The release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavati appears to be attracting more opposition with each passing day. On Thursday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Raj Purohit joined voices with the Shri Rajput Karni Sena (SRKS) to oppose the movie and demand a ban on it.
Mr. Purohit said the Rajput Yuva Morcha, another outfit opposing the film, and SRKS will march to the Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s house on November 20, seeking a ban on the movie.
“The film is against the tradition of Rajputs and goes against Indian history. It hurts the sentiments of women,” he said. When asked whether he had seen the film, Mr. Purohit said he had not. “When the director can release the trailer, videos on various media platforms, why can he not show us the movie?” he asked.
The BJP MLA took objection claimed that Alauddin Khilji is shown as a hero in the movie. “He was a cruel person who killed his uncle for the kingship and also killed his sister’s son. He also kidnapped queen Padmavati and fell in love with her. How can he be the hero?” asked the MLA.
The MLA has written to Mr. Fadnavis and the Union Information andBroadcasting Minister, Smriti Irani, requesting a ban on the movie. “We also demand that the song Ghoomar be removed from the movie. It shows queen Padmavati dancing in the middle of a mansion, which is not a practice in the Rajput tradition,” he said.
Commenting on the issue, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar said that though he does not oppose any film, “I only feel the filmmaker should be sensitive towards the sentiments of the people while making historical movies.”
