'Padmavati' controversy a calculated plan of a political party: Mamata

Kolkata, Nov 20: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said the 'Padmavati' movie controversy was not only unfortunate, but also a calculated plan of a political party to destroy freedom of expression, which was tantamount to 'super emergency' .

“ The Padmavati controversy is not only unfortunate but also a calculated plan of a political party to destroy the freedom to express ourselves, ” Ms Banerjee said in her tweet. “ We condemn this super emergency. All in the film industry must come  together and protest in one voice, ” she further added. The makers of the Deepika Padukone-Ranveer Singh-Shahid Kapoor starrer 'Padmavati', which has been wrapped in a controversy with members of the Rajput community protesting against the film which they say insults their sentiments, have deferred the release of the film. The revised release date of the film will be announced soon, Viacom 18, the co producers of the film, announced in a statement issued on Sunday. 'Viacom18 Motion Pictures, the studio behind ‘Padmavati’ has voluntarily deferred the release date of the film from December 1, 2017,' the producers of the film announced. The film has been mired in controversy over conjectures that it “distorts history” regarding Rajput queen Padmini, a charge that Bhansali has repeatedly denied. Sanjay Leela Bhansali and controversy are hardly strangers but the amount of flak Deepika Padukone-starrer Padmavati is facing is indeed shocking. From fringe political groups to national parties to royals, various groups have raised the demand for film’s ban. Despite Bhansali clarifying that the film respects its titular character and portrayal of Rajputs, protests are raging in over eight states at the moment. It all began in Jaipur when Sanjay Leela Bhansali started shooting for his period drama. Members of Karni Sena, a fringe political group, attacked the sets and seven slapped Bhansali alleging that the film had romantic scenes between Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh, who play Rani Padmavati and Alauddin Khilji respectively. The reasons range from the picturisation of film’s song, Ghoomar, to alleging that the film is distorting history. Padmavati has an important place in Indian literature but there is little proof of the legendary queen’s existence. The film is based on Padmavat, a poem written in the 15th century by Malik Muhammad Jayasi. Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya yesterday joined the anti-Padmavati chorus, saying the film’s screening will be allowed in the state only after ‘objectionable scenes’ are edited out. “The state government has made it clear that the movie will be allowed to be screened in Uttar Pradesh only if objectionable parts are removed,” he said while interacting with reporters after addressing a rally in support of BJP candidate in Kushinagar. The announcement by the producers deferring the film’s release came a day after Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje urged Information and Broadcasting minister Smriti Irani to ensure the movie is not released without necessary changes so that it does not hurt the sentiments of any community. UNI