While Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in several states have raised a red flag on the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s period film ‘Padmaavat’, it was a controversial song from the movie that was performed on at the event to welcome Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Gujarat.
The event was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well.
A video of the performance of a girl on ‘Ghoomar’ song from ‘Padmaavat’ has also appeared on social media platforms like Twitter.
#Ghoomar song of @filmpadmaavat played and dance performed on it in #Ahmedabad. This program is to welcome PM @narendramodi & Isreal PM #Netanyahu. pic.twitter.com/layjWd0t5R
— Kirandeep (@raydeep) January 17, 2018
Notably, several BJP states, including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, have declared that they will not allow the release of the film starring Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh.
In fact, Rajasthan government has reportedly issued an official notification banning the release of the film in the state.
Recently, a school programme was vandalised by protesters as the participants performed on the same song, which features Deepika Padukone in the film.
However, the producers of the film have filed a plea in Supreme Court against the ban imposed by states despite Padmaavat getting a go-ahead from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The Supreme Court is expected to hear the plea on Thursday.
In their plea, the producers questioned the right of state governments to ban the film in the light of Supreme Court's recent observation that the film's screening can only be suspended in a particular area if there is any law and order situation problem.
The release of Bhansali's magnum opus was banned in some states to defuse a potential law and order problem due to the widespread protests by several right-wing outfits including the Sri Rajput Karni Sena.
During the certification process of the film, Bhansali appeared before a parliamentary panel where he said that the film is an adaptation of Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi's "Padmaavat".
The Censor board later asked the makers to change the name of the film from Padmavati to Padmaavat.
