Karni sena issue nation wide strike against Padmavati movie on Dec 1

Rajasthan minister Kiran Maheshwari today joined the chorus of protests against Bollywood movie Padmavati even as the Shri Rajput Karni Sena called for a country-wide bandh on December 1 opposing the film’s release.

The Rajasthan State Commission for Women (RSCW) also wrote to the censor board asking it to clear the “ambiguity” over the Sanjay Leela Bhansali film “in the interest of law and order”.

The protests, meanwhile, also reached south with Karni Sena members staging a demonstration in Bengaluru.

In Jaipur, Karni Sena leader Lokendra Singh Kalvi said the reported comments by actress Deepika Padukone, who plays the legendary queen in the movie, that nothing can stop the release of the film was provocative.

“Deepika Padukone’s statement is provocative and I take it as a challenge, therefore, I have called for a nationwide bandh,” Kalvi said.

“Ye jauhar ki jwala hai bahut kuch jalega. Rokna hai to Padmini ko rok lo (This is the flame of the Jauhar and a lot will burn. Stop it if you want to),” he threatened.

Demanding the nationwide strike on December 1, Kalvi said the Karni Sena will take the support of like-minded individuals and organisations, many of who have publicly objected to the film. “We are not talking of a Rajasthan bandh, but a Bharat bandh on December 1,” he said.

He accused Bhansali of back-tracking on an agreement with the outfit. “The censor board has certain limitations. It does not deliberate upon history, hence we had demanded a pre-censor board (screening of the trailer and the songs),” he said. But Bhansali had “betrayed” them, the leader said, and did not share the trailer or the songs with the Karni Sena, so they now wanted a ban on the film.

The Rajasthan Women’s Commission has written to the Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC) to ensure that the honour of women “is not adversely affected” in the movie.