Just yesterday, the makers of Padmavati expressed their willingness to hold a special pre-screening of the film for members of the Rajput community to eliminate doubts regarding its content. The Indian Film and Television Directors' Association (IFTDA) also gathered for a press conference in support of Sanjay Leela Bhansali and his film. Members of the association including Ashoke Pandit, Sudhir Mishra, Sushant Singh and Vikram Gokhale, addressed the media present and expressed their support of Bhansali. “We are being abused and we don't deserve this type of treatment…It is important to stand up together and speak together because the abuse is not for him (Bhansali) but for the entire film fraternity,” voiced Pandit.
However, neither of these events has made any difference to the dissenters. Today protesters retaliated in the way they know best – brute violence.
Members of the Karni Sena vandalized a cinema hall in Kota, as their members can be seen in a video recording of the incident, smashing the glass counters and windows of Aakash theatre. The cinema hall had to bear the brunt of screening the trailer of Padmavati.
https://twitter.com/ANI/status/930399057935196160
Speaking about the incident, Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria said, “In a democracy, everyone has the right to protest. If they protest democratically, no one will have an objection. If they take the law in their hands, then they will be punishable under law. I have been told that 8 people have been arrested.”
The Karni Sena continues to keep up their mission of violent protests against Padmavati. In January this year, they had gone on a rampage, destroying the sets in Jaipur and assaulting Bhansali for allegedly portraying Rani Padmavati in a “bad light”. Members of the Sena also burnt posters of the film outside a cinema hall in Jaipur this September. The violence continues, as they continue to target the film for allegedly being a distortion of history, which hurts their religious sentiments.
Deepika Padukone expressed her dismay at the protests, declaring, “It’s appalling, it’s absolutely appalling. What have we gotten ourselves into? And where have we reached as a nation? We have regressed.” But this didn't stop BJP leader Subramanian Swamy dismissing the actress opinions at a news channel programme, and said, "I am told the actress is not even an Indian citizen, she's Dutch."
"The nation can progress when regression is Deepika's view", the Rajya Sabha MP added.
https://twitter.com/Swamy39/status/930360042867404801
