Padmavati row: Bhansali should be tried for treason, says censor board member
Mumbai: With all the controversies ensuing over the release of 'Padmavati', it seems Sanjay Leela Bhansali would not be able to take a sigh of relief anytime soon.
Arjun Gupta, a member of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, came out strongly against Bhansali and said that the filmmaker should be tried for treason for making such movies.
“I have written a letter to Giriraj Singh and asked him to take strict action against Bhansali and he should be tried for treason,” Gupta said.
Gupta also noted that it has become a habit of Bhansali to tamper with historical facts in his movies, citing the example of ‘Bajirao Mastani’.
He further added, “Bhansali has taken a lot of publicity for his film in this controversy. I’ve always said that he should show the movie to a group of historians first, but he did not. Instead, he showed the movie to some mediapersons, which is also a gimmick to earn publicity for his movie.”
The BJP leader also shared that Bhansali should have shown the movie to the CBFC first, but chose not to because he wanted to get more publicity out of all the controversy going on.
This is not the first time Gupta has written a letter to a minister regarding this matter.
He previously wrote a letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh asking him to take cognisance into the matter.
Meanwhile, CBFC chairman Prasoon Joshi said that the makers of ‘Padmavati’ have disappointed the organisation by screening the film for the media and getting it reviewed on national channels before receiving certification.
Joshi told ANI, “Disappointing that the film 'Padmavati' is being screened for the media and getting reviewed on national channels without CBFC having seen or certified the film.”
The movie is based on the legend of Rani Padmini, a Hindu Rajput queen, mentioned in Padmavat, an Avadhi poem written by Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi in 1540.
The film, which features Deepika Padukone in the title role as Rani Padmavati, alongside Shahid Kapoor as Maharawal Ratan Singh and Ranveer Singh as Sultan Alauddin Khilji, is scheduled to release on December 1.
