New Delhi, Nov 26 (UNI) After protests by the Karni sena against 'Padmavati ' forced its producers to defer the release of the film in India, the British distributors of the film are reconsidering its release in the United Kingdom.
Paramount Pictures, the UK distributors of 'Padmavati ' are reviewing the decision to release it in theatres in Britain after protest by Rajput Samaj of UK against the British Broadcasting Film Corporation’s (BBFC's) decision to certify the film for release, a report in the 'Guardian' said.
Rajput Samaj of UK, a London-based Hindu charity, has expressed its opposition to the BBFC’s decision to certify the film for release.
The Rajput Samaj said it would hold a peaceful protest over the historically inaccurate account of 'Rani Padmini' in the film.
The members of the organisation have said that they are opposed to the release of the film in UK on December 1 and urged the BBFC to withdraw its certification for the film.
In a letter to the BBFC, the organisation said," Padmavati is a revered figure in India and she represents the national pride like Marianne in France and King Arthur in Great Britain.
Efforts of directors to glorify Alauddin Khilji are similar to glorifying ISIS terrorists for killing and enslaving Yazidi girls in this modern world. We must stand up against the glamorisation of plundering, looting, and other barbaric acts."
“We understand that experts can judge the violence, language, and scene but we need to find the right historians who can watch the film and stop the character assassination of Indian icons,'the Rajput Samaj said in its letter to BBFC.
The organisation said the film has been falsely presented as historically accurate.
They claim that the film wrongly attributes 'Padmini' as the “motive behind the Chittor siege in 1303”. Rather , they claim that the siege of Chittor was part of an imperial push by the Muslim ruler. They also claim that a contemporary account does not mention 'Padmavati' and that the character of 'Padmavati' was added in later accounts of the period.
The Karni Sena has threatened violence if UK cinemas showed the film.
'Every theatre screening 'Padmavati' will be burned,” Sukhdev Singh, a leader of the Karni Sena, told a TV channel.
'I myself wanted to go [to the UK] to protest but the Indian government has confiscated my passport,'he said.
Rajput Samaj, however, said it did not support calls for violence by Karni sena.
'Padmavati' is based on a 1540 poem by the Sufi writer Malik Muhammad Jaysi.
Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, 'Padmavati' depicts the life of Padmini, a Hindu queen who immolated herself rather than fall prisoner to Muslim ruler Allauddin Khilji.
The film has been evoking widespread protests in India after rumours that the film depicted Rani Padmavati in an intimate love scene with the Muslim king.
Paramount Pictures said the UK release date was being reviewed in view of the protests against the film in India. The distributors decision to reconsider the film's release in the United Kingdom comes also due to the fact that its producers want to clarify the situation in India before making a decision about the release of the film abroad.
It is notable that the BBC had cleared the film for release in the UK on December 1.
The film has been released without any cuts.
However, producers of the film Viacom 18 have indefinitely postponed its release in India after widespread protests against it. Also, the film is still to be cleared by Central Board for film certification.
The film's release in India has become mired in uncertainty with several state governments like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat banning its release.
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