MUMBAI: After more than a year of launching massive protests against Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavati, later christened Padmaavat, for allegedly distorting history, Karni Sena has announced that it decided to take back its protest and accepted that the movie glorifies the valour of the Rajputs, according to Hindustan Times.
The protests started in January 2016 when Bhansali was assaulted on the sets of the film in Jaipur as the members of the fringe group claimed that the film has a romantic sequence between Deepika Padukone’s Padmini and Ranveer Singh’s Alauddin Khilji. Despite the filmmaker’s denial that no such scene exists, the protests continued in many states across India and came to a head around film’s release. Padukone and Bhansali also faced death threats .
Now, Shri Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena’s Mumbai leader Yogendra Singh Katar said that on the directions of organisation’s national President Sukhdev Singh Gogamadi, a few members watched the movie in Mumbai on Friday, and found that the movie glorifies the valour and sacrifice of Rajput and every Rajput will feel proud after watching the film.
There is no such objectionable scene between Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khilji and Queen Padmini of Mewar which hurts the sentiments of Rajputs, he said in a letter, declaring that the Karni Sena takes back their protest and will help the administration to release the film in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat as well as across all cinema houses in India.
The Karni Sena had been demanding a ban on Padmaavat on the grounds that it “distorts” historical facts and projects queen Padmini in poor light. Last month, Supreme Court also lifted the ban on the movie imposed by several states and directed them to ensure its release.
The film was released in theatres across India on January 25 amid tight security and protest from various groups, including Karni Sena. However, some cinema hall owners decided not to screen the film in the wake of protests being carried allegedly by Karni Sena members in Gujarat and Haryana.
