Backing the protests by the Rajput community against Sanjay leela Bhansali’s movie ‘Padmavati’, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday said that distortion of history was not acceptable by anyone.
Being among the first Congress leaders to oppose the release of Padmavati, Capt Amarinder also declared banning the epic drama in the State.
The Chief Minister said that nobody had the right to distort history. “I have myself studied history and even been to Chittoor,” he said adding that cinematic license did not give anyone the right to twist historical facts.
Capt Amarinder is himself a well-known military historian with seven books to his credit besides a keen sense of history. Capt Amarinder is the son of Maharaja Yadavindra Singh and Maharani Mohinder Kaur of the erstwhile princely state of Patiala, and belongs to the Phulkian dynasty.
Those feeling hurt by distortion of facts had the right to protest, he said, adding that protests were a justified recourse in a democratic system.
Capt Amarinder also made public his support to the protestors by taking to Twitter. “Nobody will accept distortion of history and those who are protesting are rightly doing so,” he tweeted.
Padmavati stars Deepika Padukone as Rani Padmini, Shahid Kapoor as her husband Maharawal Ratan Singh, and Ranveer Singh as Alauddin Khilji, and is based on the 1303 siege of Chittorgarh by Alauddin Khilji.
The movie has been facing flak from various groups, including Shri Rajput Karni Sena, for allegedly tampering with historical facts.
Amid the hue and cry, the release of the movie was also deferred, as the filmmakers submitted incomplete documents to the Central Board of Film Certifcation (CBFC). It was earlier slated to release on December 1.