Anti-Padmavati photo frame gains popularity on FB

NAINITAL: An anti-Padmavati photo frame has gained popularity on Facebook with hundreds of users putting their profile pictures on the frame, which seeks a ban on Sanjay Leela Bhansali's period drama. It reads: "Main Padmavati film ka virodh karta hoon (I protest against film Padmavati)." This comes even as wide-spread protests against the movie rages on, prompting the producers to defer the film's December 1 release.
Dash Rath Goyal Bhavrani, a resident of Jalore district in Rajasthan, on whose Facebook page the frame is available, told TOI, “I am from a Rajput family and we worship queen Padmavati like a goddess. We will not tolerate any tampering of history. The frame was made to register protests against the film.”
Many Facebook users have put their profile pictures on the frame to register their protest against the film, starring Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh.
Bhavrani, a businessman who at present stays in Chennai, said that the idea came from one his friend after which they together designed the frame and put it on Bhavrani’s Facebook page. “We are registering our protest in every way possible. Filmmakers and the censor board should take note of this and make necessary changes,” addd Bhavrani.
Ajay pratap Singh, a teacher from Lucknow, said, “The protests against the film is on valid points. Distortion of history is wrong and so is violence. I register my protest in a peaceful way by putting my Facebook profile picture on this frame.”
Another user from Haldwani, Ram Singh (name changed), said, "I am against this film because it is a glorification of a megalomaniac ruler. I used the frame and will encourage others to do so. Social media is a strong tool and can bring changes in society, if used constructively."
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court had dismissed a plea to ban public screening of the film. The controversy over the movie started when Rajput Karni Sena earlier this year assaulted filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and later vandalised the sets of Padmavati alleging that the movie “distorted facts". The Karni Sena were later joined by many groups and erstwhile royal families who also claimed that the movie compromises on the honour of a Rajput princess.