Right-wing outfit Rajput Karni Sena on Wednesday declared a nationwide strike on December 1 if Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s movie Padmavati is released, The Indian Express reported.
“We will hold rallies across the country, including Gurugram, Patna, Lucknow and Bhopal before the release date,” the outfit’s founder Lokendra Singh Kalvi said.
He said that his outfit wanted the movie to be completely banned, according to the Hindustan Times. “Now, we do not want any pre-screening of the movie. All we want is a ban,” he said.
Kalvi requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in the matter, and claimed that the Cinematography Act allows the government to withhold a movie’s release for three months even after it has been given clearance by the Central Board of Film Certification.
Padmavati, starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor, has been in the midst of a controversy since January, when members of the Rajput Karni Sena assaulted Bhansali on the set of the movie in Jaipur. The shoot was shifted to Maharashtra. The Karni Sena is against a supposed romantic scene between Rani Padmavati and Alauddin Khilji, which Bhansali had said was not in the film.
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