At the Parliamentary discussion on Padmavati, the 30-member panel concluded that a decision regarding the film’s release lies with the CBFC and its chief Prasoon Joshi
Lasyapriya Sundaram (BOMBAY TIMES; December 2, 2017)

Had everything been smooth running, Sanjay Leela Bhansali would have released his period drama, Padmavati on December 1 all over the world. For the last few weeks, various political outfits, fringe bodies and state CMs have been lashing out against the content of the film as perceived by them, which forced the makers to shift their release date expecting high tension around the release.

Bhansali and Prasoon Joshi, the chief of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), were in Delhi on Thursday to meet a Parliamentary panel to discuss the controversy surrounding the film. It was a 30-member panel, spearheaded by Anurag Thakur (former chief of BCCI), which included actor MPs like Paresh Rawal and Raj Babbar, as well as officials from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The meeting is said to have lasted over two hours. When BT reached out to Anurag Thakur, he said, “I am not at liberty to discuss what happened inside the Parliament.” When we asked him if there was an outcome in the offing, he said, “The outcome will be decided by Prasoon Joshi and his committee at the CBFC. Over the next few days, they will decide. You will have to wait for that.”

Apparently, a few members of the panel want the Censor Board to make the final decision on the issue. While some wanted to ban the trailer, others questioned the film’s certification in the United Kingdom. Prasoon has maintained that he hasn’t seen the film yet, while Bhansali insisted that the movie is not based on history but on a poem written by Malik Muhammad Jayasi.

A new release date for the film is yet to be decided. There is talk that the makers may opt for January 12, January 26 or February 14, 2018. We reached out to Paresh Rawal for a comment but were told that he is out of the country. Prasoon Joshi was unavailable at the time of going to press.