While Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh gave it a miss, the ₹150-crore Sanjay Leela Bhansali period drama Padmaavat was released on 4,000 screens across the country on Thursday. However, the tension was palpable, with security personnel keeping vigil outside many theatres — and even inside, at a multiplex in west Delhi, where the entire front row was occupied by uniformed security men. While sporadic incidents of violence were reported from some places, including in Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, the day passed without any big blow-ups of the kind witnessed on Tuesday and Wednesday.
In Gujarat, the nationwide bandh call given by the Shri Rajput Karni Sena (SRKS) and other community social groups against the release of the film drew a tepid response, with educational institutions, offices and markets remaining open in most parts of the State, except a few Rajput-dominated towns. A few incidents of highway blockades took place but barring these, things remained largely peaceful, with more than 20,000 policemen and 16 companies of paramilitary forces deployed across the State.
In Rajasthan, activists of the Karni Sena and other Rajput groups took out rallies with saffron flags, staged demonstrations, blocked roads and forcibly shut down markets at several places.
Udaipur bears the brunt
Minor incidents of violence took place in Udaipur, with protesters vandalising shops and allegedly taking away goods when some shopkeepers did not close their establishments. Police resorted to baton charge to disperse the protesters.
The plying of Rajasthan Roadways buses was stopped for the day in Udaipur, Banswara and Chittorgarh districts. A bus driver at Boyana village near Udaipur took the vehicle to the police station when some protesters threw stones.
The Chittorgarh Fort, where the legendary Queen Padmini is believed to have lived in the 13th century, as well as the Jaisalmer Fort, remained closed for tourists. Protesters blocked the Sawai Madhopur-Ranthambhore road to stop tourists coming to the tiger reserve and the fort. Jodhpur, Sikar, Nagaur, Pratapgarh, Dungarpur and Khetri towns also witnessed the impact of the shutdown. In Jaipur, Karni Sena members took out a “peace rally” to convey that they did not support violence. The rally threw traffic out of gear on the city roads.
In Haryana, the film was screened in 33 cinema halls across nine cities, including seven in Gurugram, where a school bus was attacked by protesters on Wednesday. Theatre owners in places such as Sonipat and Panchkula, however, refused to screen the movie, fearing ransacking of their properties. Haryana Director General of Police B.S. Sandhu said 18 persons have been arrested.
There was no incidents of violent protest in Mumbai or elsewhere in Maharashtra, said a senior police officer.
( With PTI inputs )
