Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said today that he did not favour allowing 'Padmavati' to be released until the filmmakers issued a clarification while a parliamentary panel invited director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, to hear his views on the row over the period drama.
In Patna, Kumar joined a long list of chief ministers, especially those from his ally BJP, who have spoken out on the movie that is mired in a massive controversy.
"I am not in favour of the movie's release until its producer, director and all those who are associated with it offer a clarification putting the controversy to rest," Kumar told reporters.
He did not specify what clarification he was looking for.
Meanwhile, the parliamentary panel on Information and Technology took note of the issue and invited Bhansali as well as Information and Broadcasting ministry and censor board officials.
"The panel has invited Bhansali to know his views on the controversy," Anurag Thakur, who heads the panel, told PTI.
The meeting is scheduled to take place on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court today took a strong exception to statements made by persons holding high offices against the film, saying the remarks were tantamount to pre- judging the movie yet to be certified by the censor board.
"When a matter is pending for consideration before the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), how can persons in public authority comment on whether the CBFC should issue certificate or not? It will prejudice the decision of CBFC," a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said.
The bench asked the CBFC to take a decision on the certification of the movie with "utmost objectivity".
BJP governments in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat have either said that they will ban the film or demanded that "objectionable content" in it be removed.
The flick continued to get support from the film fraternity. In Kolkata, the Bengali film industry observed a 15-minute "blackout" in solidarity with the filmmakers.
A spokesman of the Eastern India Motion Picture Directors' Association (EIMPA) said all actors, technicians, directors and production unit members came out of the studios, where pre and post-production work of films and serials were taking place, at 12 noon, to register their protest.
Actor Indrani Halder, who was shooting for a tv serial, said, "We stopped work at 12 noon and every person of our unit came out to the open compound. Shooting at all the other floors also came to a halt. This marks our solidarity with an acclaimed director like Sanjay Leela Bhansali and our protest against any attempt to curb creative freedom."
The EIMPA, the Artist Forum and the Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers had jointly called for the protest.
Shri Rajput Karni Sena founder Lokendra Singh Kalvi, however, again demanded the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he pressed for a ban on the film.
He said his organisation was willing to move the Supreme Court to get the film banned.
In Patna, Bihar Principal Secretary (Home) Amir Subhani, when asked whether any instructions had been issued for a ban on the release of the movie, told PTI that they had received no such information.
BJP MLA Neeraj Kumar Singh, however, reached the Bihar Assembly premises with photographs of Bhansali and Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan garlanded with shoes and slippers pasted on his vehicle.
Khan had said recently that Muslims never objected to "Mughal-e-Azam" though Anarkali was wrongly shown as Prince Salim's beloved because the community was "large hearted".
Singh told reporters that he was a Rajput and could not tolerate any insult to Rajput sentiment.
"In the trailer of the movie, queen Padmini has been shown dancing, which is contrary to what history tells us about the legendary figure. I would have no objections if they had changed the name of the character...But they cannot be allowed to portray historical figures in a distorted manner," the BJP MLA said.
Singh also displayed a copy of a letter he wrote to Nitish Kumar, praying for a ban on the release of the film in the state.
The lavishly mounted film, starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor, has been facing the wrath of various Rajput groups and political leaders, who have accused Bhansali of distorting history.
Many groups have been protesting amid rumours that there is a romantic dream sequence between Rajput queen Padmini and Allauddin Khilji.
Bhansali has said in an appeal that there is no dream sequence and it is all a rumour.
Historians are divided on whether Padmini, who finds mention in the 16th century epic poem "Padmavat", actually existed.
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