Breeding a Frankenstein Monster

184 farmers’ unions from all over India are sitting in Dharna in New Delhi. Over Thirty Thousand

A young boy from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh offered a bounty of Rs 5 crore to eliminate filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and actress Deepika Padukone, who plays the role of Rajput queen Padmini in an upcoming movie Padmavati. One would expect a reaction from the government and possible arrest of the young boy. However, he receives a congratulatory note from one Suraj Pal Amu, a BJP leader from Haryana, who increased the bounty to Rs 10 crore! BJP happens to be the ruling party in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and even in the Centre. However, officially BJP distanced itself from these statements. Reactions of these kinds are not new for this filmmaker.  It started during the shoot itself, with Shri Rajput Karni Sena, an organisation of the Rajput community, damaged sets at Jaipur’s Jaigarh Fort and assaulted Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali in January this year.  Vandalism followed at the shoot in Kolhapur in March. Other groups came to the fore and joined the protests even as Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani kept promising a safe passage for the film. Ask the protestors, the reason for being up in the arms, the Karni Sena claims that the film distorts facts and hurts their pride and sentiments — the queen is shown dancing without a ghoonghat (veil), allegations of an intimate dream scene between her and the villain of the piece, Allauddin Khilji. The filmmaker has clarified that the two characters don’t feature together in any scene but to no avail.

The electronic media in its attempt to douse the flames has ended up adding fuel to the fire, by asking questions to the fringe groups whether Rani Padmini was for real or just a figure of legends and myths, a figment of the poet’s imagination, not a historical entity. And the members of the fringe group, who perhaps would not even be able to spell “History”, have turned up as Masters in History and were caught contradicting themselves on TV channels!

However, the muscle power that the protestors have as their preach violence has had an impact on those who matter the most. Karni Sena called for a ban on the film, threatening to burn down theatres and called a countrywide bandh on December 1, the film’s original date of release. Soon, states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Punjab have decided to disallow the screening of the film, even as the film awaits certification from the Central Board of Film Certification.  These states have drawn their own conclusion about the film in the same very manner that as the groups opposing the movie, and that too without having seen the movie! This government is suffering of the induced effect.

Similar cases were witnessed for two other movies, Kamal Hassan’s “Vishwaroopam’s” and ‘Hey Ram’. And the case of the later was unique in a way that the leaders from the Congress party demanded a ban by just looking at the poster of the movie.

This time, the reactions for “Padmavati” are even more animated with protestors issuing rewards for inflicting damage to the actors and the filmmaker. Political parties, who have hardly anything to do with the screening of the movie, have participated actively in the same. It’s not difficult to understand the reason. In the present political environment an average Indian has begun to believe in negativity and shows all signs of being pessimistic.

What has India become? India claims it is a peaceful democracy governed by the rule of law. Discourses on films, books and paintings are made to destroy them, and the makers are threatened with murder and mutilation for petty political gains. With elections in Gujarat, the government can’t afford to let there be any talk about ever increasing food prices, farmers losing their lives, no program for controlling air pollution, no job creation. Hence, the row over a non significant movie is left to brew, where as 184 farmers unions from all over India are sitting in Delhi seeking time with the government to address their concern.

However, the whole saga gives the scary impression that the government doesn’t want to act tough with gangsters. Rather politicians are supporting the gangsters that too through the release of a bollywood movie without realizing that it is breeding aFrankenstein’s monster.  Having enjoyed the support of the politicians these very supporters may come back with other issues and the political parties may find it hard to control them.