.

A few days ago, a prominent member of the erstwhile royal family of Mewar, Mahendra Singh, had complained to Union information and broadcasting minister Smriti Irani against the conduct of CBFC chief Prasoon Joshi.

The statement released on Tuesday says, “The release of the film with the subterfuge accompanying it, since valid objections made honest procedural release impossible, sets a precedent for trashing national heritage and vulgarising patriotic sacrifice and courage; this precedence can be used in the future against any group, family, individual and period of history later.”

The royal family has alleged that “it is now established that well-connected filmmakers with allegedly shadowy financial backing can use and commercially exploit the name of a family and the names of its heroic ancestors to present a discredited fictional account of their

Lives and that such filmmakers and films can play around with rules and systems of regulatory authorities with complete exemption from punishment and that the government will not only endorse but through its agencies participate in this violation of the rights of a family and the plunder of our country’s history.”

According to reports, the film ‘Padmavat’ is slated for release on January 25.

Even though the state government has banned the movie, several Rajput groups have warned against its release in other parts of the country.