Screening of 'Padmavati' to be protested in U'khand: BJP MLA

On a day the Supreme Court refused to stay the release of Bollywood film 'Padmavati', BJP MLA from Laksar Sanjay Gupta accused its director Sanjay Leela Bhansali of presenting the Rajput queen in a bad light and said there would be strong protests in Uttarakhand against the film's screening.
"Showing a brave, self-respecting Hindu queen dancing in front of a Muslim aggressor was unnecessary. We object to the disparaging projection of a historical character like Padmavati, which has been done by Bhansali only for the sake of money in the name of entertainment," he said.
Accusing the makers of films and television serials in the country of being in the habit of lowering historical characters, Gupta cited a TV serial titled "Jodha-Akbar", which was aired a couple of years ago, and claimed that Mughal emperor Akbar was glorified in the soap while Jodha's role was made subservient to his.

"This is a common tendency among our film and serial- makers. As Hinduism is a broad-minded religion, they get away with this. If they have the courage, why don't they attempt something similar with the Muslim historical characters," he said.
Noting that films showing irreverence to Hindu characters like Padmavati should not be released, the BJP leader said he would request the authorities concerned at the Centre not to allow Bhansali's project to hit the screens.
"However, if the film is released and there are objectionable scenes in it, the theatres screening it will have to face the wrath of the people," Gupta threatened.

The Supreme Court today refused to stay the release of 'Padmavati', over which the Allahabad High Court also declined to entertain a plea seeking a ban of the film.
The court verdicts came as a big boost to Bhansali in the aftermath of a mob attack in Jaipur, Rajasthan and a vandalism incident in Kolhapur, Maharashtra during the shooting of the film.
'Padmavati', starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor among others, is set to hit the screens on December 1.