Sanjay Leela
Bhansali’s upcoming film, Padmavati, starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh
and Shahid Kapoor, was plagued with one controversy after another even before
it went on floors. Now, it has found itself in trouble, yet again -- this time
by the Karni Sena activists in Jaipur.
The Padmavati
crew had erected a huge set at Jaigarh Fort, Jaipur, where a number of
important scenes of the film were to be shot. The stage was set and the cameras
were ready to roll. However, the moment Karni Sena activists got a whiff of the
matter, they landed on the set and began damaging it. Reason? Distortion of
historical facts, they say.
Says a source,
“Karni Sena activists are of the opinion that Bhansali isn’t portraying the
character of Rani Padmavati correctly, and thus want him to stop shooting.”
We also hear that
Bhansali, along with his creative team, tried sorting the matter out, but to no
avail. Things got so out of hand that one of the activists ended up assaulting
the filmmaker.
Needless to say,
Team Padmavati had to resort to police’s help to control the aggressive crowd.
This is not the
first time that Bhansali has faced trouble over depiction of Rani Padmavati’s
character. In September last year, The Patel Navnirman Sena asked Bhansali to
stop shooting for Padmavati in Mumbai, over fears that the filmmaker may damage
Rani Padmavati’s image.
At the time,
Hardik Patel, PNS President
said, “Rajasthan-based Rajput Sena's members met me and informed that SLB has
not studied the history, and could damage the image of Rani Padmavati. So,
we've informed him to stop the production of the film and hold discussions with
Rajput leaders before he begins shooting.”
He added,
“Bhansali should give assurance of not damaging Rani Padmavati's image, or else
Patidar Navnirman Sena will hold protests against the movie across the country,
and will not give permission for the film to release in Rajasthan. No director
has the right to damage history for entertainment.”
Image Source: betterminds