After Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavati came under the radar of Jaipur’s Rajput Karni Sena, the whole nation and the film industry has lend their support to the filmmaker. SLB was assaulted and slapped by a few members of the group on the sets of the film. Apparently, the group has problems with the way Rani Padmini of Chittor is being portrayed in the film.
In fact, the founder of the Rajput Karni Sena, Lokendra Singh Kalvi went ahead and threatened to cancel the shoot of Padmavati, just like they did of Hrithik Roshan’s Jodhaa-Akbar earlier. In an interview with ANI, he said: Under our nose, on land of Rajputs they tampered wth history of our ancestors. Would Bhansali dare to go to Germany and make a film on Hitler.
And in a statement issued by The Film & Television Producers Guild of India Ltd., the Guild and the whole film industry is really shocked and saddened by this violent incident and stand with SLB.
Guild President Siddharth Roy Kapur also urged the government to take strict action against and expressed his anger over the whole incident. He said:
As President of The Film & Television Producers Guild of India and speaking on behalf of the entire film industry, I strongly condemn the acts of vandalism on the sets of Padmavati as a direct attack on freedom of expression in our democracy. The film industry has become the softest target for any fringe group looking for media attention, and we need the strongest possible intervention from the concerned authorities to end this and to end it now. We stand united and unflinching in our support of Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and urge the Government of India and the State Government of Rajasthan to take immediate steps to ensure the strongest possible punitive action is taken against these miscreants, so it serves as a deterrent in preventing the recurrence of such unacceptable events in the future.
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This is not the first time that such uncalled incidents take place on film’s sets while shooting. The filmmakers have to deal with such protest and threats from local groups, who take law into their own hands. This kind of hindrance also causes a lot of financial losses to the producers of the film.
Among other B-Town celebs, Shahid Kapoor also came out in support of Sanjay Leela Bhansali and said:
Very very sad. Words do fall short and feel too little to express feelings. Violence is unacceptable. This incident has shocked me. We need to look deep within as a society, as a country, as a people. Where are we headed. Sanjay bhansali is a film maker who the country should be proud of. You will know when u see #padmavati the dignity he brings to it.And my only regret is that I wasn’t by his side when this happened.
Also read: Sanjay Leela Bhansali cancels shoot in Jaipur, after being attacked on sets of Padmavati
Also read: Pahlaj Nihalani condemns attack on Sanjay Leela Bhansali, asks ‘What was state govt doing?’
With the whole industry standing united on this matter, we request the government to intervene and to put the ruckus makers behind bars.
