Film director and Panaroma Jury Head of the 48th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) Rahul Rawail expressed solidarity with the makers of Deepika Padukone-Ranveer Singh-starrer Padmavati.
Comparing the movie with the yesteryear classic, Mughal-e-Azam, which was also a variation of history, Rawail reasoned that Padmavati did not warrant protestation. “Anarkali is a completely fictitious character. Anarkali does not exist in history. If today Mughal-e-Azam is released, will they ban it? They will not,” Rawail said.
“Bhansali has made Padmavati with a lot of conviction and hard work. He is not going to play around with history, but as a filmmaker, he will have his own take without disturbing history,” he added.
Rawail said that the issue should have been tackled in a better way, adding, “I admire Bhansali and Viacom for agreeing to postpone the release, because in these circumstances, it could have created a lot of violence.”
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s period drama, starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor, has been mired in a slew of controversies for allegedly tampering with historical facts.
On Monday, the producers voluntarily postponed its release date in the face of absence of requisite clearances.