The controversies surrounding Sanjay Leela Bhansali film Padmavati, which has now been renamed Padmaavat, refuse to die down.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court of India lifted the ban imposed by six states -- Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand, Haryana and Gujarat -- on the movie. But these states are reportedly looking at other options to prevent screening of the movie, which stars Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor in lead roles.
Here's a look at the hurdles the film has had to go through since it commenced production:
December 2016: Bhansali had to stop shooting for his magnum opus shortly after production began after a worker died on the sets of the film.
January 2017: Bhansali was assaulted by members of Karni Sena who accused the director of distorting history and painting Rajputs in bad light.
March 2017: While shooting in Kolhapur, his film set was vandalised.
October 2017: Surat-based artist Karan K’s rangoli featuring Padukone as Padmavati was destroyed by goons.
November 2017: Karni Sena started demanding a ban on the film alleging the film distorted history.
The cause of their ire was a supposed romantic dream sequence between Hindu queen Rani Padmini and Muslim king Alauddin Khilji. Bhansali has since clarified that such a scene does not exist in his movie.
Speaking to ANI, Karni Sena member Mahipal Singh Makrana said: “Rajput Karni Sena is fighting to protect the image of women being portrayed in the films. We never raise a hand on women but if need be, we will do to Deepika what Lakshman did to Shurpanakha for violating the rules and culture of India.”
January 2018: The makers changed the name of the movie to Padmavat and then Padmaavat.
Padmavat will now release worldwide on January 25, the same day PadMan, Akshay Kumar’s film on menstrual hygiene, is set to release.
