The trouble began earlier this year when members of the fringe, quasi-religious Hindu cult Rajput Karni Sena waged a campaign of verbal threats and vandalism to disrupt shooting of the historical epic film Padmavati. They claimed, without any basis in fact, that director Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Bajirao Mastani) and actors Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh were committing sacrilege by inaccurately depicting events from the life of the legendary 14th century queen Padmini. Political leaders in Maharashtra, India’s wealthiest and second most populous state, have publicly suggested that they may ban Padmavati. Senior government officials in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, where superstar actress Deepika Padukone is based, have vowed to take “stringent action” against those threatening to harm Deepika. Karnataka stands by Deepika who is a renowned artist from our state.”

Source: Forbes November 21, 2017 15:11 UTC