Padmavati granted UA certificate; to release with new title, Padmavat

According to latest reports, Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) has ordered the makers of controversial film Padmavati to change the title of their film to Padmavat. CBFC has also issued a UA Certificate to the period film along with ordering 26 cuts in the movie.

The Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial has been at the centre of the controversy ever since it started rolling last year. However, the protest around the film grew more just ahead of its scheduled theatrical release on 1st December 2017.

Some fringe groups had accused the makers of tainting the image of their revered queen Padmavati on whom the film is supposedly based. However, director Sanjay Leela Bhansali shared a video stating that his film does not show any historical figure in bad light. It, in fact, glorifies the valour of Rajput community.

Despite Bhansali claiming that no historical facts have been tampered with, the hue and cry around the film did not mitigate. The release of the film was voluntarily deferred for an indefinite period by the producers. The matter then went to CBFC which refused to certify the film for one reason or the other.

In the latest meeting of Examining Committee on December 28, CBFC decided to grant the film a UA certification with the condition that 26 scenes are cut and the title of the film is changed from Padmavati to Padmavat. Padmavat is a 16th-century epic in verse written by Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi.

Padmavati, which will now be called Padmavat, stars Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh in lead roles.