Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s epic drama Padmavati, which was scheduled to release on December 1, has been deferred. A spokesperson from Viacom18, who is bankrolling the project, said that the release date has been changed.
The film has been embroiled in a massive row ever since Bhansali announced the project. From facing assaults to protesters declaring bandhs at Chittorgarh Fort, a lot has been stirred with even the Uttar Pradesh government and Rajasthan’s Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje asking the Information and Broadcast Ministry to defer the project.
#BreakingNews: #Padmavati release postponed… Viacom18 Motion Pictures, the studio behind #Padmavati, has voluntarily deferred the release date of the film from 1 December 2017… We will announce the revised release date of the film in due course: Official statement.
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) November 19, 2017
While Bhansali and his team have stated that the film upholds the Rajput pride and is actually a celebration of the valour and courage of Rajputs, protesters led by fringe groups such as the Karni Sena have continued to call for a ban on the film. Their concerns include Bhansali ‘distorting history’ and showing their Rani Padmini in a bad light.
Recommended
With threats against Bhansali and Deepika Padukone increasing, CBFC’s chairman Prasoon Joshi broke his silence on the matter. He reportedly lashed out at the film’s team for not specifying if Padmavati is based on fiction or true incident or true story or mythology or epic or devotional or biographical.
“Padmavati‘s application came up this week for review. Makers admit the paper work isn’t complete. The disclaimer whether the film is a work of fiction or historical was left blank and on being asked to provide important documents, they targeted CBFC for ‘looking the other way’. It is surprising,” Joshi said in a statement.
Read: Padmavati Row: A Timeline Of The Controversy Over Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Epic Drama
(with inputs from IANS)