Padmaavat row: Protestors block Delhi-Jaipur highway

New Delhi: Despite Supreme Court and the Central Bureau of Film Certification (CBFC) paving the way for the release of Bollywood film Padmaavat, protests across the country against the period drama refuses to fade away. A day before its country-wide release, on Wednesday, scores of protestors expressed their reservations about Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film on the busy Delhi-Jaipur highway.

Several sections on the highway between the two cities saw protestors blocking traffic and lighting tyres to vent their ire. They, like protestors elsewhere in the country, have been demanding a ban on the release of the film. Hundreds of commercial and private vehicles were caught in the ensuing traffic deadlock as the protestors shouted slogans against the director and the cast members.

The movie itself was banned in Rajasthan last week. It was also banned in several other states including Haryana, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. The Supreme Court had come down heavily on the states and had ordered against the imposition of any ban. Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh nonetheless filed an appeal which too was struck down by the top court on Tuesday. As such, and with some degree of reluctance, these states have said the order of the Supreme Court will be respected and adequate security measures would be put into place.

This has not stopped protestors - mostly belonging to the Karni Sena - from resorting to violence. Incidents of violence and torching public and private properties have been reported from Ahmedabad, Pune-Panvel Expressway, Noida and other areas.

Meanwhile, a special screening of the film was organised late on Tuesday for members of the press in Mumbai and New Delhi. (Click here for Zeenews.com review of Padmaavat)