Bhansali cancels Jaipur shoot of 'Padmavati'

Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali and his crew have cancelled the shooting of "Padmavati" here in the wake of assault on him and vandalism on the sets of the movie by a Rajput group that has triggered outrage in the film industry which is demanding stern action against the culprits.

"The shooting has been stopped by the filmmaker at Jaigarh Fort and they have vacated the place," SHO Amer police station Narendra Kumar said.

A source close to the production said, "The makers have already clarified that there are no scenes between Padmavati and Allaudin Khilji's characters. Bhansali has shot his movies in Rajasthan in the past but he never faced any problem. What happened was unfortunate and the team is packing up."

Bhansali was roughed up by members of a Rajput community group on Friday, who also stopped the shooting of the film by damaging the set at Jaigarh Fort, alleging that the director was "distorting facts" in the movie which is about Alauddin Khilji's obsession with Rani Padmavati.

Karni Sena on Saturday reiterated its stand to oppose any distortion of historical facts and demanded a written assurance from the director while also blaming his security for the commotion on Friday.

"I do not support any violence. The Karni Sena had gone there to oppose the shooting and talk to Bhansali. But he refused to meet and three bullets were fired in the airby his security men which led to provocation and commotion," Lokendra Singh Kalvi, Karni Sena founder, said at a press conference.

He said they had communicated their objection six months prior to the shooting after they came to know about a supposed the dream sequence of Alauddin Khilji through Ranveer's interview.

While Bhansali is yet to publiclly comment on the issue, the industry, including the film's three lead stars –Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Shahid Kapoor –slammed the fringe outfit for the incident. Deepika, who is in the titular role of Padmavati, tweeted, "In a state of shock!deeply saddened and disheartened by yesterday's events!#Padmavati." The actress assured that the team behind the film is not distorting any historical facts and their aim is to bring on-screen the story of "courageous and powerful" Padmavati.

"As Padmavati I can assure you that there is absolutely no distortion of history.#Padmavati. Our only endeavour is & has always been to share with the world the story of this courageous & powerful woman in the purest form there is," she wrote.

Ranveer too termed it an "unfortunate" incident.What's happened is very unfortunate. We hope the people of Rajasthan will understand & empathise with our intentions & give us their support. As a team, we are making 'Padmavati' keeping in mind the sensitivities and emotions of the people of Rajasthan and the Rajput community.