New Delhi:
A day before the release of "Padmaavat", groups like Karni Sena, which have vowed to block the film in defiance of Supreme Court orders, intensified their protests that started last evening. Violence and protests were reported from parts of Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh — the states that had initially banned the movie. In Etawah, Uttar Pradesh, police lathicharged protesters who damaged vehicles and forced shops to shut down. Several vehicle owners were injured. The Delhi-Jaipur highway was blocked by protesters. The Karni Sena has asked social organisations across the country to ensure that the movie can’t be screened.
Here are the top 10 updates in this big story:
- In Rajasthan, distributors refused to screen "Padmaavat" citing the protests. Besides Delhi-Jaipur highway, traffic was hit on Delhi-Ajmer highway as protestrs burnt tyres. In Sikar, a bus was stoned. The Chittor Fort was shut down for the second time in its centuries-old history after Karni Sena members tried to break in.
- In Haryana’s Gurgaon, protesters block the Wazirpur-Pataudi road and torched a bus in Sohna. The administration has banned protests within a 200-metre radius of movie halls till Sunday. Clubs and bars in Gurugram will be closed from 7 this evening till further orders. Many cinema hall owners have said they will not screen the film.
- In Lucknow, protests were held outside a mall. Claiming they do not belong to any organisation, the protesters said if hall owners don’t agree to their "request" and stop screening the movie, they would "anything that is required".
- In Mumbai, the police arrested 30 Karni Sena workers as a preventive measure; 44 others were arrested in Gujarat capital Ahmedabad.
- Karni Sena chief Lokendra Singh Kalvi said the Rajput organisation won’t allow the release of the film. "January 25 may come and go but we won’t let the film release, come what may," he said.
- Protests against the film had turned increasingly violent from Tuesday evening, with vandalism reported from near a number of multiplexes in Gujarat. Today, 50 people were arrested in connection with the violence.
- In Ahmedabad, the police had to open fire on Tuesday night as a mob burnt nearly 30 two-wheelers and smashed shop windows. Wrecked cars and scooters lay around the mall in piles this morning. Despite the Gujarat government’s promise for security ahead of the film’s release, policemen were outnumbered by the mob.
- Yesterday, the Supreme Court rejected a final attempt by Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh governments to ban the movie. "It’s an order, better abide by it. You (states) can advise people not to watch the movie," the judges said.
- Protests took place parts of Uttar Pradesh too yesterday. Mobs went on rampage in Muzaffarnagar. In Kanpur, agitated members of a fringe group barged into a mall demanding a complete ban on the film. They tore film posters, damaged property and manhandled the mall staff, the police said.
- The protesters believe the film distorts history and shows Rani Padmini, the legendary queen of Chittor, in a poor light. The film, starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapur, was cleared by the censor board after a number of edits and a change of title from Padmavati to Padmaavat.
