Bollywood director Ashutosh Gowarikar refused to apologise to any of the organisations that were protesting the release of his latest film Jodhaa Akbar.

In a hurriedly-called press conference in Mumbai, Gowarikar said that his film was based on historical facts and that he had done no wrong.

When a reporter asked him why certain sections were protesting in spite of the fact that he had apologised to them, Gowarikar interrupted and said, "I have not issued an apology from my side and the media should not put words in my mouth".

Since its release on Friday, many organisations have been protesting the screening of Jodhaa Akbar, stating that the film wrongly depicts history.

According to Rajput Karni Sena, the organisation spearheading the movement against the film, Jodhaa was the daughter-in-law of Emperor Akbar and not his wife.

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The organisation demanded an apology from the director of the film for distorting historical facts, but he refused to do so.

In Rajasthan, many theatre owners refused to screen the film because of fear of violence though the government did not officially ban the film.

There were protests in other parts of the country like Ujjain, Indore, Meerut and Lucknow over the screening of Jodhaa Akbar.

Gowarikar came before the media with half a dozen history books and said that he researched the subject thoroughly before making the film.

"I feel sad that the people of Rajasthan, for whom I made this film, are unable to see it. I have not made this film to cause any tension or to hurt anybody's feeling. It is a beautiful love story," added Gowarikar.

At Rs 40 crore, Jodhaa Akbar is the highest budget Bollywood film this year.

Gowarikar had the support and go-ahead from the royal family of Jaipur, who backed him in his project.

At the music launch of the film, (former) Maharani Padmini Devi revealed that Princess Jodhaa was part of her royal family and her marriage to Mughal Emperor Akbar avoided a war in those times.

The film made a slow start at the box office on Friday, but was picking up for the weekend.