Padmavati funded from Dubai? BJP leader writes to Modi, demands probe

A BJP leader wrote a letter to PM Narendra Modi on Monday requesting an investigation by the ED on the film Padmavati.

New Delhi, Nov 28: Earlier this month, veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy alleged that the controversial Bollywood film, Padmavati, waiting for its release in the country, has been funded from Dubai.

Swamy is yet to furnish any proof in regard to the allegation levelled against the Sanjay Leela Bhansali's magnum opus on Rajput queen Padmavati by him.

However, now, another BJP leader and Censor Board member Arjun Gupta wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday requesting an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into allegation levelled by Swamy that Padmavati was financed from Dubai.

Gupta, in his letter, also questioned how the film was shown to the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) in the United Kingdom (UK) without getting a certificate from India's Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), also known as the Censor Board, reported ANI.

Although the CBFC is yet to certify Padmavati, which is hogging the limelight as protests and threats continue against the film by several Rajput and Hindu groups for allegedly "distorting history", the BBFC has cleared the film for its screening in the UK a few days ago.

"Dubai residents want Muslim kings to be presented as heroes in our movies and Hindu women eager to enter into relationships with them," said Swamy, further adding, "We should keep tabs on fact if there's a larger international conspiracy behind it."

Expressing suspicion on the funding of the movie, Swamy asked the ED to investigate the financing behind the Bhansali movie.

"Many such films are being made nowadays. Huge money spent on production... Many such movies started being produced, especially during United Progressive Alliance's (UPA) rule in the last 10 years. This needs to be stopped," added the BJP leader.

The film by Bhansali, starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, and Shahid Kapoor, is based on a 1540 poem by the Sufi writer Malik Muhammad Jaysi. Historians, however, are yet to confirm the existence of queen Padmavati from Chittor, Rajasthan, who self-immolated herself after Sultan of Delhi Alauddin Khilji tried to kidnap her.

The film is facing the ire of right-wing groups over alleged love scenes between queen Padmavati and Khilji as a part of a dream sequence, which Bhansali has repeatedly denied.

The movie, in spite of not being certified by the CBFC, has been banned in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat, all three BJP-ruled states.

OneIndia News