MUMBAI: After almost a year of courting controversy and agitations, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s retitled film ‘Padmaavat’ is ready to see the light of day on Thursday as the Supreme Court and the CBFC have paved a clear path for its release in the country. A total of 140 theatres will screen the movie in Mumbai. It opened for advance bookings on Saturday with most theatres fast filling up.
City police have made elaborate arrangements for the release and said they have already initiated preventive arrests and asked all cops to be on high alert. The department has requested all theatre owners to be cautious. Deven Bharti, joint commissioner of police, law and order, said cops will not spare any person or organization that indulges in violence.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, with a history of leading anti-film protests, came out in “full support” of the release across Maharashtra. “Our protests have never been about the content of any film… The Supreme Court and the Censor Board have cleared the film (Padmaavat). To oppose its release amounts to contempt of court. To call for a Bharat Bandh to oppose the release of the film is definitely wrong,” said Shalini Thackeray, general secretary, MNS.

She said the MNS would ensure its smooth release across Maharashtra. “It is shameful that Gujarat, which is the Prime Minister’s state, should ban the release of the film. We will not allow this to happen in Maharashtra,” she added.
Nitin Datar, president of Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association of India, told TOI that exhibitors in Mumbai have been instructed to safeguard patrons from any riot or injury and seek help of local police to protect property. “We have also written to the chief minister and the home minister requesting protection to theatres screening the film. We got a call from the CID department yesterday and gave a list of theatres that will screen the film. We hope that adequate security will be deployed for protection because when there’s damage caused to property or patrons, neither police nor distributors will compensate and the exhibitors have to bear the entire brunt,” said Datar. Major multiplex chains and Deepak Asher, president of the Multiplex Association of India, refused to make any comment.

Trying to cover some lost ground after it was banned by four states, including Rajasthan, the film’s makers have arranged for a paid preview on Wednesday evening, a common trend for big budget films in which one can pay extra to watch a film before its release date. Instead of traditional publicity material, Padmaavat has restricted itself to backlit LED posters inside theatre premises and online communication.
Based on 16th century Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi’s epic poem Padmavat, the film that stars Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh faced resistance right from its early stage. The film’s makers have maintained that Padmaavat showcases “the valour of Rani Padmavati, Maharawal Ratan Singh and the famed Rajput ethos of honour, bravery and sacrifice.” (With inputs by S Ahmed Ali, Clara Lewis & Bhavika Jain)