Tejaswi Yadav invites Bhansali to Bihar to shoot 'Padmavati'

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav on Monday invited director Sanjay Leela Bhansali to Bihar to shoot his film "Padmavati" without any fear.

"I invite Bollywood to come and shoot in historical, glorified, culturally rich & developing Bihar. Will extend all sorts of help all the way," Tejaswi said in his latest tweet in reference to the assault on Bhansali in Rajasthan last week.

Tejaswi added: "If the Bhansali incident would have taken place in Bihar, there would have been endless hot debates on Jungle-raj, castiesm by elite and eminent journalists."

Tejaswi said the "shocking incident" took place in the BJP-ruled state of Rajasthan. "It is unfortunate," he added.

Tejaswi's father and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad said if such an incident had taken place in Bihar, the pro-BJP media would have made it an issue to defame Bihar. But as it happened in Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Rajasthan, they are keeping silent as if nothing has happened, Prasad said.

Bhansali was assaulted in Jaipur on the sets of "Padmavati" last week by members of the Rajput Karni Sena who maintained that his film distorts the story of Rajput queen Padmavati. The group has said that if he wants to resume filming, Bhansali must change the name of the movie and also allow them to see it before release.

--IANS

ik/rn