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Journalism of Courage
As the debate around Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s period drama Padmavati rages on, many public figures – even those beyond the film fraternity – have come in support of the film-maker’s right to make a film exercising artistic freedom. This comes after Bhansali was attacked by angry members of fringe outfit Karni Sena at Jaigarh fort in Jaipur on the sets of the movie, which stars Deepika Padukone as Padmavati, Ranveer Singh as Alauddin Khilji and Shahid Kapoor as Raja Rattan Singh.
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While Bollywood seems to have rallied for Bhansali, there are some public figures who have expressed the need to exercise caution while dealing with historical – and heroic – figures and tales. One such name is that of Indian Olympic wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt. The Padma Shri awardee recently tweeted a series of posts in Hindi, categorically stating that one should be careful in the portrayal of history, and that it should not be equated with a novel.
Here’s a translation of what he tweeted:
“The story of the queen of Chittor, her sacrifice is immortal in the pages of history. Ratan Singh, the king of Chittor, had a swayamvar.
“A novel is different from history. There’s a difference between Paro and Padmavati. Be careful when dealing with a symbol of renunciation, sacrifice and courage like Padmavati.
“To save their honour from the invader Khilji, Rani Padmavati performed jauhar along with 16000 other courageous women; choosing to self-immolate rather than be held captive by Khilji.
“Despite knowing that defeat is unavoidable, every man wore the saffron turban for 12 years and committed saka. Tampering with this heroic tale is unacceptable.”
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Each of the tweets have been shared thousands of times, with many agreeing with him. Even national basketball player Prashanti Singh posted similar tweets, saying, “Dear #SanjayLeelaBhansali Rani Padmawati did Jauhar so tat Khilji wudnt evn touch her.don’t play with glorious Indian history to make money”.
https://twitter.com/prashanti14/status/825195810157641730
Well, it seems the director has given in and assured everyone history will not be distorted in the film. He issued a statement saying the film will not have any romantic or objectionable scenes between Padmavati and Alauddin Khilji’s character. However, Karni Sena has demanded a review of the film before its release and change of the film’s title. Bhansali’s company is yet to comment on these demands.
