Bollywood film Padmaavat causes uproar in India
The film was about a certain Padmavati, a queen and her handmaidens who died by committing jauhar after her husband was killed and their fort at Chittorgarh in Rajasthan was about to fall to the marauding sultan of Delhi, Alauddin Khilji.
Historians have doubted the existence of this queen, although the fort was besieged by Khilji in 1303.
Women in northern India have threatened to kill themselves if the film is released. They claim it smears the reputation of their icon.
The film was due for release six weeks ago, but the plan was delayed after an official from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party offered a 100 million rupee bounty — about £1.1 million — for the beheading of its star, Deepika Padukone. Death threats were also made against the crew and when Padmaavat was cleared for release in the UK without any cuts, a right-wing Hindu group, the Karni Sena, called for any British cinemas that screened it to be burnt down.
The several concessions being made to appease the Hindu right have angered others, who say that the moves will only embolden nationalists to demand cuts to other films thereby stifling free speech and creativity.
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