Akshay Kumar’s Prithviraj threatened by Karni Sena; outfit demands title change for film

Akshay Kumar’s much-awaited periodical saga Prithviraj is back in the news as the youth wing of Karni Sena has threatened the film. In a letter, written by filmmaker Surjeet Singh Rathore, president of the Youth Wing of the Karni Sena, the makers have been asked to change the movie’s title. Also, if their conditions are not met, the film will receive the same fate as Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat, the letter said. The film is a biopic on Emperor Prithiviraj Chauhan and is being helmed by Chandraparaksh Dwivedi while Yash Raj Film’s Aditya Chopra is producing it. The letter, shared on Instagram, states that Sena respects Kumar for playing the great king but it is Chopra’s duty to respect the feelings and emotions of the Rajput community. In that regard, the name of the film should be changed to ‘Veer Yodha Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan’. Also, there should be screening before the release of the film so that they can see whether due respect has been given to the Rajput characters or not. The film should be shown to Rajput historians who can check the historical accuracy. In the post, Rathore has warned that in case of any agitation, YRF will be responsible for all the losses.

In another post, he has mentioned all the other aspects of their objection in detail.

Earlier, in a statement, Kumar had commented that it is an honour to play the role of one of the most fearless and courageous kings of India, Prithviraj Chauhan. “As a nation, we should always celebrate our heroes and immortalize what they did to propagate the values that Indians lived by. Prithviraj is our attempt to bring to light his valour and daredevilry”. The film was announced on Chauhan’s birth anniversary in 2019. However, the film’s shooting got stalled due to COVID-19. It is now expected to hit the theatres on 5 November. Miss Universe Manushi Chillar, who is making her Bollywood debut with the movie, will be seen opposite Kumar. It also stars Sonu Sood, Sanjay Dutt, Ashutosh Rana, Sakshi Tanwar, Manav Vij, and Lalit Tiwari in pivotal roles.