Jaipur
February 7, 2018
The Shree Rajput Karni Sena, which has strongly
protested against the release of periodic drama "Padmaavat", has decided to back
the Sarv Brahmin Mahasabha's protest against the "historical tampering" of Queen
Laxmi Bai, also called Jhansi Ki Rani, in the film "Manikarnika" starring
Kangana Ranaut.
The film is based on the life of 'Jhansi ki Rani' and
allegedly shows the relationship of the queen with a British officer.
Shree Rajput Karni Sena founder Lokendra Singh Kalvi, asked if his outfit is
lending support to the Brahmin Mahasabha in its fight against the film, said,
"Agar Brahmin ka khoon bahega to Rajput kya chup rahega, jab Rajput ka khoon
baha to Brahmin kabhi chup nahi haha (Rajputs will never keep quiet if Brahmins
are affected, and vice versa)." He claimed that 10,000 letters were signed with
blood by Brahmins to protest the release of "Padmaavat".
On the issue of
quashing of FIR against Sanjay Leela Bhansali, producer of "Padmaavat", and
against Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, he said it had to happen as the apex
court has already declared that the film should be released and linked it to the
matter of freedom of expression.
"The High Court will definitely follow
the Supreme Court. There is nothing new in it," he added.
Asked if there
is any chance of the film being released in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and
Gujarat, Kalvi said the "Supreme Court cannot dictate to cinema halls to release
the film and depute paramilitary forces outside cinema halls". The four states
had earlier decided against releasing the film, and three of them had approached
the apex court.
"What we know is that cinema hall owners are not ready to
screen the film in any of these states," he said, adding that on February 9, new
films are releasing and hence cinema hall owners will be more interested in
those.
Film distributor Raj Bansal, who looks after the Rajasthan and
Madhya Pradeh market, has refused to release the film in the two states. The
Multiplex Association has also refused to release the film in Rajasthan, Kalvi
said.
"We have asked the government to set up a pre-screening board to
look into issues related to historical tampering of facts. We strongly propose
forming a panel to look into the controversies emerging in films as 'Padmaavat'
and 'Manikarnika'."
He said the proposal was liked by Sanjay Leela
Bhansali and even Vice President Venkaiah Naidu when he was heading the
Informatin and Broadcasting Ministry.
"This board should be constituted
by the Censor Board, state government or Government of India and should sort out
the disputes emerging at any time when any historical tampering is reported. In
such times the expert panel's role should come in," he added.
He said the
Censor Board had invited three panellists to watch "Padmaavat" but their views
were not paid heed to, and added that a pre-screening board will have a legal
voice.