'Padmaavat' stir: Film release deferred' in Madhya Pradesh as stir turns violent

Bhopal: Cinema hall owners’ association in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday decided to ‘defer’ release of Sanjay Leela Bansali’s period drama Padmaavat, slated for Thursday, in the wake of protests against the movie by members of Rajput community.

“We have decided to defer release of the movie in the state as the distributor of the film is yet to contact us. There is one distributor (for the film) for MP and Rajasthan. The movie may be released in MP next week,” spokesman of MP cinema hall owners’ association Mohmmad Azizuddin told reporters here.

Meanwhile, protests by activists of Rajput Karni Sena against release of the film turned violent at several place in the state on Wednesday.

Protesters torched a car at busy MP Nagar here. They also damaged several vehicles in the area. They pulled down the billboards carrying posters of the movie.

Police later resorted to mild baton charge to disperse them. Four people were arrested in connection with the incident, police said.