Padmaavat controversy: How actor Renuka Shahane's FB post counters violence with silence
The post which calls for a ban on rape, female foeticide, instead of one on a film, went viral.
While the controversy over Sanjay Leela Bhanshali’s Padmavati-turned-Padmaavat has seen us moving back to the middle ages, the Facebook post of actor Renuka Shahane represents the voice of sanity, which has lost its way in the year-long, consolidated effort to ban the movie.
Shahane took to Facebook on Monday, January 22, to share a photo of the protesters holding a banner with “Ban Padmavat” written on it. She put a red cross on that photo and shared three photos of her holding banners of “ban rape”, “ban female foeticite”, and “ban sexual molestation” written on it. The post went viral with over 6,000 shares till evening.
The actor has always been vocal, her previous viral post being on the gruesome incidents taking place in Delhi and Gurugram schools.
What makes the post stand out among the crowd of protests is its minimalism. Without spending any words, she countered the volley of angry speeches, virulent actions and explained why it’s time we raised our voice to "ban" real issues like rape, female foeticide and molestation, instead of concentrating on a film.
Several attempts were made to derail the film till the very last moment on allegations that it would hurt Rajput pride and distort history in the name of “artistic freedom”. The sets of the films were vandalised in Jaipur and Kolhapur early last year. Director Sanjay Leela Bhanshali was attacked and a bounty of Rs 5 crore was offered to chop off the nose of Deepika Padukone, who is essaying the role of Rani Padmini in the film.
According to the protesters, none of whom has seen the movie, there is a romantic dream sequence between Rani Padmini and Alauddin Khilji, the invader, essayed by Ranveer Singh. After the director dismissed the rumour of a dream sequence, the Karni Sena claimed that even Khilji seeing Rani Padmini through a mirror was not true. Karni Sena vandalised the Padmini Mahal, where Padmini is believed to have been staying when Khilji saw her glimpse, and destroyed the mirrors claiming that the they were brought long after.
The controversies didn't die down even after the director clarified that there would be no "interaction" between Rani Padmini and Alauddin Khilji in the film. The release date of the movie was postponed from December 1, 2017, as the director's decision to screen the movie for some selective media persons did not go down well with the Censor Board. Meanwhile, the Gujarat election was saved from the possible trouble a timely release of the movie could have caused. Protests spread like wildfire in other states and chief ministers, including UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, expressed apprehensions over the release of the movie.
Finally, while the movie is slated to release on January 25 as Padmaavat, a fresh spell of troubles has clouded its fate. While the Karni Sena is threatening extensive protests in the northern regions of the country, about 16,000 women have sought permission from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to commit "jauhar" (self-immolation) in Rajasthan.
A huge amount of money, time, words and actions has been spent on Rani Padmini, a character believed to be mythical. The first mention of Padmini took place in medieval poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi’s poem “Padmavat” in 1540. While many consider her as a figment of imagination, an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) board at the entrance to "Padmini Palace" in Chittorgarh carries this legend, “Mahrawal Ratan Singh showed a glimpse of the legendary beauty of his wife Rani Padmini to Alauddin Khilji through a mirror here. Following this, Alauddin Khilji went to the extent of ravaging Chittor in order to possess her.”