Even after Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) cleared Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film, Padmavati, with few changes, the storm surrounding it refuses to die down. Padmavati is now renamed Padmavat, and is all set to hit the screens on January 25 this year, and the box office readies for a massive clash.

Gulabchand Katariya, the home minister of Rajasthan, today said that the film Padmavati (now Padmavat) will not be allowed to release in the state.

The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), which is in power in Rajasthan, does not want to be seen as going against the prevailing sentiment, i.e., against the release of the film. Several crucial by-elections, including that of Ajmer and Alwar Lok Sabha constituencies, are to be held shortly in Rajasthan.

"If the censor board has cleared it, then they would have gotten rid of all that is objectionable in the film. If the CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification) has removed the objectionable parts, then there is no problem. If not, then we will not tolerate it (the release of Padmavati, now Padmavat)," Ashok Parnami, Rajasthan BJP chief told India Today Television.

The president of the Shree Rajput Sabha too echoed Parnami.

"When the Screening Committee has rejected the entire film, outright; if they have said that the film has nothing to do with history and all, so then, why should you show that film? And once you are showing that film, it shows that there is something under the table; some understanding under the table between Prasoon Joshi and the maker of the film," Giriraj Singh Lotwara, president, Shree Rajput Sabha, told India Today Television.

The Congress, on the other hand, has accused the BJP of not handling the issue well, and of politicising it. Sachin Pilot, Rajasthan PCC (Pradesh Congress Committee) chief, while speaking to India Today, mentioned that a middle-ground should be reached.

Pilot said, "The BJP Government in Rajasthan has completely failed. When the movie was being made, at that time, there should have been interventions to make sure that nobody's sentiments were hurt. You have allowed the movie to be made and now, for political posturing, different states are continuously banning the film."

"There should be a middle path where people's sentiments are respected. At the same time, they should not try and politicise the issue. I think the BJP Governments in UP, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan have all tried to get political advantage of this very emotive issue. I think the way that they have functioned so far, no one appreciates that," Pilot added.

As of now, Padmavati has been renamed Padmavat, after Muhammad Malik Jayasi's 16th Century epic poem on which the film is supposedly based. The CBFC recommended several modifications to the Sanjay Leela Bhansali film, before passing it with a U/A certificate.

(With inputs from Sharat Kumar)

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Padmavat: Won't tolerate objectionable content, says BJP; Raje-sthan ban stays

While Padmavati is officially releasing on January 25 this year, renamed as Padmavat, the Rajasthan government has said that the Sanjay Leela Bhansali-directed film will not release in the state.