'Padmaavat' producers move Guj HC, seek protection for release

The producers of "Padmaavat" have moved the Gujarat High Court seeking a direction to the state government to provide police protection to theatres so that the film can be released.
Though the Sanjay Leela Bhansali-directed film released across the country on January 25, theatre owners in Gujarat have not screened it, fearing violence.
The petition by Viacom 18 Motion Pictures is likely to come up for urgent hearing tomorrow.
Viacom 18 Motion Pictures said it needs the court's direction to the government to provide police protection to cinema halls, in view of the widespread violence that erupted ahead of its release last week.

Karni Sena and some other Rajput organisations had launched protests against the film for alleged distortion of history.
There were violent protests outside three multiplexes in Ahmedabad a day ahead of the release, following which the Gujarat Multiplex Owners Association announced that no theatre, be it a multiplex or a single-screen cinema house, would screen "Padmaavat".