The censor board has a job which it should be allowed to do, the Centre said on Tuesday even as the row over Padmavati raged on with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath claiming Sanjay Leela Bhansali was no less guilty than the fringe groups extending threats.
In Gorakhpur, Yogi said, “I feel that if those issuing threats are guilty, Bhansali is no less guilty. If there is any action, it will be against both the sides.” No one has the right to take the law into own hands whether it is Sanjay Leela Bhansali or anyone else, he added. Yogi alleged that Bhansali was “habitual of playing with public sentiments”.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, meanwhile, again said that the film would not be allowed to be screened in her State, unless the “necessary” changes as suggested to the Centre were made. In the letter to Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani last week, Raje had suggested that a committee of historians, film experts and members from the Rajput community be formed to look into
the film’s subject and necessary changes be made to it so that it does not hurt the sentiments of any community.
There have been several threats by various fringe groups against Bhansali and actress Deepika Padukone over the alleged “distortion” of history in the period drama, particularly a romantic dream sequence between Padmavati and Alauddin Khilji.
The movie, however, continued to receive support from Bollywood personalities. Actor Ranveer Singh, who plays Alauddin Khilji in the flick, spoke out saying he was 200 per cent with the film.
MoS in Information & Broadcasting Ministry Rajyavardhan Rathore, however, suggested that the censor board should be allowed to do its job. “The CBFC has been formed for a purpose. Let it do its job,” Rathore said responding to a volley of questions by reporters.
Another senior Union Minister, Birender Singh, said that those opposing Padmavati should first watch the film. “My opinion is very clear. Some of the historic facts may not be in consonance with our thinking...Those who are opposing, first they should see the movie. If they find something which hurts them, (they can ask the producers to) remove those (parts),” Singh told PTI in Hyderabad.
However, he added, “And these movies are of course based on history. And I know certain directors, they take a lot of pain to study all angles of history. But popular sentiments should also be respected.”
Meanwhile BJP MLA T Raja Singh Lodh on Tuesday asked Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to follow his counterparts in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh and not allow the screening of film Padmavati in the State. Lodh, who represents the Goshamahal constituency in the city, reiterated his threat of setting afire theatres that screen the controversial movie on the legendary Rajput queen.