Rohan Dua (THE TIMES OF INDIA; November 30, 2018)

Udaipur: Former Lok Sabha MP and the scion of the erstwhile Mewar royal family, Maharana Mahendra Singh, has disclosed that “someone” approached him and his son with a hefty sum of money to secure the royal family’s go ahead for the release of controversial Padmaavat earlier this year.

Padmaavat, a film on life of queen Padmavati, wife of 13th century Rajput ruler Rawal Ratan Singh, was opposed by members of the community in several states. While the film was allowed to be released in some states after some modification and emphasis by its director Sanjay Leela Bhansali that it was a work of fiction, Padmaavat continues to be banned in Rajasthan. Singh (77) is the senior most living descendant of Ratan Singh.

The erstwhile Mewar royal family, along with other members of the Rajput community, had also opposed the film’s release earlier this year. Singh told TOI, “There was an unforgivable scene when someone came to me with the offer that if I stopped objecting to the film they would give me a lot of money. I could have nearly slapped the man and thrown him out. I am sorry about this, I am not a violent person.”

However, Singh, former MP from Chittorgarh, did not reveal the identity of the person or the amount offered by the latter. He also said that the makers of the film and the censor board approached him to seek his sanction for the film but the move was belated.

“The filmmakers themselves approached us asking for our approval. That was before the release of the movie. Censor board people came to us. I said it’s too late. Finally, I told them, ‘If we are going to make a suggestion, how much of it you are going to accept?’ They bungled up. We were going into unspoken impasse. There was a breakdown,” he said.

He said the objection to the film was not just by Rajputs but all sections of society in Mewar and neighbourhood regions. “I have not seen the film. I am not going to see it either. From the reports I got, there are still scenes objectionable in the film. All sorts of society members thought there was nonsense in the film that is not going to be liked,” Singh said. 

Meanwhile, in Mumbai, the makers of Padmaavat have approached the police for Special Task Force protection in city theatres, multiplexes
Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; January 23, 2018)

Even as the makers of Padmaavat have requested police protection in Mumbai and other places, Rani Mahendra Kanwar of Bassi, Chittorgarh, has said that Bhansali is fooling people and would have consulted the Maharana of Mewar if his intentions were honest.

With less than 48 hours to go before the paid previews of Padmaavat on January 24, the protests against Sanjay Leela Bhansali's drama only seem to be getting more intense. A day after 200 Rajput women held a protest march in Rajasthan, Rani Mahendra Kanwar of Bassi, Chittorgarh (vice-president, Jauhar Smriti Sansthan) told mid-day that distributors have assured her that the film won't be screened in the state.

"The distributors have promised us they won't showcase the film. They, too, do not support Padmaavat in any way," said Kanwar, pointing out how Rajput women have ratcheted up the pressure with memorandums to government officials to give them permission to end their lives, in the event of the film's release. "We are holding peace protest march every day. But our women have threatened to commit suicide if the movie hits screens."

The Supreme Court is slated to hear the pleas of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh today, seeking recall of its January 18 orders allowing the film to be screened across the nation. However, Kanwar said that the Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor-starrer won't find a place in Rajasthan. "We respect the law, but can't have anyone dishonouring our community." When pointed out that the makers had made the necessary modifications recommended by the Censor Board, she said, "Bhansali is saying that it's a work of fiction. Then why has he named his characters Alauddin Khilji and Rawal Ratan Singh? Bhansali is fooling people. If he had honest intentions, he would've sought permission from the Maharana of Mewar, Arvind Singh ji."

A distributor based out of Rajasthan, on the condition of anonymity, revealed that his peers have indeed decided to wash their hands off the film. "Many fringe groups are protesting against it; we don't want to burn our fingers by going against them. It's better to earn less than to incur damages," he said. While protests continued in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh yesterday, Karni Sena founder Lokendra Singh Kalvi agreed to watch the magnum opus on Bhansali's invitation before its release.

MID-DAY (December 31, 2017)

A Mewar royal on Saturday penned a letter to Prasoon Joshi, Chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), slamming him for certifying Sanjay Leela Bhansalis controversial film "Padmavati" without his consent. Maharajkumar Vishvaraj Singh, son of Mahendra Singh Mewar -- the 76th Maharana of the Mewar dynasty and a former Lok Sabha member -- has written the letter, a copy of which is with IANS.

Vishvaraj Singh said he was invited by Joshi to be part of an examining committee meeting to assist the CBFC in the process of certification on December 28 to which he requested some clarifications. The decision was taken in the meeting in the presence of Joshi. The special panel consisted of Arvind Singh from Udaipur, Dr Chandramani Singh and Professor K.K. Singh of Jaipur University.

However, due to communication problems, Vishvaraj Singh was not able to attend the meeting and got to know on Saturday that CBFC has suggested to give a U/A certificate "along with some modifications" to "Padmavati" and has asked the makers to "likely" change the movie's title to "Padmavat".

"It is very clear that the movie is about my family. Cosmetic changes like the proposed change in name will not change the fact that the movie refers to real places, my ancestors and other persons in history with their names continuing to remain the same," Vishvaraj Singh said.

Through such changes, CBFC has "reduced itself to endorsing the propagation of fiction about heroic personalities and living families", he said. "Your stating one thing and doing another renders the CBFC to be just as ignoble as those distorting and seeking to profit from the history of this country and my family," he added.

Vishvaraj Singh also mentioned that he earlier wrote a letter on December 22 stating that "....the fact remains that my questions are relevant for every member of the proposed committee and without resolving the same, the committee's findings shall remain a mirage".

Anindo Dey & Shoeb Khan (THE TIMES OF INDIA; November 19, 2017)

Udaipur: Arvind Singh Mewar, one of the direct descendants of the14th century Chittor ruler Rawal Ratan Singh, told TOI on Saturday that it is time to sit across the table and resolve the Padmavati issue and that he was ready to mediate if filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali so desired.

“It is time somebody thinks out of the box and get like-minded adults to resolve the issue. If offered, I will try my best to very honestly and diligently resolve the matter. But the offer must come from Bhansali if he is prepared and if he trusts me. I can suggest the names of two-three persons, whom if Bhansali accepts, can work with a very liberal and open mind allowing scope for artistic license, but not unlimited license. For, films today are a very strong medium and youth learn from it,” said the custodian of the Mewar dynasty.

Emphasizing that Rani Padmini was a historical figure, he said: “We are ourselves the descendants of Ratan Singh ji. Maharani Padmini was married into our family and if she now becomes fiction - a non-existent person  - you can imagine how hurtful it is. We greatly venerate Maharani Padmini.”

Countering those who put a question mark on whether Padmini existed in history, Mewar said: “There can’t be any history of that period. All history of that time was passed on orally by bards which is far more accurate than written history. Women then never came out of the‘purdah’. So to write or not to write about someone like that makes no sense. Tomorrow, someone would say (Maharana) Pratap didn’t exist or there is no Ramlala in Ayodhya!”

The 76th custodian of the Mewar dynasty said he is now looking for hardcore evidence to prove that Padmini existed.