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- A day before the release of Padmaavat, a Bollywood film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, protests erupted in several parts of the country. Security has been beefed up in several states, including Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The Supreme Court Tuesday rejected petitions by the governments of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, which sought to review the court’s earlier order that rejected a ban on the film. The apex court had also directed state governments to ensure law and order is maintained.
- A bus was set on fire in Bhondsi, and protesters burnt tyres and blocked roads at Pataudi Wazirpur.
- In Gurugram, masked men weilding sticks had set fire to a bus in Sohna Road. They resorted to stone pelting when police tried to intervene. No loss of life has been reported so far from Gurugram where protestors torched a state road transport department bus at Sohna Road.
- Clubs and Bars in Gurugram have now been ordered to remain closed from 7 pm today till further orders in the light of protests against Padmavaat.
- In Maharashtra, the police have issued advisories to increase security arrangements across the state, and identified certain districts, such as Aurangabad, Nashik and Kolhapur as “sensitive pockets.” In Gujarat, a day after protests turned violent, the police filed six FIRs against 100 people today.
- In Lucknow, protests were held outside a mall. Claiming they do not belong to any organisation, the protesters said if hall owners don’t agree to their “request” and stop screening the movie, they would “anything that is required”.
- Karni Sena chief Lokendra Singh Kalvi said the Rajput organisation won’t allow the release of the film. “January 25 may come and go but we won’t let the film release, come what may,” he said.
- Protests against the film had turned increasingly violent from Tuesday evening, with vandalism reported from near a number of multiplexes in Gujarat. Today, 50 people were arrested in connection with the violence.
- In Ahmedabad, the police had to open fire on Tuesday night as a mob burnt nearly 30 two-wheelers and smashed shop windows. Wrecked cars and scooters lay around the mall in piles this morning. Despite the Gujarat government’s promise for security ahead of the film’s release, policemen were outnumbered by the mob.
- The protesters believe the film distorts history and shows Rani Padmini, the legendary queen of Chittor, in a poor light. The film, starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapur, was cleared by the censor board after a number of edits and a change of title from Padmavati to Padmaavat.
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