Unnecessary to riot over 'Padmaavat': Chetan Bhagat

Author Chetan Bhagat on Saturday said the riots that broke out over the release of Sanjay Leela Bansali's 'Padmaavat' were not required as the history of Rajputs is a very old one and cannot be distorted by one film.

The 43-year-old columnist, who came to attend the Jaipur Literature Festival, told ANI, "Riots that broke out over the release of Sanjay Leela Bansali's 'Padmaavat' were not required. The history of Rajputs is very old and one movie, if not let down their prestige."

Chetan added, "If country's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a foreign trip and incidents like demolition and pelting stones on children's bus are happening, then it is not good."

Gurugram Karni Sena chief Thakur Kushalpal was on Saturday detained by the Haryana police in connection with the incidents of violence during the release of movie 'Padmaavat'.

So far, 38 hooligans have been arrested and sent to the judicial custody in connection with the matter.

On January 24, a school bus was attacked by a group of men who were protesting against the release of the film in Haryana's Gurugram.

The protesters threw stones at the bus, which was carrying students, teachers and other staff members of Gurugram's GD Goenka World School. The protesters also torched a state bus in Gurugram.

After facing so many controversies and death threats, the period drama, which stars Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh, has taken the Box Office by storm and raked in Rs 56 crore in three days of its release.