No Republic Day performance on Ghoomar: Udaipur schools get new directive

Amid spate of protests by groups like Sri Rajput Karni Sena against Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat, an order by the district administration of Udaipur has further raised eyebrows. The administration has ordered a ban on performance on Ghoomar song, which features Deepika Padukone in the movie, by school kids.

According to the order, students in both government as well as private schools should not perform on Ghoomar song from Padmaavat, the film that has been given a go-ahead for pan-India release by the Supreme Court. The order was issued by Additional District Magistrate of Udaipur, SC Sharma.

Earlier this month, the campus of a school in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh was vandalised by a group, claiming to be members of Sri Rajput Karni Sena, allegedly because of a performance by students on Ghoomar song during the annual function of the school.

There were reports that the protesters manhandled children, argued with their parents and even threatened school administration. At least four people were arrested in connection with the case.

And if this was not all, an education officer in Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh, in November 2017, issued a circular banning Ghoomar song from the period drama being played at cultural programmes in school. However, the district collector ordered for withdrawal of the circular with immediate effect and said a showcause notice was being served to the officer concerned to explain his action.

The song from the movie, starring Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh, had also grabbed headlines during the Gujarat visit of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A young girl had performed on the song during an event to welcome Netanyahu in Ahmedabad. The event was reportedly attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well.

The video of the performance on Ghoomar song from ‘Padmaavat’ had also appeared on social media platforms like Twitter.

Another video of the song that went viral on social media in November 2017 was that of Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav’s daughter-in-law performing on Ghoomar.

#WATCH Aparna Yadav,daughter in law of Mulayam Singh Yadav performs on the 'Ghoomar' song of #Padmavati at a function in Lucknow pic.twitter.com/3BkCcprJsm — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) November 29, 2017

In the video, Aparna is seen taking the centre stage and dancing on stage with a group of women to the song. According to reports, Aparna was attending the engagement function of her brother in Lucknow when she performed on the song.

Reports had said that the performance of Deepika Padukone on the song had offended some royal families in Rajasthan, who had said that Rajput women do not dance while the actress, who plays Rani Padmavati, was performing the art form.

Even the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) had suggested modifications to the song so as to make the depiction befitting the character that is being portrayed. Following it, the video of the Ghoomar song was edited in which Deepika's midriff was covered up with a red layer.