Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s upcoming period film Bajirao Mastani is facing strong protest from the descendants of Peshwa and Chhatrasal dynasty, who organized a protest at Shaniwar Wada, the ancestral capital of Peshwas, on December 12 against the film which is scheduled to release on December 18. The march was led by Uday Singh Peshwa, descendant of Peshwas, and Kothrud’s BJP MLA Medha Kulkarni, a descendant of Chhatrasal. The protesters burnt an effigy of the director and shouted slogans against the movie, said a Indian Express report.
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The protesters alleged that the promotional videos and songs of the movie distort their collective history. “The trailer and promotional videos of the movie prove that it is an attempt to distort the historic figures of Maharashtra and Bundelkhand. We are requesting the cocnerned people to remove these trailers and the objectionable content from the movie, which is not according to the history,” said a release issued by the protesters.
According to the protesters, when Bundelkhand was attacked by Muhammad Shah Bangash, Chhatrasal Bundela, who was 80-year-old at the time of the attack, asked Bajirao Peshwa to intervene. Bajirao defeated Bangash, and was offered Mastani’s hand by Bundela, her father. She came in Bajirao’s life in 1722 and died in 1740. The protesters allege that Bhansali has ‘twisted the facts’ .