The intolerance debate in India doesn’t seem to end and Bollywood has become a regular victim of it. Earlier filmmaker Karan Johar got into trouble for casting Pakistan actor Fawad Khan in his film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and now director Sanjay Leela Bhansali was assaulted for supposedly distorting history in his upcoming period drama Padmavati.
The intolerance debate in India doesn’t seem to end and Bollywood has become a regular victim of it. Earlier filmmaker Karan Johar got into trouble for casting Pakistan actor Fawad Khan in his film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and now director Sanjay Leela Bhansali was assaulted for supposedly distorting history in his upcoming period drama Padmavati.
Members of Rajput Karni Sena, a nationalist political party in India, recently attacked the director on the set of Padmavati for distorting historical facts about their clan in his film. They slapped him, pulled his hair and also damaged the set last Friday while a BJP leader later announced a reward of Rs. 10,000 on slapping Bhansali for this act.
This was triggered by rumours suggesting a love sequence between Padmavati, the Queen of Chittor and Alauddin Khilji, the Sultan of Delhi. According to State President of Karni Sena, Mahipal Makrana, “This is an outrageous distortion of Rajasthan’s history as Rani ji self-immolated herself along with other women of the fort when they heard that Khilji is marching ahead to take over the fort.”
While the film’s shooting is still in process, Rajput Karni Sena asked for a written explanation from Bhansali regarding the film’s story. In response to it, the director has assured the group that, “There is no romantic dream sequence or any romantic scene between Rani Padmini and Alauddin Khilji.”
However the group insists on reviewing the film before it releases and also wants the director to change the title of his film. Whether Bhansali conforms to these demands or not, time will tell.
