Sir

As the controversial film Padmaavat has been released today on 25^th January. It has given a blow to law and order system. There is violence taking place all around us.

Protesters have been burning vehicles and attacking cinemas, demanding the film not be released. In Gurgaon protesters have stoned the school bus carrying children. Protesters also burnt a bus and blocked roads in the other parts of Haryana and in Rajasthan. They have forced shops to shut in Uttar Pradesh and attacked vehicles in Gujrat. Violent protest is also taking place in Madhya Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

Even in Bihar, there was violence! And police did nothing to stop these gangs.

Film Padmaavat was cleared by the censor board after a number of edits and a change of title from Padmavati to Padmaavat. Some pseudo Hindu ‘protection’ groups are alleging Padmaavat is disrespectful of their culture because it depicts a romance between a Hindu queen and a Muslim king and it is distorting the history. Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali has said the film does not feature anything that disrespects culture and the sentiments of Hindus.

I feel that this protest is baseless. These pseudo Hindu ‘protection’ groups should not react on this film because censor board has passed the film and they should have faith on it. The Supreme court has also allowed the film to be released so, the protesters should respect the decision of the court. Film is made for entertainment and it should not be a reason for disharmony.

Yours truly

Seema Kumari

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