The Shree Rajput Karni Sena yesterday vowed it will not agree for a compromise with the makers of Padmavat, and called for a “janata (people’s) curfew” whenever the Bollywood film is released.
Karni Sena chief Lokendra Singh Kalvi, who is leading the protest against the movie, told reporters here: “We needed one small clarification that time that there will be nothing between Alauddin Khilji and Padmavati... We would have been content with it, but now we will not compromise in any way.”
He also called for a “janata curfew” when the movie is released.
The Rajput organisation had first expressed concern after Ranveer Singh, one of the three lead actors of the movie, made a casual statement back in July 2016. When asked if he was playing the role of a villain in the film, Ranveer Singh is supposed to have said that he could go two notches beyond that if he was given two intimate scenes with the film’s leading lady Deepika Padukone.
This led to the question of whether the movie showcases any intimacy between Khilji and Rani Padmavati. Subsequently, activists of Karni Sena even assaulted director Sanjay Leela Bhansali on the film’s set in Jaipur and another set in Kolhapur was vandalised.
Bhansali and Viacom18 Pictures have been facing numerous hurdles in releasing the movie which, the director has said, is based on 16th century sufi poet Malik Mohamed Jayasi’s epic poem Padmavat.
The Central Board of Film Certification gave it the green signal with a U/A certification in consultation with a three-member advisory panel.
Dismissing it as hogwash, Kalvi questioned why it was shown to three people when there was talk about having a nine-member panel.
He said while the Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh governments have decided against the movie’s release, he is expecting other states to follow suit.
“I believe Telangana, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh will also make some announcement in a few days,” Kalvi said, insisting that the movie should not be released in theatres as it twists and turns history.
However, the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments have not issued any orders so far.
A senior Uttar Pradesh official said there was no order to ban the film in the state.
“But, in view of the protest calls from some quarters and the law and order in mind, a close watch is being kept on the developments,” he added.
A delegation of Karni Sena also met Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat in Dehradun on Tuesday and demanded that the film not be allowed to be screened in the hill state.
But the Uttarakhand government is yet to come up with any announcement.
In Panaji, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said if the film has been given a censor certificate, then his government does not have a problem in screening it.
“If they have a censor certificate we do not have objection. If there is a law and order issue, we will look at it then,” Parrikar said.
“As of now, we have not got any intimation about the film being released. If there is a censor certificate, we are not stopping it from release...
“If they come with a censor certificate with some modification, I do not see any big reason why we should interfere,” Parrikar added.
Parrikar also said that the state police had expressed apprehensions about the film being screened in Goa during the peak tourism season in December, when a significant chunk of the uniformed personnel are busy discharging law and order duties.
He added that since the peak season was over, the apprehension was irrelevant.
The women’s wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party had objected to the screening of the film in Goa citing law and order problems and the wrong portrayal of queen Padmavati.
Meanwhile, Viacom18 denied there were 300 cuts in the film.
“We appreciate the balanced and considered approach that the CBFC has taken to address this situation,” a company spokesman said in Mumbai.
The clarification follows CBFC chief Prasoon Joshi’s statement that no more than five modifications have been suggested to the makers for the film.
The modifications included title change from Padmavati to Padmavat.
They were even asked to add two disclaimers – one that clearly does not claim historical accuracy, and another which makes the point that the film in no manner subscribes to the practice of Sati or seeks to glorify it.
Modifications to the song Ghoomar were sought to make the depiction befitting to the character being portrayed, apart from modifications to the incorrect/misleading reference to historical places.