Rumours of Kangana Ranaut refusing outright to support Deepika Padukone in the Padmavati row have been doing the rounds for a while. According to these reports, Bollywood’s most outspoken actress was approached by Shabana Azmi to sign a petition seeking support for Deepika but the actress refused point-blank and refused to extend her support.
While a section of the media speculated that Kangana’s refusal had something to do with her not-so-friendly equation with Deepika, the actress, in an exclusive interview revealed the real reason behind not supporting the ‘Deepika Bachao’ campaign initiated by Azmi.
The actress said that while Deepika had all her support, she was sceptical about Azmi’s political stance.
She said, “I was filming Manikarnika in Jodhpur, got a call from my dear friend Anushka Sharma to sign the petition written by Ms Shabana Azmi, I explained to Anushka that Deepika Padukone has all my support but I am a bit wary of Shabana Azmi’s investment in left wing vs right wing politics.”
Saying that she had her own set of ideas and opinions about the current situation in the country, Kangana said, “I am on the fence about many things and being a part of a feminist movement called ‘Deepika Bachao’ lead by someone who characters assassinated me when I was bullied, seems to be one of them.”
Meanwhile, Hrithik Roshan, Varun Dhawan and Sonakshi Sinha have also condemned the protests and death threats on Deepika and Padmavati director Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
Speaking at the Star Screen Awards 2017, Hrithik Roshan said that these protests and threats prove that we still have a long way to go to evolve into completely civilized human beings, adding that the protests were not ‘right’.
Varun Dhawan stated that he has no qualms about peaceful protests. He said, “After all, its democracy and everyone has the right to voice their opinion. But to make a death threat is not at all fair in a democratic society. He signed off by saying that he has faith in the judiciary and that they’ll manage it.”
Sonakshi Sinha shared the same views as her counterparts and said that the protests were not ‘correct’ and that it is appalling that death threats are being given openly. She called for strict action against those who made such violent threats.
Padmavati’s other lead actor Shahid Kapoor, who is paired opposite Deepika had initially made a brief comment about the film and the problems that it’s facing. However, he has now elaborated his stance on the issue. He said that while the turn of events was indeed ‘strange’, he refused to believe that things have worsened.
He felt that the solution of the problem is taking longer to come about than anyone had anticipated. He then urged the protestors and those criticizing the film on the grounds that it distorts Rajput history that they should see the movie before jumping to any conclusions.
Kapoor said that his film Udta Punjab had also faced a lot of backlash for showing the state of Punjab in a bad light. The CBFC had suggested 89 cuts to the film and the producers alleged that the CBFC was not even allowing them to go to the Tribunal to pass their film unscathed.
Later, the High Court passed the film with just two minor cuts. Shahid Kapoor said that once Udta Punjab was out, the controversies were forgotten and everyone loved the film. He said that he’s confident that the same will happen with Padmavati as well.
Padmavati also starring Ranveer Singh as Allauddin Khilji was slated to release on December 1 but due to violent protests and opposition, the film’s release was delayed. Last week, Sanjay Leela Bhansali was summoned before the Parliamentary panel. The session went on for two hours in Delhi on November 30 after which the panel told the CBFC to take a call.
The film’s fate is yet to be decided.
