Ban on 'Padmaavat' release: Supreme Court to hear producers' plea today

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will on Thursday hear a plea filed by the producers of noted director Sanjay Leela Bhansali's yet-to-be-released movie 'Padmaavat' challenging the ban imposed on its release by respective state governments in Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat, and Maharashtra respectively.

According to reports, the makers of the controversial movie had approached the top court to seeking its urgent intervention in the matter as the film is scheduled to release on January 25

In their plea, the producers questioned the right of these four state governments to ban the film in the light of Supreme Court's recent observation that the film's screening can only be suspended in a particular area if there is any law and order situation problem.

The release of Bhansali's magnum opus was banned in four states to defuse a potential law and order problem due to the widespread protests by several right-wing outfits including the Sri Rajput Karni Sena. 

The film starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor has run into troubled waters after members of several Rajput factions accused Sanjay Leela Bhansali of distorting historical facts and showing the erstwhile Rajput Queen in a bad light.

Notably, the film has already been given clearance by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), which had formed a panel comprising historians and members of royal family to take a call on certifying the film.

During the certification process of the film, Bhansali appeared before a parliamentary panel where he said that the film is an adaptation of Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi's "Padmaavat".

Featuring Deepika Padukone as Rani Padmavati, Shahid Kapoor as Maharawal Ratan Singh and Ranveer Singh as Alauddin Khilji, the film was given a U/A certificate from CBFC recently.

The board had asked the producers to change the title, along with four other modifications.

Also, not refusing to budge from its stand, the Rajput Karni Sena has maintained that they will not accept anything short of a country-wide ban on the film.

"We want nothing less than a nation-wide ban on the movie," Karni Sena chief Lokendra Singh Kalvi said.

He added that he is urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief ministers of all states to understand the feelings of the community.

Rajput Karni Sena had also raised the objection to an apparent dream sequence between Deepika and Ranveer, but in the latest advertisement, the makers have clarified there is no such scene in the lavishly-mounted period drama.

The film is all set for a worldwide January 25 release in Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil, and will be the first Indian film to get a global IMAX 3D release.

(With ANI inputs)