UDAIPUR: Protests over Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film 'Padmavati' took a new turn with the erstwhile royal family of Mewar writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministry of information and broadcasting and the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to withhold permission to release the controversial film due on December 1.
In his letter, M K Vishvaraj Singh of Udaipur-Mewar royal family said that though the filmmakers claimed that the film is well researched, factual and true to history, it is based on a text that's not regarded as accurate.
"The filmmaker has relied on 'Padmavat' by Malik Muhammad Jayasi, a Sufi poet. The work is replete with poetic imagery, and even has a talking and thinking rot. While it has used the names of historical persons, the poem is widely interpreted as about the union of 'atma' (self) and 'paramatma' (supreme principle) with a 'rakshash' (demon) also playing a part. The value of this allegorical work is in its poetry, which does not claim to be, nor is it regarded as, historically accurate," Singh said.
The royal family also claimed that the song 'Ghoomar' and publicity material from the film establishes gross inaccuracies that transgress the limits of dramatic license.
"If the film professes to be history and its maker goes on record to claim that he has kept in mind the cultural sensitivities, then it's an artistic and historic fraud to portray a 'queen' attired inaccurately, courtesan-like and as a painted doll in a film that purports to pay obeisance to her. Every profession and attire has their correct place in a civilized society and is respected as such. By blurring the lines, one is being anarchic," Singh stated in the letter.
He also claimed that there have been only three 'jauhars' (self-immolation) in the 1,400-year-old recorded history of Mewar, adding that important events have been wrongly depicted in the movie.
He also condemned the use of family name in the movie without seeking permission.
In his letter, M K Vishvaraj Singh of Udaipur-Mewar royal family said that though the filmmakers claimed that the film is well researched, factual and true to history, it is based on a text that's not regarded as accurate.
"The filmmaker has relied on 'Padmavat' by Malik Muhammad Jayasi, a Sufi poet. The work is replete with poetic imagery, and even has a talking and thinking rot. While it has used the names of historical persons, the poem is widely interpreted as about the union of 'atma' (self) and 'paramatma' (supreme principle) with a 'rakshash' (demon) also playing a part. The value of this allegorical work is in its poetry, which does not claim to be, nor is it regarded as, historically accurate," Singh said.
The royal family also claimed that the song 'Ghoomar' and publicity material from the film establishes gross inaccuracies that transgress the limits of dramatic license.
"If the film professes to be history and its maker goes on record to claim that he has kept in mind the cultural sensitivities, then it's an artistic and historic fraud to portray a 'queen' attired inaccurately, courtesan-like and as a painted doll in a film that purports to pay obeisance to her. Every profession and attire has their correct place in a civilized society and is respected as such. By blurring the lines, one is being anarchic," Singh stated in the letter.
He also claimed that there have been only three 'jauhars' (self-immolation) in the 1,400-year-old recorded history of Mewar, adding that important events have been wrongly depicted in the movie.
He also condemned the use of family name in the movie without seeking permission.
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