Buckling under pressure, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar lal Khattar on Tuesday made a u-turn on his stand towards film ‘Padmaavat’ and decided to ban it.
Only two days back, the Chief Minister had said that the Censor Board has made many cuts in the movie and any decision about screening of Padmavaat in Haryana would only be taken after watching the film.
During its Cabinet meeting which continued for more than three hours on Tuesday, the BJP led Haryana Government decided to ban the screening of the movie across the state.
With this decision, Haryana has become fourth BJP-ruled State after Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan to have banned the release of Sanjay leela Bhansali directed Padmaavat.
The film starring Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh in the lead roles is slated for release on January 25. While Ranveer is essaying the role of Alauddin Khilji, Shahid plays Maharawal Ratan Singh and Deepika plays Padmini, the Rajput queen in the movie.
After the cabinet meeting, Haryana Finance Minister Capt. Abhimanyu said that the movie has remained in controversy and the issue of its release was discussed during the meeting.
Keeping in view the sentiments of the society and concerns over the distortion of historical facts in the movie, Haryana Government has decided to ban the release of Padmaavat across the State, said the Minister.
Another senior Cabinet Minister, Anil Vij, who had been demanding a ban on the movie, said, “In Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, I again raised the issue and demanded that the film should be banned in Haryana keeping in view the law and order situation of the state.”
All Cabinet Ministers were in favor of this after which a decision was taken to ban its release in Haryana, added he.
Vij further said that this movie is a distortion of historical facts by the filmmaker and several protests have been held against its release.
The epic period drama had landed into a massive controversy after Karni Sena, a rightwing group and other organisations from the Rajput community had started protesting against the depiction of their queen Padmini and alleged distortion of history in the movie.
The state Cabinet Minister Vipul Goel had last year also written to Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani requesting her to ensure that there is no distortion of historical facts in the movie, if it is allowed to be released.
Haryana BJP chief media coordinator Suraj Pal Ammu, who is a Rajput himself, had even resigned from his party post demanding a ban on the movie. The BJP leader had shot to limelight after his controversial remarks, offering `10 crores for beheading actor Deepika Padukone and director Sanjay leela Bhansali.