The battle of Padmavati

The release of a film has become the battleground for two opposing forces in India. Although these two forces- ‘the liberals & conservatives’ always find some excuse to fight with each other but so intense battle on such a trivial issue is unprecedented.

In the focus of attraction is a character whose existence is debated as doubtful by most of the historians. Yet for centuries, this character has been kept alive and glorified by artists and common people.

The situation is so bad that even before seeing the contents of the film, people are vehemently and violently reacting to stop its release.Not only the ordinary public but powerful personalities including chief ministers have taken this stand and some of these have even banned the screening of the film in their states. On the other side, many liberals are advocating and pushing for its early release.

 CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification) which is the appointed agency for deciding the issue has been thrown into background and made dormant.Thank God, good sense prevailed at Supreme Court which has refused to intervene before the release of the film after CBFC’s approval.

The phenomenon is a showcase of the complexities of the art of film making in India. The situation has come to this stage because both the parties have totally lost the faith in each other.

The indicators from the incident are dangerous. On one side, there are signs of poor governance as the government failed to read the mood of people and take proactive measures. On the other side, it is indicative of limited freedom available to the artist (filmmaker) which is just a profession in our society

Will we emerge as evolved society with better arrangements to settle such issues?

Can we see better governance, better film making and better controlled mechanisms for outbursts of reactions of janata /public in future?

Only time will decide.