Padmaavat: Jauhar scene draws flak; Deepika Padukone’s response will silence critics

Mumbai: Sanjay Leela Bhansali had to wait really very long to get things sorted and release his ambitious project Padmaavat (initially titled Padmavati) starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor.

The magnum opus hit theatres on January 25 amid massive protests and has succeeded in minting over Rs 100 crores within the first four days of its release. The industry stood united to show solidarity with the cast and crew of the film that underwent tremendous scrutiny but Swara Bhaskar had some strong remarks to make against Bhansali.

The actress slammed the filmmaker for glorifying Jauhar (practise of self immolation by women in the olden days). In the beginning of the film, there’s a disclaimer clearly stating that the film doesn’t glorify the act of Jauhar and it is inspired by 16th century poet Malik Muhammed Jayasi’s fictional piece Padmavat.

Recently, during an interview with DNA, when quizzed about the flak the jauhar scene has draw, Deepika said, “Let me put things in perspective. We are not endorsing jauhar. You must see the scene/practice in context to the period in which it was shown. And when you do that, you will realise, it’s so powerful. You do not feel like she is doing anything wrong. You want her to embrace the flames because she is going to be united with the man she loves.”

Padmaavat also stars Shahid Kapoor as Maharawal Ratan Singh and Ranveer Singh as Alauddin Khilji. Deepika essays Rani Padmavati, wife of Maharawal Ratan Singh while Ranveer essays the main antagonist. Interestingly, Deepika and Ranveer do not share screen space in the film.

The controversy stricken film, which was initially scheduled for December 1, 2017 release, also features Raza Murad as Jalaluddin Khilji, Aditi Rai Hydari as Mehr-un-Nisa, Jim Sarbh as Malik Kafur and Anupriya Goenka as Rani Nagmati.