Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmavat will not be released in Rajasthan

Going by the popular mood in Rajasthan, chief minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia on Monday, 8 January, said Sanjay Leela Bhansali's movie Padmavat, earlier titled Padmavati, will not be released in the cinema halls in the state.

"The sacrifice by Queen Padmini (also known as Padmavati) is a matter of honour and respect for all of us and hence we will not allow anyone to show disrespect to this honour," Scindia said.

"Queen Padmini," she said, "is not just a historical character for us, but a pride for all of us and we will not allow anyone to disrespect this pride in any away".

Scindia has also written to state home minister Gulabchand Kataria in this regard.

Bhansali's period saga Padmavati, which was mired in controversy, is finally going to see the light of day and it will now be released on 25 January as Padmavat across the country but not in Rajasthan.

The chief minister said the film would not be released in the state "respecting the sentiments of the people of Rajasthan".

"Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has already written to Smriti Irani (union minister of Information & Broadcasting) in this regard. As it touches the emotions of people of Rajasthan, we will not allow it to be released in Rajasthan," home minister Kataria told media persons.

Replying to a question as to why it was being released in India then, he said that the controversial part had been removed from the film.

"Although no one has seen it as of now, the CBFC (Central Board for Film Certification) and producer are claiming the same (removal of controversial part). Once it is released, the facts will come to the fore," he added.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Ashok Parnami also said that the film Padmavat would not be released in Rajasthan.

"If there is tampering with the history in any film that affects the sentiments of people of Rajasthan, then it will not be released in the state," he added.

Later in the day, the Rajput Samaj also called a press conference to announce that the central as well as the state governments would lose a major share of their vote bank if they chose to allow the release of the controversial film.

Rajpur Sabha chief Giriraj Singh Lotwada said, "Queen Padmini is our honour and we will not allow our honour to be desecrated at any cost."

Rajput Karni Sena, however, still remains firm on its stand, disallowing the movie to be released. It is now demanding that the names of the characters in the film be changed.