Padmavati controversy: Will British censors reconsider release after UK's Rajput Samaj protest?

The British Board of Film Classification, days after clearing Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavati, is reconsidering the release of the controversial film. [caption id=“attachment_4211703” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Image from Twitter/@vmusicmum[/caption] According to a report by The Guardian, Paramount Pictures, the British distributor of the film has said that the UK release date is being reconsidered and might be delayed given the raging controversies surrounding the film back in India. The opposition of the Rajput Samaj of UK, which is a Hindu group operating in the UK, could be the reason behind the BBFC’s decision to review the release date. The group has reportedly expressed its displeasure with the British board’s decision to pass the film with no cuts. The charity group believes Bhansali’s film distorts historical facts by falsely depicting that Rani Padmini was the “motive behind the Chittor siege in 1303”. The group, however, is strongly opposed to any kind of violence and insists that their protest is not based on any conjectures about a dream sequence between Ranveer Singh’s Alauddin Khilji and Deepika Padukone’s Rani Padmini. The Shri Rajput Karni Sena, a fringe-group based in India, had earlier issued open threats to Padukone and Bhansali, sparking off a raging debate. Firstpost had also earlier reported  that the producers might not release the film in the UK despite getting a go-ahead from the BBFC. The makers are reportedly keen on settling things in India before releasing the film internationally. The film is yet be certified by the Central Board of Film Certification. Therefore, the film’s future in the United Kingdom seems as bleak as it does, back in India.