Threats to Deepika, Bhansali unacceptable: Nana Patekar

Actor Nana Patekar on Thursday said threats to actress Deepika Padukone and filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali regarding the release of their controversial film ‘Padmavati’ are “wrong and unacceptable”.

“‘Padmavati’ has not released yet. You don’t know what has been shown in the film. I don’t want to get into this, but what I believe is that giving threats to Deepika and Bhansali is wrong and unacceptable,” Patekar said at an event in Pune.

‘Padmavati’, which also stars Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor, is mired in controversy over conjectures that it ‘distorts facts’ about Rajput queen Padmavati. The film was scheduled for release on December 1, but it has been deferred since it has not got clearance from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

However, Patekar also said that he never faced such controversies despite his long stint in the film industry. “In ‘Krantiveer’, there were several things which should have made people angry. But if you show things in the right manner, people will understand,” said the actor, who had starred in Bhansali’s directorial debut, ‘Khamoshi’ (1996).

Films are made for entertainment but it does not mean that a filmmaker can play with the emotions of the audience, Patekar said.

He also spoke about the need for one-year compulsory military training for everyone. “During the shooting of ‘Prahaar’, I had said that military training should be made compulsory for all and everyone should give at least one year to the armed forces. Unless a student completes the one-year training, he should not be given his college degree,” said Patekar.