Padmavati: Censor board jolt to makers, no expedition in certification despite protests

Mumbai: Central Board of Film Certification headed by lyricist Prasoon Joshi, has turned down application by makers of Padmavati seeking to expedite Certification process of the movie. The CBFC said that the movie directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali will be reviewed and certified as per set norms of following chronological order of all applications, ANI reported.

The makers of Padmavati issued a statement on November 19, stating that they have postponed the release of the film. 

"Viacom18 Motion Pictures, the studio behind 'Padmavati', has voluntarily deferred the release date of the film from December 1, 2017," the company spokesperson said in a statement.

"We are a responsible, law-abiding corporate citizen and have the highest respect and regard for the law of the land and all our institutions and statutory bodies including the CBFC.

"We always have and are committed to continue following the established procedure and convention. We have faith that we will soon obtain the requisite clearances to release the film.

"We will announce the revised release date of the film in due course," the statement added.

On Saturday, CBFC chairperson Prasoon Joshi had expressed disappointment over the film being screened for some journalists, who said there was nothing in it to hurt anyone's sentiments.

"It is disappointing that the film Padmavati is being screened for the media and getting reviewed on national channels without the CBFC having seen or certified the film. This compromises the role of systems and balances that are part of a functioning industry," said Joshi.

The film starring Ranveer Singh, Shahid Kapoor and Deepika Padukone has been in trouble ever since it went on floors last year. The sets of the film were vandalsied by mobs on a couple of occasions. Rumours were rife that the film had a dream sequence featuring Deepika (who plays Rani Padmavati) and Ranveer Singh ( who essays Alauddin Khilji). This irked Rajput organisations who took to violence to protest against the film. A member of one of the groups even assaulted filmmaker Bhansali thereby making things worse for the cast and crew of the film. A few weeks back, an angry mob even destroyed an artist's Rangoli inspired by the film's poster at a mall in Gujarat.

People associated with the film have time and again issued statements to clarify that the film doesn't have any objectionable scene or content. But their attempts to pacify protestors have gone in vain.

(With IANS inputs)