Padmaavat Row: Petrol Bombs Hurled at Several Cinema Halls Screening The Movie
The theatre in Kalyan where the bomb was hurled is located near a gas station and situation could have been worse if the bomb had exploded
Mumbai, January 29: Even after Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat finally hit the theatres on January 25, its screenings continue to face the wrath of protesters, especially of Rajput Karni Sena. Incidents have been reported from Mumbai, Bangalore and Muzaffarnagar where angry protesters hurled petrol bombs at various cinema halls screening Padmaavat.
In a recent incident, a petrol bomb was allegedly hurled at a cinema hall in Kalyan city of Thane district on Saturday, which failed to explode. Reports state that the bomb was hurled at about 9 pm, minutes before the screening of the film ended. The theatre in Kalyan where the bomb was hurled is located near a gas station and situation could have been worse if the bomb had exploded. The Police has launched a manhunt to arrest the accused person(s).“It was a pretty big bomb and its impact could have been severe had it exploded,” said a witness outside the cinema hall.
Another similar incident was reported from Muzaffarnagar where two unidentified people hurled a petrol bomb with an attempt to set the theatre on fire for screening the controversial film. The incident took place on Saturday at the Chandra Talkies. Soon after, security was tightened at the three cinema halls –Chandra, Maya and Karniwal that are screening the film.
A similar incident was reported from Bengaluru where a petrol bomb was hurled outside the Prakash Theatre in Karnataka’s Belagavi. The incident was caught on the CCTV camera and an investigation has been initiative. As per reports, two men on a motor bike threw a bottle outside the theatre which erupted into a huge ball of fire before exploding.
Many states in the northern, western and central regions of the country have been witnessing protest against the movie, which allegedly has misportrayed Rajput queen Padmavati. The movie has been marred by controversies since the time it went into production. Fringe Rajput groups, including the Karni Sena, have protested against the movie alleging that it distorts history and shows Queen Padmini in “poor light”.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 28, 2018 03:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).