“Ye baat Hindu Musalman ka sawal hai, ya do raajao ka sawal hai?”
The central theme of the controversy surrounding director Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s upcoming Padmavati appears to be a communal one. Religious right-wing organisations like the Karni Sena have broken down film sets, attacked the director and placed a bounty on the heads of leading actors – seemingly due to their objection to Bhansali’s attempt to "distort" Rajput history.
But as former engineer and human rights activist, Professor Ram Puniyani puts it: “What is this history? Did it tell us the stories about the battle between two kings or two communities?”