One million snub the fringe on Day 1
The show must go on. And it did as Sanjay Leela Bhansali's much debated "Padmaavat" unspooled in single and multiplex screens across the country under a security wrap and in simmering tension. A day after a school bus in Gurgaon was attacked by stone-pelting protesters, a defiant one million people thronged theatres to watch the movie on its opening day. An emotional Deepika said in Mumbai that she was overwhelmed and confident that "Padmaavat" would get an "earth-shattering response .
Many of those who watched "Padmaavat" condemned the violence of the last few weeks and said there is nothing objectionable in the film. The Rs 150 crore film has been simultaneously released in 4,000 screens across the country. The tension was palpable with security personnel mounting vigil at cineplexes and single screen halls but the day passed without any major incident despite sporadic violence in some places, including in Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
As protests continued in some places, the Centre made it clear that maintenance of law and order is the responsibility of state governments. States, which have witnessed violence, should deploy the Rapid Action Force, which is trained to handle mob protests, a senior home ministry official said. In Uttar Pradesh's temple town Varanasi, a man attempted to immolate himself but was stopped from doing so. The state - where a fringe group had on Wednesday announced a bounty for Deepika Padukone's nose -- was on high alert. Arterial roads were blocked, shops vandalised and bike rallies taken out in some places in Rajasthan. The state is in a heightened state of anxiety in view of the approaching by-polls in Alwar and Ajmer.
In Gurgaon, schools were closed following yesterday’s violence and tension persisted but many multiplexes screened the film. Elsewhere in the state, fearing ransacking of their properties, theatre owners in places such as Sonipat and Panchkula refused to screen the movie; neighbouring Punjab was relatively more relaxed.
In Madhya Pradesh, educational institutions remained open but commercial establishments were closed in places such as Indore, Ujjain and Gwalior. In Gujarat, the bandh called by the Karni Sena evoked a tepid response with educational institutions, offices and markets open in most parts of the state.
The consensus among the viewers was that the fuss over the movie was much ado over nothing. But that did not prevent the likes of Congress leader Digvijaya Singh from saying that films which are not based on historical facts should not be made and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal condemning those "who pelt our children with stones".