Visiting Indian politician takes issue with Padmavat release
Manama : As protests erupted in several parts of India with angry mobs torching vehicles and blocking roads following the release of controversial Bollywood film Padmavat, a visiting Indian politician said the movie was disrespectful and should not be screened. The Rs1.9 billion Padmavat, starring Bollywood heartthrobs Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh will be released in Bahrain today.
“In the film trailer, I saw the queen dancing in indecent costumes,” said Indian politician Geetha Takur who was a former censor board member. The film tells the story of a 14th Century Hindu queen belonging to the high Rajput caste and the Muslim ruler Alauddin Khilji. Hindu groups and Rajput caste organisations allege that the movie, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, depicts an intimate romantic scene between the two characters, which they say “disrespects” her character. The producers of the film deny this.
Geeta Thakur from the state of Uttarakand was earlier in the news after she resigned from the ruling BJP in 2016 accusing the party of an “anti-women and anti-Dalit mindset”. She also gave up her membership with the Central Film Censor Board then.
The Central Board of Film Certification had screened the film to historians, who suggested five modifications. One of them included changing the film’s name from Padmavati to Padmavat, after the 16th Century epic poem of the same name.
Another BJP politician went to the extent of announcing a Rs 10-crore bounty for beheading actor Deepika Padukone and director Sanjay Leela Bhansali. BJP’s chief media coordinator in Haryana Suraj Pal Amu, resigned from his party post in November following the controversy.
Meanwhile Geeta Thakur said she had no sympathy for the producers of the film. “When you make a story about a historical character, the writer and director should do due diligence,” she said.
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