Bhansali says Padmavati work of fiction, CBFC says will consult historians

NEW DELHI: The controversy-hit film “Padmavati” is based on Malik Muhammad Jayasi’s ballad ‘Padmavat’, the movie’s director Sanjay Leela Bhansali told a parliamentary panel, while censor board chief Prasoon Joshi informed another committee that an expert panel would view the film.
Sources said the panel likely to view “Padmavati” will include historians and that the film’s producers have re-submitted their application to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), this time filling in the relevant entry stating whether the movie was based on a work of fiction or historical events.

Bhansali is understood to have informed the standing committee on information and technology that the film drew from Jayasi’s work. This would mean that the film does not lay claim to any historicity, though the explanation may not satisfy protesters who have claimed a “distortion” of events regarding the queen of Mewar.
The IT committee chair, BJP’s Anurag Thakur, questioned Bhansali over films regularly attracting controversy, resulting in divisiveness and loss of revenue to the entertainment industry. The director was also asked how a print of the film had reached the UK and the consequences of a possible leak on the internet. Some members made the point that recent events were impacting freedom of expression while others said filmmakers should not ignore popular sensitivities.
The CBFC chief appeared before the petition’s panel that also took up the film for discussion and its chair C P Joshi, who is also from BJP, is understood to have noted that Bhansali had failed to take cognisance of the faith and reverence in the figure of Padmavati.
The censor board has in the past taken help from specialists in fields like medicine and defence while clearing movies based on such themes. Now, it has up to two months to decide on the movie after a multi-level process.