The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s controversy-ridden film Padmaavat and suspended the ban orders by four states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh. A bench of the SC comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwlkar and DY Chandrachud also restrained all states from banning the historical period drama.
Trade analyst Komal Nahta hails the decision and calls it a slap on BJP’s face, saying, “It’s a slap on BJPs face. It’s a slap on the states which banned the film. It’s a slap on Rajput Karni Sena’s face. All those who thought they were gods have been shown their rightful place.” He added that there couldn’t be a bigger joke than this because Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a government-elected body and only the BJP-ruled states imposed the blanket ban on the film.
Nahta also makes it clear that the ban wouldn’t affect the film’s business negatively and would only help it garner more publicity. “The film was going to be a blockbuster, it is going to be a blockbuster. I haven’t seen the film but the curiosity is unprecedented. And Rajput Karni Sena will be very sad to know that unknowingly they’ve given their film a free publicity worth 1000 crore rupees."
Given that Padmaavat's makers issued front-page advertisements explaining what their film is all about, Nahta states that the state of art in India is “pathetic” right now. “The film industry needs to hang its head in shame. Nobody stood by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and except for sympathy, nobody gave any support to him. They should have gone on a dharna and said that they’ll not move from here till the state government lifts the order. Smriti Irani, the person of the entertainment industry, has no moral right to continue in that seat. She should be out of that seat, she doesn’t deserve to be there,” he said.
The film, earlier titled as Padmavati, has been mired in controversies since reports of on it first came out. The film is based on the epic poem 'Padmavat' by Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi. The governments of several states had declared that they will not allow the film to be screened despite its clearance from CBFC which led the producers to move the Supreme Cout through senior lawyer Harish Salve and advocate Mahesh Agarwal.
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