Padmaavat row: Amid protests, the Sanjay Leela Bhansali film did not release in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s period movie Padmaavat was not released in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh today, while in Maharashtra the first show of the film went off without any major incident. Police in Mumbai maintained tight security outside theatres showing the Deepika Padukone-starrer.There was no incident of violent protest against the film in the city or elsewhere in Maharashtra, said a senior police official.

The Multiplex Association of India, which represents around 75 per cent of multiplex owners in the country, had said yesterday that its members would not screen the film in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Goa.
However, in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, not even the single-screen theatres dared to screen the film on the opening day. In Goa, only a couple of single-screen theatres screened it amid police security.

In Gujarat, while the film was not screened anywhere, the nationwide bandh (general strike) call given by the Karni Sena failed to make major impact, as educational institutes, offices and markets remained open.
As a precautionary measure, the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) suspended its bus services from Ahmedabad to Mehsana and Banaskantha.
Protesters tried to block roads in some parts of Amreli, Surendranagar, Patan, Vadodara, Mehsana, Rajkot and Banaskantha districts by …read more