MP bends, bans release of film
BHOPAL/CHANDIGARH/NEW DELHI: The entire country is speaking in one voice that historical facts were distorted.
SHIVRAJ SINGH CHOUHAN, Madhya Pradesh chief minister
MadhyaPradeshbannedcontroversial Bollywood film Padmavati on Monday as at least two other states backed the waves of protests against the ₹150-crore film that is miredincontroversy over the depiction of alegendary Hindu queen.
Madhya Pradesh chief minister(CM)ShivrajSinghChouhan told delegations of the Rajput community, which is protesting thedepictionofRaniPadmini,or Padmavati, in the film, that his government won’t tolerate any “distortion of history”.
“The entire country is speaking in one voice that historical facts were distorted,” the CM said. He added that even if the movie was passed by the censor board, it wouldn’t make it to screens in his state.
Hourslater,PunjabCMAmarinderSinghcameoutinsupport of the protesters, who say any possible depiction of romance between Padmini and 14th cen- tury Muslim ruler Alauddin Khilji is wrong and an insult to the community. “Nobody will accept the distortion of history andthosewhoareprotestingare rightlydoingso,”ANIquotedthe Congress leader as saying.
Singh is the first Congress leader to speak out against the film, based on a 16th century poem,‘Padmavat’,an accountof a Rajput queen who chose to kill herself rather than be captured by the Muslim sultan of Delhi, Allauddin Khilji. Historians, however, are divided over whether the queen ever existed.
The film has been in trouble since shooting beganearlier this year, following violent protests by a Rajasthan-based Rajput caste group, the Shri Rajput KarniSena,whichhasalsoissued death threats against the lead actors anddirector. Butpolitical temperaturesroselastweekafter twobigBJP-ruledstates–RajasthanandUttarPradesh–askedfor removal of the “objectionable” parts of the film to avoid offendingthesentimentsofanycommunity. The film’s makers have repeatedlydeniedallallegations.
Thefilm’sproducersputoffthe scheduled December 1 release dateafterseveraloffersofbounty for beheading director Sanjay LeelaBhansaliandactorDeepika Padukone,whoplaysthelegendary figure who committed “jauhar,” amedievalRajputpractice in which women of royal householdswalkedintofuneralfiresto embrace death over the dishonour of being captured.
Theprotests and threats have been widely condemned by the filmfraternityandcivilsocietyas muzzling freedom of speech and artistic expression. WestBengal CMMamataBanerjeeonMonday called the rowacalculated “plan of a political party to destroy the freedom to express”. “We con- demnthissuperemergency,”she tweeted.KarnatakaCMSiddaramaiah asked his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar to take “stringent action” against thosethreateningPadukone,the daughterofbadmintoniconPrakashPadukone,wholivesinBengaluru.
Despitethecondemnation,the row looks set to escalate.
The deputy CM of Uttar Pradesh, Keshav Prasad Maurya, has said his government will allowscreeningonlyafteroffending portions are edited out. His administration has also written to the Union information and broadcasting ministry, expressing apprehension of deterioration in law and order if the film was released.
Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje had urged Union information and broadcasting minister Smriti Irani on Saturday to ensure the movie is not released without adequate changes. The Central Board of Film Certification has sent the film back to the producerandsaidtheapplication form was “incomplete”.