Deepika Padukone’s 2017 Movie ‘Padmavati’ To Release In U.K. Amid Controversy, Can Rajputs Stop It Anyway?

A Rajput organization in India wants to behead xXx: Return of Xander Cage star Deepika Padukone for acting in Padmavati. The 2017 movie’s release date has been postponed indefinitely in India, after the group threatened to destroy theaters showing the movie. Meanwhile, U.K. authorities have greenlit the period drama to be released on December 1.

The British Board of Film Classification has given a 12A rating to Padmavati, directed by renowned Indian filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The movie is based on a fictional tale about a Hindu Rajput queen committing suicide in order to avoid the slavery of a Muslim invader.

The movie has been involved in massive controversies since its conception. Karni Sena, the Rajput organization leading the protest against it, vandalized the sets during the shoot. The demonstrators manhandled and physically abused the director of the film as well.

The most recent form of protest happened in Nahargarh Fort, Jaipur. According to local reports, a corpse was found hanging in the fort, with a note saying, “We don’t burn effigies. We kill.” Karni Sena has denied its involvement in the incident, First Post reported.

Meanwhile, the Rajput Samaj U.K. is unhappy about the BBFC’s decision to allow the movie to get released without any cuts. The organization wants the board to consider the “community impact” of the decision, according to The Hindu. It wants the BBFC to hold its decision to release the movie in the U.K. until it is allowed to release in India.

The massive controversy around the movie seems odd because the people behind the huge protests have not watched the movie yet. It is alleged that one of the scenes in the movie shows the Rajput queen having sex with the Muslim emperor. The makers of the movie have vehemently dismissed the allegation. They claim that the two characters do not share any scene together.

According to the BBFC, the epic drama in Hindi shows a Muslim emperor leading “an invasion to capture a Rajput Queen.” Karni Sena has, nevertheless, declared that its members will visit the U.K. to protest the release, the Times of India reported.

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