Ex-royal writes to Irani, complains against Prasoon

JAIPUR: A day after the censor board said it would clear the controversial Bollywood film Padmavati with certain changes, a prominent member of erstwhile royal family of Mewar, Mahendra Singh, complained to Union information and broadcasting minister Smriti Irani against the conduct of CBFC chief Prasoon Joshi.

In the letter with subject line ‘Questionable conduct and consequences, perhaps including the removal of Mr Prasoon Joshi,’ Singh has raised several issues with the minister. He has also attached a copy of the letter written by his son Vishwaraj Singh to Joshi on Saturday.

“I write to bring on record the questionable conduct of Mr Prasoon Joshi, chairman of the CBFC in certifying the film ‘Padmavati’ as established from the above letters and newspaper reports ,” Ma h end ra Singh stated in the letter.

Ma h end ra Singh ,75, is the eldest son of late Maharana Bhagwat Singh, the 75th ruler of Mewar dynasty. His younger brother Arv ind Singh was one of the three members of the special advisory panel, which had examined the film in Mumbai on December 28. The brothers have along running property dispute and the matter is in the court.

The letter to I&B minister fur- th er states ,“The invitation to join the panel was extended by Mr Joshi and in response he was asked for some clarifications including the genre of the film, how the CBFC would treat objectionable sequences and the responsibility of the panel, including if its findings would be advisory or binding in nature.”

The letter further states, “The conduct and statements of Mr Joshi makes one question the intentions and role of the CBFC, as one set of panel lists was invited and then the film was clandestinely shown to another set. The impression being given is that the panel lists who have seen the film are in agreement with the movie.