Panipat row: Protesters vandalise cinema halls in Raj

The Jat community in Rajasthan continued to protest against the release Bollywood film 'Panipat' based on the story of the Third Battle of Panipat fought in 1761 between the Marathas and Afghan King Ahmad Shah Abdali.

The leaders of the Jat community ransacked two multiplexes in Jaipur and burnt the effigies of the film director Ashutosh Gowarikar for the alleged wrong portrayal of Bharatpur king Maharaja Suraj Mal in an unseemly manner. To maintain the law and order, the additional security personnel were deployed outside the major cinema halls of Jaipur on Monday.

The Jat leader Nem Singh, who is at the forefront of the protest, told DH that the movie will not be allowed to run with distorted facts about Maharaja Suraj Mal. Moreover, the Rajput community has also come out in support of the Jat community. Rajput Sabha president, Giriraj Singh Lotwara, told DH, "Besides showing the wrong facts, the film has mixed Rajasthani language with Haryanavi language. The distortion of Rajasthan's history cannot be tolerated".

According to the Jat community, the film has distorted the facts by portraying Bharatpur king Maharaja Suraj Mal as a greedy emperor who wanted to conquer the Red Fort of Agra and denied help to the Maratha army in the Panipat battle.

The film shows Sadashiv Rao Bhau, commander of the Maratha army in the battle, seeking the support of Maratha ally Maharaja Suraj Mal in Rajasthan in their fight against Afghan invader Ahmad Shah Abdali. However, when Sadashiv refused to agree with his conditions, Maharaja Suraj Mal denied support against the Afghans.

Will hold talks with the film distributor: CM

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday urged the Censor Board to take note of the claims that Bollywood film "Panipat" had wrongly portrayed. While talking to the reporters, Gehlot said, "We respect art and culture but no community should be hurt. We will hold talks with the film distributors. Only after the community is convinced, the film can run across Rajasthan". The chief minister who also holds the portfolio of Home Minister ensured that law and order will be maintained across the state.

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Earlier on Sunday, an ex-royal and Rajasthan minister for Tourism Vishvendra Singh, who is also the 14th descendant of Maharaja Suraj Mal, called for a ban on screening of the film Panipat. "In light of the vociferous protest by the Jat community in Haryana, Rajasthan and other regions of North India, I believe that the film should be banned to avoid a law and order situation", Singh said.

Throwing light on the facts, Singh added, "As a direct descendant of Maharaja Suraj Mal, I would like to clarify that it is historical fact that when the Marathas returned from the Battle of Panipat, in defeat and anguish, burdened with their wounded, such was the benevolence of Maharaja Suraj Mal and Maharani Kishori that they sheltered the entire Maratha army and their leaders for six months. Historical proof of this exists in Gagarsoli village in the form of Khande Rao Holkar’s cenotaph."

The Congress minister has also urged that the government should form a committee to ensure that any such films being made in the future, about a historical lineage or a historical figure, must be approved prior to release by the descendants of the same as well as the community.

A day before, former chief minister of Rajasthan Vasundhara Raje also criticized the film. "The incorrect portrayal of the noble, self-respecting, highly revered Maharaja Suraj Mal is condemnable," she tweeted in Hindi.

Supporting the agitation, the Jat leader and MP from Nagaur, Hanuman Beniwal, has requested the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to look into the matter to avoid law and order problems. Beniwal tweeted, "No film or art can misreport history."