Activists of Rajput Youth Brigade warn against screening of ‘Padmaavat’

Ambala, January 20

Activists of the Rajput Youth Brigade on Saturday took out a protest march at Ambala Cantonment here against Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film ‘Padmaavat’, and mounted pressure on cinema hall owners not to screen the film.

Jitender Rana, national convener of the Brigade, said the cinema halls would be ransacked if the movie was screened on January 25.

He said the Brigade would not allow the screening in theatres at any cost as the movie contained scenes showing Rani Padmavati in poor light.

Featuring Deepika Padukone as Rani Padmavati, Shahid Kapoor as Maharawal Ratan Singh and Ranveer Singh as Alauddin Khilji, the film got stuck in controversy after various Rajput groups, including Rajput Karni Sena, raised their objections to the content of the movie.

The apex court had on January 18 paved the way for the nationwide release of the movie on January 25 by staying the ban on the screening of the film in Gujarat and Rajasthan.

The court had also restrained other states from issuing any such notification or order banning the screening of the film.

The Haryana and Madhya Pradesh governments have not issued any formal order but had said that they would not allow the exhibition of the film. PTI