PATNA: The
Nitish Kumar government is still to take a final call on the proposed release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's period saga 'Padmavat' in the state even as the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh has given its nod to the release of the movie on January 25.
State art, culture and youth affairs minister Krishna Kumar Rishi on Saturday said the final decision on release of the movie would be taken by the CM. "Though we have come to know that certain changes have been made in the movie following directives from
Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), the state government has not yet decided on the movie's release in
Bihar. A final decision to this effect will be taken by the CM," Rishi said .
Rishi had told reporters outside state legislative assembly on November 28 last year that the movie will not be released in Bihar "until and unless objectionable scenes are removed". The minister's statement came after Nitish told reporters at his chamber on the same day that the moviemakers should clarify their stand on the controversies surrounding it.
Cinema hall owners in Patna have also raised security concerns over the release of the movie. "We will not take the risk of screening the movie in case of protests. The state government has not cleared its stand. Even if the government allows release of the movie, we will need additional security to screen it," said the owner of a cinema hall in the city wishing anonymity.
Sharad Kumar, manager at a cinema hall near
Gandhi Maidan, said distributors in Bihar have still not approached for screening of the movie. "The government should clear its stand first to pave way for release of 'Padmavat' in Bihar," Sharad said.
The controversial movie was initially scheduled to be released on December 1.
