Sanjay Leela Bhansali brokers peace with Rajput Sabha; Karni Sena wants Padmavati title changed

In the midst of fresh threats over his film Padmavati from the Hindu Sena, filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali brokered a fragile peace agreement with the Rajput Sabha.

The Rajput Sabha is the umbrella organisation under which the Karni Sena — members of which group were responsible for assaulting Bhansali and damaging the sets of his film in Jaipur — is included.

Bhansali, through his production house, promised to clarify any concerns the Rajput Sabha may have had.

Accordingly, a printed statement was issued to the Rajput Sabha members giving them the assurances they required.

The Rajput Sabha had put forward three demands: 1. That no scenes of an intimate nature would be depicted between the characters of Rani Padmavati and Alauddin Khilji. 2. That no historical facts would be distorted. 3. That the Rajput Sabha would be shown the film before it was released in theatres.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali productions said they would meet these requirements, and their official statement read:

“As discussed with you (Shree Rajput Sabha), this is to specifically clarify that there is no romantic dream sequence or any objectionable/romantic scene between Rani Padmavati and Alauddin Khilji.

We have been carefully researching and making the film. We are confident that Mewar will be proud of the film made on their revered queen. We do not want to hurt any sentiments and would appreciate if the social organisations and local people support us in making this film and making their queen revered by the world.

Request you to please ensure that moving forward there is no action against our production, crew and cast in lieu of the said issue from members of your association and other Rajput associations. We look forward to your cooperation.”

However, a section of the Karni Sena was not happy with the agreement reached between Bhansali and the Rajput Sabha, and have demanded that the film’s title be changed, and the name ‘Padmavati’ be dropped.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali Productions CEO Shobha Sant said that changing the film’s name was not in her purview. However, she assured that there was no ‘dream sequence’ between Khilji and Padmavati, further adding, “We have been doing things in the right manner”.