Hindu queen film opens amid violence threats
NEW DELHI: Thousands of police in riot gear guarded cinemas across India yesterday amid threats of violence by Hindu hardliners opposed to the release of a movie about a legendary Hindu queen and a Muslim king.
Some schools near Delhi closed after an attack on a school bus while distributors in several states have said they will not show Padmaavat because of fears of violence.
The Bollywood epic still opened in nearly 5,000 cinemas across the country early yesterday under heightened security.
Paramilitary forces and police in riot gear manned barriers around cinemas in New Delhi, Mumbai and other main cities.
Radical groups say the film falsely portrays Queen Padmavati. The producers vehemently deny the claim while most historians doubt that Padmavati even existed.
Fanatical groups belonging to India’s Rajput caste, who revere Padmavati, have led protests against the film for nearly a year. They have been supported by other Hindu groups since the film was cleared by the state censor this month.
Dozens of school children ducked inside a bus that was pelted with stones by anti- Padmaavat protesters in Gurgaon, a satellite city of Delhi. Another bus was set on fire.
On Tuesday several hundred people attacked shops, set alight dozens of motorbikes and damaged more than 150 cars across Gujarat state’s main city Ahmedabad.
Nearly 250 accused have been arrested over the rampage, Gujarat state home minister Pradipsinh Jadeja said late yesterday.
In Mumbai — the home of India’s Bollywood film industry — police rounded up 50 people affiliated to a hardline Hindu group after protesters set car tyres ablaze during an angry demonstration late on Tuesday.
The film drew few spectators at early morning screenings in New Delhi as police erected iron barricades outside theatres that did not display promotional posters to avoid any backlash.
Sanjay Bhargava, manager at a New Delhi cinema, said there was an “atmosphere of fear” due to the threats but he still expected a busy weekend.
“There is a bit of fear but with foolproof police protection, we hope things will improve soon,” Mr Bhargav said outside his cinema, protected by dozens of police.