It is no more than a risk to make Bollywood films based on historical characters. Just as the protests against Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film Padmaavat are dying down, another historical film Manikarnika has come under the scanner. The film stars Kangana Ranaut and is based on Rani Laxmibai, the Queen of Jhansi. The film is now facing opposition from the Sarva Brahman Mahasabha (SBM) - a Brahman group from Rajasthan. The group says that the film shows the Queen’s character in romantic involvement with a British officer and have thus opposed it. The group has promised to disrupt the shooting schedules if the concerned portions are not removed. And the Rajput Karni Sena has announced their support to the SBM, which again indicates that these protests would only be in larger effect.

SBM's founder president Suresh Misra addressed a press conference on February 5. He said, “The film Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi distorts history regarding Laxmi Bai and depicts a love affair between her and a British man. We learned about it from our friends and acquaintances in various parts of Rajasthan where some scenes of the film are being shot. The film is based on a foreigner’s book and tries to dampen the queen’s reputation.” He also mentioned of having sent letters to the producers of the film, regarding the writers, the historians consulted along with the song details of the film. The producer, however, did not reply to these queries which have only angered the group.

They have also asked the state government to obtain an affidavit from the producer of the film that there will no distortion of history in this film. The Padmaavat protests have shown how these things can offend communities and cause huge losses to not just the film but also the overall property. We hope the producers do attend to these queries to ensure the smooth release of this film by the end of this year.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 06, 2018 12:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).