BJP legislator from Goshamahal, Raja Singh, has threatened to burn down theatres if Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Hindi movie Padmavati was released in Telangana.
“Bhansali in his movie has twisted historical facts, showed the Rajput community in poor light and this insult will not be tolerated,” Mr. Singh told The Hindu on Tuesday.
He said there were more than 15 lakh people from the Rajput community in the State and they were demanding the ban on the film as it denigrated the community.
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Mr. Singh has written a letter to Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, requesting him to impose a ban on the movie.
In his letter, the legislator said the film had hurt the sentiments of Hindus by manipulating the history of Rani Padmavati.
“The movie should be banned till the needed changes were made by the director,” he said in his letter.
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He said Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh had already banned the release of the movie.
Preventive custody
In another development, as many as 42 people belonging to the Rajput community from Rajasthan were taken into preventive custody by the Afzalgunj police for staging a demonstration against the release of the movie in the State.