Hindu Sena issues death threat to Bollywood, BJP leader announces reward to slap Bhansali

Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali was assaulted on Friday on the sets of his film, Padmavati, by hooligans belonging to an organization called the Rajput Karni Sena. The group claimed that the film was distorting history and hurting the sentiments of Rajputs. The film's unit was forced to return to Mumbai mid-way. 

But the situation seems to be worsening since. Now the Hindu Sena, a fringe outfit, has threatened to not allow the film to be shot even in Mumbai. The group also issued death threats to anyone from the Hindi film fraternity who supported Bhansali. They also burnt an effigy of the filmmaker in Rajasthan. 

Talking to a news channel, a member of the group said, “If he [Bhansali] shoots the film even in Mumbai, we will destroy the sets. If Bollywood comes out in support of him, the entire Hindu samaj won’t let them stay alive. Nobody is above Hindus in this country.” 

The group has been supported by other outfits like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). 

This is not all. Akhilesh Khandelwal, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and chairman of the Hoshangabad municipal corporation in Madhya Pradesh, announced a reward of Rs10,000 to anyone who slapped Bhansali. 

"They (filmmakers) are trying to distort our history to show us in poor light," Khandelwal claimed. "We can no more remain silent. We consider it our responsibility to rein in such forces.”

Watch Hindu Sena member issuing a death threat to the film fraternity: