Padmaavat row: Ajay Devgn's cinema hall in UP vandalised by Karni Sena members

New Delhi: Maverick filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali's period drama Padmaavat finally saw the light of the day on January 25, 2018. The film released amid massive protests led by fringe groups demanding a ban on the screening of the venture.

Protests were carried out across the nation where several cases of violence were reported. According to Mid-Day.com, one of the cinema halls owned by superstar Ajay Devgn was vandalised in Uttar Pradesh by the members of Shri Karni Sena—a Rajput outfit.

The manager of the cinema hall told Mid-Day.com, “As soon as they got to know that advance booking was to begin, the protesters gathered around and started chanting slogans. They smashed the glass façade of the ticket windows. They also demanded to meet the owner to ensure that the film would not be exhibited."

The incident took place in a multiplex in Pilkhuwa at Hapur district reportedly. Devgn had purchased four single-screen theatres last year around the release of 'Golmaal Again'. 

The film by SLB has faced massive protests by Rajput outfit Shri Karni Sena members, who alleged that the director has distorted historical facts.

However, the filmmaker's fight to make his magnum opus Padmaavat reach the audience was backed by the apex court's decision of staying the ban on the screening in states of Gujarat and Rajasthan.

The Supreme Court cleared the decks for the nationwide release of the film, observing that people must understand that orders of the top court have to be 'abided with'.

The film received a green signal from the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC). The film got a UA certificate without any cuts but has suggested that the director change the film's title to Padmaavat besides making four other modifications.

The period drama is based on the 16th-century epic poem Padmavat by Malik Muhammad Jayasi and that explains why the stress on the new title.

The film was earlier scheduled to hit the screens on December 1, 2017, but after facing major protests across the nation by fringe groups, its release date was pushed ahead for indefinite time.