No Padmavati on December 1 Since Its Makers Viacom18 Defer The Release Date by Suhel Johar.

There will be no Padmavati on December 1, its makers Viacom18 Motion Pictures have voluntarily decided to defer the release following raging protests by several Rajput groups, including the Karni Sena, for allegedly “distorting” historical facts. The controversy took an ugly turn earlier this week when Karni Sena leaders threatened to cut off Deepika Padukone’s nose. While some other fringe groups have announced financial reward of upto 5 crore rupees to the person whoever will behead the film’s director Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

Viacom18 Motion Pictures announced on Sunday, a day after Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje urged the Centre to ensure that the controversial movie is not released without “necessary” changes. A similar demand was made to the Centre by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, earlier this week.

Interestingly, with just 10 days to go, the film had still not received a clearance from the CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification). In a statement, Viacom18 Motion Pictures, the studio behind Padmavati said it has voluntarily decided to defer the film’s December 1 release, adding that a revised date for the Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh-starrer would be announced in due course once the "requisite clearances" are in place. Viacom18 reiterated that the film was a cinematic masterpiece capturing “Rajput valour, dignity and tradition in all its glory”.

The statement by Viacom18 Motion Pictures read as follows:

'Viacom18 Motion Pictures, the studio behind Padmavati' has voluntarily deferred the release date of the film from December 1st 2017. Along with Sanjay Leela Bhansali, amongst the most gifted film makers of his generation, Viacom18 Motion Pictures has created a beautiful cinematic masterpiece in 'Padmavati' that captures Rajput valor, dignity and tradition in all its glory. The film is an eloquent portrayal of a tale that will fill every Indian with pride and showcase our country's story-telling prowess across the globe. We are a responsible, law-abiding corporate citizen and have the highest respect and regard for the law of the land and all our institutions and statutory bodies including the Central Board of Film Certification. We always have and are committed to continue following the established procedure and convention. We have faith that we will soon obtain the requisite clearances to release the film. We will announce the revised release date of the film in due course. We stand firm in our commitment to tell endearing tales that resonate with our audiences the world over as we have in the past with our other projects such as 'Toilet: Ek Prem Katha', 'Queen', 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' and many more.'

Padmavati features Deepika Padukone as legendary Rajput queen Rani Padmini also known as Rani Padmavati , Shahid Kapoor as her husband Rawal Ratan Singh and Ranveer Singh as Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khilji.

Padmavati has been facing controversy since Bhansali started shooting the film earlier this year. The director was roughed up by members of the fringe group Karni Sena in Jaipur. Its elaborate sets were also vandalised during shooting schedules in Jaipur and Kolhapur. The first poster of the movie was released in October and triggered a storm with various Rajput groups and others claiming that the director had “distorted” historical facts. The fringe grouos have alleged that the film falsely portrays a relationship between Rajput queen Padmini and Muslim ruler Alauddin Khilji.

Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali had sought to clear the air about the alleged romance between queen Padmini and Khilji, saying he was careful in depicting the "Rajput honour and dignity" in the film. The producers had also arranged a private screening of the film and invited those concerned regarding the film's content, but the agitating Rajput outfits remained unappeased.

 

A move that did not go down well with the Censor Board chief Prasoon Joshi, who on November 18 slammed the filmmakers for allowing the film to be screened for various media channels before obtaining a certificate from the board. The CBFC had sent the film back to the producer as the application for the certification was “incomplete”. The CBFC had returned the film to the makers because the application didn’t mention if Padmavati was a work of fiction or based on historical facts.

Though there is no official confirmation yet but Padmavati will now release next year in the second half of January.

Meanwhile, the film fraternity has come out in support of Bhansali and the team, with many leading artistes calling it an attack on creative freedom.