Padmavati won't be released till shown to Rajput leaders: Rajasthan minister

Jaipur: A Rajasthan minister today said Sanjay Leela Bhansali's upcoming film Padmavati will not get a release in the state till it is shown to the Rajput community leaders who have objected to the movie.

Addressing a protest organised by Savarna Adhikar Aarakshan Manch near the assembly building here, Energy Minister Pushpendra Singh assured a section of the Rajput community that the film will not be released in the state.

"We will not allow the release of the film in Rajasthan till it is screened to our community members," the minister told the gathering.

A complete ban on the upcoming film in Rajasthan, quota for economically backward upper castes, including Rajputs, Brahman and others, formation of a board for upper castes, a CBI probe into the murder of a Rajput community member -- Chatur Singh Sodha in Jaisalmer -- were the demands of the protesters who were led by national president of Shree Rastriya Rajput Karni Sena Sukhdev Singh.

Shree Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena is an offshoot of Karni Sena which had hit headlines sometime back for staging protest against Bhansali's film alleging distortion of historical facts by the filmmaker.