'Padmaavat' writer's town buzzing with excitement

Lucknow: It will be a long — over 30 kilometre — journey to a single screen in Rae Bareli that Romil Jain will traverse on Thursday from his house in Jais town of Amethi district. This effort to catch the first show of 'Padmaavat' is not for the controversy that surrounds the movie, but because it is based on the epic written by 15th century Sufi poet, Malik Muhammad Jaisi, who was from Jais.

Not just Jain, a number of residents of the town, have planned their day for Thursday around watching the film. Excited about their poet's epic to be played on the big screen, all that the sleepy town has been talking about is 'Padmaavat'.
And while a large number of states are witnessing chaos over the film, Jais has welcomed the movie, some residents even demanding a share of the profit made by the filmmaker, to be spent on beautification of Jaisi's house. At present, only a 'lakhuri' bricked wall and a raised platform of Jaisi's home is extant.
"All of us welcome the movie. The entire town has been talking about the film for several months now. Everyone is excited that Jais's name is reaching far and wide because of Malik Muhammad Jaisi's creation," said a native, Mohammad Nizam Khan.
Jain added, "Protesting voices are being raised but we are all happy that a person from our town wrote such a tremendous piece of literature that is also taught in schools. We hope that the filmmakers will spend a share of the profits they earn on restoring Malik Muhammad Jaisi's dilapidated home in Kanchana locality."