Sanjay Leela Bhansali was slapped and beaten during Padmavati shoot in Jaipur on Friday.
Jaipur:
Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali has assured a group that assaulted him in Jaipur on the sets of "Padmavati" that his film does not distort the story of a Rajput queen. But the group, Rajput Karni Sena says if he wants to resume filming, he must change the name of the movie and also allow its members to preview it before release. The protesters allege that Mr Bhansali has twisted the story of legendary Queen Padmini, who refused to submit to Sultan Alauddin Khilji and killed herself to protect her honour.
Here are 10 points in the story
Mr Bhansali's team has clarified in a letter to Rajput groups that "there is no romantic dream sequence or any romantic scene between Rani Padmini and Alauddin Khilji."
When presented with the new demand that the group must be allowed to review the movie before its release, Mr Bhansali's production team did not comment.
On Friday, members of the Rajput Karni Sena slapped Mr Bhansali and pulled his hair during a shoot at the historic Jaigarh Fort in Jaipur. The attackers also took a mobile phone video as they vandalised the set.
The protesters accused Mr Bhansali of twisting historical facts by romantically linking Queen Padmini with Alauddin Khilji, played by Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh. The filmmaker left the shoot and flew back to Mumbai.
The film industry came out in strong condemnation of the attack and demanded tough action against the protesters.
Deepika Padukone, defended the movie on Saturday, tweeting: "I can assure you that there is absolutely no distortion of history. Our only endeavour is and has always been to share with the world the story of this courageous and powerful woman in the purest form there is."
Five men were initially detained over the incident but were released because there was no complaint.
The Rajputs were a warrior clan that historically ruled over kingdoms in western India.
"Padmavati" is a dream project for Mr Bhansali, one of India's most acclaimed filmmakers. This is his second historical drama with the same stars since "Bajirao Mastani".
Four years ago, Mr Bhansali was forced to tweak the name of his "Ram Leela" after protesters said it denigrated Hindu god Ram.
Post a comment