Padmavati Deepika Padukone backs Mahira Khan, slams ban on 'Verna'

New Delhi: It's seldom that we find a common ground connecting actors from cross borders. At present Deepika Padukone's Padmavati and Pakistani actress, Mahira Khan's much-in-news Verna are embroiled in controversies in the respective countries.

While Deepika's Padmavati has been sparked row among few fringe groups who are protesting against the filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, demanding a ban on its release. The reason remains 'distortion of historical facts'. On the other hand, Mahira's Verna is about a rape victim's fight for justice and the film has still awaits its certification from the censor board.

The film, which is due to release this Friday, has run into trouble after it was first reported that the Central Board of Film Censors (CBFC) had banned its release following its viewing.

According to Spotboye.com, Deepika, who is currently promoting her film was asked about Mahira's film to which she said, “Yes, it’s sad that a small section of people don’t understand the power of cinema and what it can do to the world. It brings people together, it spreads love, it’s fascinating what cinema can do and it’s sad that a certain group of people choose to not recognize that.”

PTI quoted Pakistan's Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb as saying, “The film has not been banned. But there is a process that every film has to go through before it is cleared by the CBFC.”

A member of the Punjab Censor Board said that they had found several objectionable scenes in the film. Provincial Censor Boards operate independently in Pakistan's Sindh, Punjab and other provinces and have not issued any certificate for the screening of the film so far. 

(With PTI inputs)