Rajput community members on Wednesday held protest in Rajasthan's Chittorgarh against Sanjay Leela Bhansali's controversial film 'Padmaavat', demanding a complete ban on its release.
The Rajputs, along with other community members, staged a sit-in protest near Rithola crossing on the Udaipur-Ahmedabad highway by blocking it for nearly half-an-hour, police said.
Traffic had to be diverted due to long snarls of vehicles on the highway, they said.
However, no untoward incident was reported due to the security steps taken by the police administration as a precautionary measure to deal with the protesters, the police said.
The highway resumed to normal after protesters discussed their future course of action on the 'Padmaavat' release issue, they said.
In a social media post, patron of Shree Rajput Karni Sena chief Lokendra Singh Kalvi gave a call to gather in masses on January 21 in Samrau in Jodhpur to show solidarity of the community.
The film got stuck in a controversy after various Rajput groups alleged that it distorted history, a claim repeatedly denied by Bhansali.
Decision on banning the movie by Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana governments has failed to pacify the anger of certain communities, including the Rajputs.
Featuring Deepika Padukone as Rani Padmavati, Shahid Kapoor as Maharawal Ratan Singh and Ranveer Singh as Alauddin Khilji, the film was given a U/A certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) recently.
Last month, during the certification process of the film, Bhansali appeared before a parliamentary panel where he said that the film is an adaptation of Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi's "Padmaavat".
The film, slated to be released on January 25, was given the go-ahead by the CBFC, which asked the makers to change the title from 'Padmavati' to 'Padmaavat' and suggested some other modifications.
PTI
