Censor Board chief Prasoon Joshi has backed Sanjay Leela Bhansali in the controversy over his upcoming film Padmavati saying the CBFC members have "a lot of respect" for the director.
Joshi also condemned BJP leader and CBFC advisory panel member Arjun Gupta’s letter to the Home Minister in which he demanded that Bhansali should be “tried for treason for distorting history."
“It’s unfortunate to see the personal point of view expressed by an advisory panel member of CBFC against Mr Sanjay Leela Bhansali. By no means does it represent the point of view of CBFC as an organisation or of the CBFC board. We have respect for Mr Bhansali as an individual and artist,” Joshi told News18.com.
Film and Television Institute chairman Anupam Kher however refused to be drawn into the controversy saying he has nothing to comment
Gupta, who is the general secretary of the Uttar Bharatiya Morcha, has been alleging that Bhansali tried to "malign Rani Padmavati's sacrifice" in his film. "The whole country, not just the Rajput community, is standing against it. He needs to be severely punished by being tried for treason for his attempt to distort history, so that in future any filmmaker is wary of these kind of projects," he was quoted as saying.
Gupta has also appealed to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) "not to certify this film".
"I am fully confident that my letter will be taken into consideration, and a sedition case is run (registered) against Bhansali," Gupta said in his letter.
Padmavati, which tells the tale of the valour of Rajputs in the backdrop of the 1303 siege of Chittorgarh, is scheduled to release on December 1.
It got into controversy over conjecture that it distorts history by showing a dream romance sequence between Rani Padmini and invader Alauddin Khilji - a claim rubbished by Bhansali.
Still, organizations like Shri Rajput Karni Sena and Sarv Brahmin Mahasabha are up in arms against the release of the movie, while BJP leaders have been making appeals to stop its release.
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