Rajasthan minister demands ban on 'Panipat' over distortion of history

Rajasthan Tourism Minister Vishvendra Singh on Sunday demanded a ban on the screening of Ashutosh Gowariker's "Panipat" in North India to avoid a law and order situation, following protest against the film in Bharatpur.

Singh alleged that the movie, featuring Arjun Kapoor and Kriti Sanon, portrays Bharatpur king Maharaja Surajmal in unseemly manner.

"It is unfortunate that the legendary Jat ruler, Maharajah Surajmal has been depicted in an unseemly light and historical facts have been distorted in the film, "Panipat".

"In light of the vociferous protest by the Jat community in Haryana, Rajasthan and other regions of North India, I believe that the film should be banned to avoid a law and order situation," Singh posted on Twitter.

Opposition leader and former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje also condemned the portrayal of Maharaja Surajmal in the film, which released on Friday.

"The mistaken portrayal of the self-respecting, loyal and large hearted emperor Maharaja Surajmal in the film 'Panipat' by the filmmaker is condemnable," she tweeted.

The movie is based on the third battle of Panipat fought between the Maratha empire and Afghan king Ahmad Shah Abdali in 1761.

Arjun plays the role of Sadashiv Rao Bhau, commander of the Maratha army and the movie allegedly shows Bharatpur king Maharaja Surajmal as a greedy emperor, who wanted to conquer the Red Fort of Agra and denied help to Maratha army during the Panipat battle.

Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal wrote on the microblogging site, "I request CBFC, Prakash Javdekar, Prasoon Joshi to look into the matter of 'Panipat' movie to avoid protest, law and order problem. No film or art can misreport history."