Padmavati row: Maharashtra Minister condemns Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Maharashtra Tourism Minister Jaykumar Rawal on Friday said that it is 'undeserving and derogatory' to show a film by mixing it with fantasy.

Irked with the depiction of the queen in the film 'Padmavati', Rawal told ANI, "It is very unfortunate to see that eminent director like Sanjay Leela Bhansali has resorted to maligning the character of a queen who laid her life to save the country. It is undeserving and derogatory to show that by mixing it with fantasy. It is an insult to history, Indian culture and women."

He added that there are other ways of depicting art than maligning a historical character to this level.

"This should be immediately stopped. I don't know what the government's stand is but a group of people have urged me to stop it as it does not show the truth. It also has hurt the sentiments of people," Rawal asserted.

Condemning the film outrightly, Rawal said, "Bhansali cannot show that a villain is fantasising about a queen in the film as the Queen is a part of history, which India is proud of."

"It cannot be tolerated that some filmmaker would play with history for the sake of money. I have written to the censor board and requested the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in this regard," he added.

He said he might even ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene into the matter because history should not be tampered with.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan's Chittorgarh remained closed today in protest against the film, which is scheduled to release next month.

The period drama starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor has been facing flak from various communal groups, including Shree Rajput Karni Sena, for tampering historical facts.

These groups are vehemently supporting the 'bandh'.

In October, an agitated group even destroyed a huge Padmavati-inspired rangoli made by one artist from Surat on the occasion of Diwali.