'Padmaavat' will be another 'Baahubali', perhaps bigger

'Padmaavat' will be another 'Baahubali', perhaps bigger

This is not a review of this year's most awaited film. And why this year? "Padmaavat", nee Padmavati, is perhaps the most anticipated film since Raj Kapoor's Satyam Shivum Sunderam. The frenzy that has been incited by some fringe groups, the threats and abuses, the violence and the virulence have whipped up the nation's appetite.

Methinks, the Sena doth protest too much.

Having had the privilege of being close to the project from its inception, I can say one thing in all certainty. "Padmaavat" is a proud majestic anthem to the valour and pride of the Rajput community. Every frame, every movement exudes a nationalist fervor, a sense of unbridled pride and joy though without a trace of arrogance in being Indian. It is likely to see a major success, perhaps even bigger than "Baahubali".

I wonder what the fringe groups would have to say once the film is out. Will they apologise to the nation and to the community they purport to represent, for misleading them?

The film industry is a soft target for peripheral attention-seeking organisations. I had never heard of the Karni Sena till the "Padmaavat" protests started. Now we can't hear the end of their bickering and abuses. I get a feeling they will continue to protest against the film even after it releases, so habituated have they become to the limelight in the past months.

How will they survive without the platform of television channels to scream invectives at Bhansali and the film industry?

Maybe they can find another hapless filmmaker to target? This will keep on happening as long as an emasculated entertainment industry too afraid to speak up; too self-absorbed to care about what happens to a fellow-filmmaker.

As a prominent director explained: "If it was Karan Johar, he would have ten colleagues sitting besides him holding his hand under siege. But Sanjay Bhansali has not made too many friends in the industry. He's paying the price for it."

One direct fall-out of the unsolicited troubles that "Padmaavat" faced was the fear of history that now grips the film industry. The makers of bio-pic on Jhansi ki Rani are running through their script constantly to ensure no faction is offended by any of the dialogues or situations.