Stir against Panipat intensifies in state
UP IN ARMS A group of people vandalise multiplex in Jaipur; securities at cinemas and multiplexes beefed up; state leaders react over issue
The reactions that are coming about the portrayal of Maharaja Surajmalji in the film, such situation should not have arisen. The censor board should intervene and take cognizance of it
JAIPUR: The protest against Bollywood film Panipat has intensified across Rajasthan even as a group of people vandalized a multiplex hall in Jaipur on Monday afternoon.
Additional commissioner of police (addl CP) Ashok Gupta said that the incident took place around 2.30pm. “A few protestors pelted stones and damaged glass doors of the multiplex located near Amrapali circle, falling under the limits of Vaisahli Nagar police station. A police team was rushed to the spot within a few minutes and the situation was brought under control. Nobody was injured,” he said.
So far five persons have been detained, he added. “Police are questioning the detained persons and also checking the CCTV footages to identify the accused. Securities across various cinemas and multiplexes have been beefed up. Further investigation is on,” he further added.
People from the Jat community are demanding a ban on the film alleging that facts have been distorted in the film. The movie allegedly shows Bharatpur king Maharaja Suraj Mal as a greedy emperor, who wanted to conquer the Red Fort of Agra and denied help to the Maratha army in the Panipat battle.
Many protestors also gathered in front of Raj Mandir cinema around 1.30pm and burnt posters of the film.
In Bharatapur, many protestors hit the streets and called for a bandh against the alleged distortion of facts in the movie.
In Bikaner, many protestors gathered in front of a cinema hall and forcefully tried to close its doors. However, police convinced them and dispersed them.
Chief minister Ashok Gehlot tweeted, “Before making a film one must make sure to show one’s personality in the right perspective so that there is no controversy. I believe that art, artist should be respected but they should also take care that great men and gods of any caste, religion, class, should not be insulted.”
I n another t weet t he CM added, “The reactions that are coming about the portrayal of Maharaja Surajmalji in the film, such situation should not have arisen. The censor board should intervene and take cognizance of it. Distributors should immediately have a dialogue with the people of the Jat community regarding the film.”
On Sunday, cabinet minister Vishvendra Singh had demanded a ban on the film and tweeted, “It is unfortunate that the legendary Jat ruler, Maharajah Suraj Mal has been depicted in an unseemly light and historical facts have been distorted in the film, Panipat. In light of the vociferous protest by the Jat community in Haryana, Rajasthan and other regions of North India, I believe that the film should be banned to avoid a law and order situation.”
Former chief minister Vasundhara Raje had also accused Panipat director Ashutosh Gowariker of portraying Maharaja Suraj Mal in a “wrong light”, which she said, was “condemnable”. “The portrayal of a loyal, devoted and kind- hearted emperor Maharaja Surajmal in the film ‘Panipat’ by the filmmaker of the movie in wrong light is condemnable,” Raje tweeted in Hindi.
She had also said in a statement, “Wrong depiction of selfrespecting, faithful and ‘hriday samrat’ Maharaja Suraj Mal in the film Panipat is condemnable.”
A few historians have also
ASHOK GEHLOT, in a tweet
objected to the parts shown in the film. Historian Mahendra Singh Sikarwar, who has written a book on Bharatpur history, said the Red Fort of Agra was already under Maharaja Suraj Mal’s kingdom before the Panipat battle.
“Maharaja Suraj Mal spoke only Braj language, but the film shows him speaking a different language,” he said.
Filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker had earlier said that he had clarification for all questions raised. “Whenever we make something on history in a film, it is natural that question will arise over what part of the story has been included and what has been excluded from the script. A history book contains so many pages of information, but one cannot fit everything into a film. It has to be within a time frame. So people had doubts if the contribution of their family has been showcased in the film,” he had said.