Padmavati rangoli row: All the controversies Deepika Padukone-Ranveer Singh starrer has courted before its release

Deepika Padukone and Shahid Kapoor in Padmavati. 

Bollywood movies have been courting controversies from ages. Sometimes even when a movie is in the conception and filming stage, it irks the so-called saviours of culture, religion and tradition of the nation. While some of them face serious repercussions, the others are believed to have been created only to keep the buzz around the movie alive. Joining the bandwagon is Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s yet to be released period-drama Padmavati.

The film starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor in the lead roles is said to be inspired by an epic poem, “Padmavat” but the director of the movie Bhansali has a different tale to tell. He says that he got inspiration for the movie and for Deepika’s role from 1966 film Amrapali. But the Rajput community group Karni Sena raised objections, without even watching the movie or reading the script of the movie, over depictions of Rani Padmini in the movie, claiming that history has been distorted.

Very recently, the movie got embroiled in another controversy when goons destroyed an artist’s 48 hours of hard work in less than a minute. It was Surat artist Karan K’s rangoli which featured Deepika Padukone in her character in Padmavati. It was after Deepika drew the attention of Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani on the incident that Surat police arrested five people for allegedly vandalising the rangoli.

#Padmavati rangoli being made here in Surat, Gujarat.#SanjayLeelaBhansali @ShobhaIyerSant @bhansaliprod_fc @deepikapadukone @DeepikaPFC pic.twitter.com/wiZPc2WV2s

— KK Solanki (@kartiksolanki09) October 15, 2017

absolutely heart breaking to see the recent attack on artist Karan and his artwork!disgusting and appalling to say the least! pic.twitter.com/Ot2Aki0MiA

— Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) October 18, 2017

Well, this is not the first time that we hear about Bhansali’s latest production making it to the headlines. Earlier too there have been instances where the movie irked the self-appointed guardians. Here is a timeline of what has happened until now:

December 2016: A painter who was working on the larger than life sets of the movie fell from the height of five feet. Sanjay Leela Bhansali tried to compensate for the accident and Deepika too expressed grief on the demise of the labourer. .

shocked and saddened by the news…may his soul rest in peace and my most sincere condolences to his family…🙏

— Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) December 25, 2016

January 2017: The sets of the movie at Jaigarh Fort in Jaipur were destroyed by the members of Karni Sena who staged an angry protest against the director of the movie Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Protesters entered in large numbers and started getting violent with Bhansali. Even as his team tried to shield him and take him to safety, the mob unleashed its fury on the defenceless director and slapped and assaulted him. Their next target was the costly film equipment which was smashed on the ground. The incident halted the shooting of the movie for days.

Watch | Sanjay Leela Bhansali Slapped And Assaulted By Protesters On Padmavati Sets In Jaipur

March 2017: Once again the sets of Padmavati were vandalised in Kolhapur’s Masai plateau during the night and were set on fire hurting the animals which were present at the time of the incident. About 20 to 30 people reached the sets of the film armed with petrol bombs, stones and lathis. Before putting the set of the movie on fire, they torched the fodder kept for animals and even destroyed the costumes kept there. The attacks were being staged as certain fringe Rajput groups claimed that the film has a dream sequence where Rani Padmavati and Alauddin Khilji will be seen in an intimate position. The claims were dismissed by the team of the movie.

Here are the pictures from Padmavati’s Kolhapur sets: 

September 2017: Deepika Padukone’s first look poster left the movie buffs excited about Padmavati but amidst all the appreciation there were some who had issues with her portrayal in the movie. Rajput Karni Sena, an organisation of the Rajput community, burnt posters of the movie in Jaipur and shouted slogans against Bhansali. Narain Singh Divrala, district president Jaipur of the Rajpur Karni Sena, told IANS, “We want him to show the film to the core committee of Shri Rajput Karni Sena and various organizations, including historians, before releasing it. Till then we will not allow the film to be released. If the Karni Sena core committee and historians don’t have any problems only then will we allow screening of the movie.”

October 2017: According to the reports, the Jai Rajputana Sangh said that they won’t tolerate any distortion of facts and if there will be any romantic relationship between Rani Padmavati and Allaudin Khilji, they will burn the cinema halls. However, Smriti Irani has assured Bhansali that the movie will release without any trouble.