Padmavati movie controversy: After Karni Sena threatened violence, another outfit Chatriya Samaj has gone a step ahead and offered a Rs 5 crore bounty to anyone who beheads director Sanjay Leela Bhansali and actress Deepika Padukone. Chatriya Samaj is an Uttar Pradesh Based outfit. Thakur Abhishek Som, who is the national President of the Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Yuva Mahasabha while talking about the same said that “Anyone who brings the head of Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Deepika Padukone will be rewarded with Rs 5 crore. He further said that Rani Ma Padmavati along with 12000 other women had sacrificed their life in mass immolation (Jauhar). He blamed Bhansali for distorting history and said that he has raised a question on her courage by showing her in a bad light in his film, which is unacceptable. He also said that either both of them should leave the country or they should get ready to be beheaded.
On Thursday, the Karni Sena also threatened the actress and said that they would chop off her nose. Mahipal Singh Makrana, a leader of the Shri Rajput Karni Sena cited Ramayana’s Surpanakha nose-chopping incident and warned Padukone against “inciting” sentiments. He threatened to cut Deepika Padukone’s nose.
Amidst all the trouble, the Indian Film and Television Directors’ Association (IFTDA) on wrote a letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh seeking a smooth release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s upcoming film “Padmavati”, which is caught in the eye of a storm. Some members of the Rajput community have accused the director of “distorting historical facts” and portraying Rani Padmavati (played by Deepika Padukone) in bad light in the film. In the letter to Singh, filmmaker and convenor of IFTDA Ashoke Pandit said that as the agitators have threatened to raze the cinema halls to the ground, adequate protection must be provided to the “Padmavati” team. “Protection must be given to Bhansali, his family, the star cast and the technicians of the film ‘Padmavati’, so that the unit is saved from the wrath of undemocratic people. Help the victim to release his film in time, without anybody’s intrusion,” he said in the letter.
“We are concerned with the cause of film ‘Padmavati’, which has become a serious issue that needs your immediate attention and stern handling of the situation, which is going out of control…,” the letter added. Calling Bhansali a “sensible” director, the letter read, “A director has his or her fundamental right to creativity, freedom of expression and has the prerogative to take liberty with history… He (Bhansali) was previously man-handled at Jaipur, the shooting was stopped and was even threatened for his life by the hoodlums. The mental trauma, physical threat to his life and his fears are continuously rising every day inching towards the release of his film.”