Protests against Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film Padmavati are increasing by the day. This time, Rajput outfit Shree Rajput Karni Sena (SRKS) president Mahipal Singh Akrana has threatened to chop off lead actress Deepika Padukone’s nose for provoking the sentiments of the Rajput outfit, comparing the act to that Shurpanakha’s nose chop-off in the epic Ramayana.
Incidents of discontent with the film's release have started coming up from across the country. Lately, a movie hall in Kota, Rajasthan was vandalised.
In Lucknow meanwhile, SRKS patron Lokendra Singh Kalvi said members of the organisation will write letters inked in blood to district magistrates, asking them not to allow the film’s release. Kalvi has called for a Bharat bandh on the day of the film’s release, December 1 and has threatened to burn down any screens showcasing it.
The whole kerfuffle is about accusations that the film has distorted Rajput history and that the movie doesn't do justice to the sacrifice Rani Padmavati did by committing Jauhar for 16,000 women.
Actress Deepika Padukone’s comments seem to have added fuel to the fire, where she mentioned that nothing can possibly stop the release of Padmavati.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali has written to Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) asking the body to expedite the process and hold a pre-screening to clear the air about the movie.
This is even after Sanjay Leela Bhansali released a video explaining that there was no objectionable scene between Rani Padmavati and Alauddin Khilji and that the film is based on historical facts.
Recently a march was organised in Bengaluru by supporters of the same organisation to protest the film’s release.
On January 27, 2017, the sets of Padmavati in Jaipur were vandalised and the crew was forced to wrap up the shoot and return to Mumbai. After the base shifted to Kolhapur, the crew found no respite as on March 14, fifty unidentified men put the set on fire by hurling petrol bombs and destroying costumes and production equipment worth crores.
Meanwhile in Jaipur, members of Brahmin organisation Save Brahmin Mahasabha have started out a campaign where they are collecting 10,000 signatures written in blood to ban the film's release. The signatures will be sent over to the Censor Board, as per a statement from Mahasabha office bearer Pandit Suresh Mishra.
Local media reports stated that the blood signature campaign was to go on until November 20, as workers from the Sarva Brahman Mahasabha got together outside the Rajmandir Cinema in Jaipur to flag off the campaign.
Lucknow SRKS leader Kalvi further said in a press conference at Lucknow that if the film's release is allowed, it would become an issue that Rajput community members would die for, and also appealed for support from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the same.
The Shri Rajput Karni Sena had previously physically assaulted director Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
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