'Padmavat is an insult to India's identity'

'If the film is not released, there will be a loss of only Rs 200 crore.'
'But if it is released, for many years the soul and pride of our nation will be sold.'

IMAGE: A protest against director Sanjay Leela Bhansali and his movie Padmavat. Photograph: PTI Photo

The Central Board of Film Certification has cleared Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmavati after changing its name to Padmavat and suggesting some modifications.

The movie will most likely release on January 25.

The Rajput Karni Sena, which has spearheaded the protests against the movie, insists it will continue to oppose Padmavat's release.

"The government must take notice. Those who cannot protect their history cannot protect their country," RKS spokesman Vijendra Singh Kalyanwat tells Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf.

The CBFC has approved the release of Padmavat.

(The) censor board only gives a certificate. They are not experts to decide whether the movie shows distorted history or not.

They give certificates after seeing the movie and tell the movie-makers to cut explicit words and obscene sequences.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali said he is making a movie on (Malik Muhammad Jayasi's) Padmavat.

Nowhere in Padmavat is the first wife of Raja Ratan Sinh (the ruler of Mewar) quoted as saying that Rani Padmavati should be handed over to Alauddin Khilji.

She never said such things.

Secondly, Gora and Badal (members of Ratan Sinh's army) are shown to be taken prisoner by Khilji, and Rani Padmini (Padmavati) leads an army to release them.

Khilji's begum helps Rani Padmini rescue Gora and Badal.

This is wrong.

• PADMAVATI: THE COVERAGE

Have you seen Padmavat, the movie?

Three people saw the movie -- Professor Kapil Kumar, Professor Chintamani and Mewar royal Arvind Singhji.

They have written to the censor board that the whole film is wrong.

They said it will cause disturbance and chaos in the country if released.

Are these three personalities members of the Karni Sena?

No, they are not members of the Karni Sena. These three people who saw the movie said the movie must be banned.

They said this movie can incite riots across India.

Earlier, Bhansali showed the movie to journalists Rajat Sharma and Arnab Goswami who said the movie was fine.

Now, these three people (the two professors and the maharana of Mewar) say the movie shows wrong history.

So, how can this film release?

You are talking like an extra-Constitutional authority. The CBFC, which alone is qualified to certify a film as fit for release, has given it a no-objection certificate.

I am talking about my Constitutional rights.

Padmavat is an insult to India's identity.

Bhansali has made fun of that identity and it is shameful that so many efforts are being made to release the movie.

The movie's name has been changed to Padmavat.

If you call a bomb a flower, will the effect of the bomb change? No. It will explode like a bomb only.

If you change the name of petrol to Gangajal, will it become Gangajal? No, it will still remain inflammable.

By changing names things do not change.

The movie shows Khilji as a brave man and Rana Ratan Sinh as a weakling. This is an insult to India.

The movie shows that the Mewar kingdom was begging for its survival from the Delhi sultanate.

What is happening? Which country are we living in? Whom are we trying to make happy by releasing this film?

The government must take notice of this. Those who cannot protect their history cannot protect their country.

A Kshatriya protects his history, and the country too.

All countries that have perished met such a fate because their histories were erased.

The BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), which talks of cultural nationalism, is in power at the Centre and in Rajasthan too. Why would they support the movie?

I am saying this again: This is not a BJP versus Congress issue. It is about national pride.

One film-maker is trying to make fun of it.

The government must take into account that if the film is not released, there will be a loss of only Rs 200 crore.

But if it is released, for many years the soul and pride of our nation will be sold.

The film has been banned in Rajasthan.

The blood of Kshatriyas has not become water yet.

Padmavat will not release, for sure.

Whatever we need to do, we will do to stop the release.

If the government wants disturbance in the state, it is their choice. The Rajput community will not keep quiet if this movie is released.

Some say if you don't like nudity on television, then change the channel. Why would you watch a film if you dislike what is being shown?

Changing the channel and nudity are different issues. And history is different.

Is it correct to show wrong history?

Your name is Firdaus. If tomorrow I start calling you Jairam, you may not feel bad.

But if 10 people start calling you Jairam, the 11th will think your name is Jairam.

Then you won't like it.

In the same way, if history is portrayed wrongly in a movie, future generations will take it as the real and factual history.

Will the Karni Sena come out on the roads to stop the release of Padmavat?

This is not an issue of the Karni Sena alone.

The Ajmer Dargah Imam Sharif said Padmavat must be banned. All mosques in Rajasthan, their imams, have said that this movie is not about the history of Mewar.

This movie has been made only to spoil brotherhood.

Why (have so) many (state) governments banned the movie? Because they knew this film was wrong.

So why is the censor board trying to get the movie released?

They must ensure that there is brotherhood in the country and ban this movie.

What about creativity and independence to make a film?

They used their creativity to make Mahabharat and Ramayan, nobody objected.

But here you are giving incorrect information in the name of creativity.

If Bhansali feels that films are his creative expression, then it's fine. Nobody stops him from making a film like Bahubali. Nobody will object.