MUMBAI – Extremism is on the rise in India and the latest victim of far-right Hindu leaders in the South Asian country is Sanjay Leela Bansali’s upcoming Bollywood flick Padmavati, which is scheduled for release on December 1.
An influential Hindu leader from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, is offering a 5 crore Indian rupees prize to anyone who beheads Deepika Padukone and Sanjay Bhansali.
“Rani Ma Padmavati had sacrificed her life with 12,000 other women in mass immolation (Jauhar), and Bhansali has raised a question on her courage by showing her in a bad light in his film. This is unacceptable. Either both of them should leave the country or get ready to be beheaded,” said Thakur Abhishek Som
So far, the director has survived a life attempt in Jaipur; a theatre in Noida vandalised; and the Bajirao Mastani actress faced ‘nose chopping threat’.
Padmavati – which is based on the legend of Rani Padmini of Chittor – has been embroiled in controversy since its inception as some Hindu groups and political parties have objected to its content.
The radical groups claim that the film distorts history and portrays Rajput queen Padmavati in a questionable light as it implies a romantic relationship between the queen and Emperor Alauddin Khilji.
The recent threat comes a day after the Uttar Pradesh state government wrote a letter to the central information ministry warning of a law and order situation if the film is released in its present form.
The Mumbai police have already increased security for the team of Padmavati.
