'Padmaavat' my homage to Rajput valour and vigour: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

During the protests against Padmaavat, many members from the industry came forward to support the filmmaker

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Sanjay Leela Bhansali on Sundaysaid that his much-awaited directorial venture "Padmaavat" is his tribute to the glorious stories of Rajput "honour, valour and vigour".

The director said, the lavishly mounted period drama, which will hit the screens on January 25, is a dream come true for him.

"'Padmaavat' is a dream come true for me. I have always been fascinated by the stories of honour, valour and vigour of our great Rajput warriors that have been captured so beautifully in our literature and this movie is my homage to those glorious stories," Bhansali said in a statement.

Featuring Deepika Padukone as Rani Padmavati, Shahid Kapoor as Maharawal Ratan Singh and Ranveer Singh as Alauddin Khilji, the film got stuck in controversy after various Rajput groups, including Rajput Karni Sena, raised their objections towards the content of the movie.

The film which was sent back to the makers, citing "technical issues" by the Central Board of Film Certification when it was submitted in November, received a U/A certificate last month along with five modifications.

During the country-wide protests against the film, many members from the industry came forward to support the filmmaker and the cast.

In his statement, Bhansali also thanked the fraternity for their unwavering support.

"I would also like to thank the entire film fraternity for supporting Viacom18 and Bhansali Productions through the entire production and pre-release phase and hope they like the film they so supported," he said.

"Padmaavat" is based on 16th century Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi's epic poem "Padmavat".