‘Bajirao Mastani’ shows cancelled in Mumbai theatre

Bharatiya Janata Party activists staged protest against the film Bajirao Mastani which releases today in India, forcing a multiplex cinema house in western Indian state of Maharashtra to cancel all shows of the Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus.

Alleging that the movie has “distorted” historical facts of the era of Peshwa rulers who reigned in the modern day state of Maharashtra, the protesters gathered in front of the Citypride cinema in the morning raising slogans, leading to cancellation of the film’s screening by the theatre management.

The depiction of the character of Kashibai, wife of Bajirao Peshwa, played by actress Priyanka Chopra in the film, has drawn flak from many quarters with allegations that it lowered the dignity of the historical figure with a “distorted” projection.

Bajirao Mastani, which released in the UAE on Thursday, is a historical romance film produced and directed by Bhansali, and narrates the story of the Maratha warrior Peshwa Bajirao I and his second wife Mastani. Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone play the eponymous roles.

The film has landed in controversy before its release in India with a descendant of the Peshwa alleging that historical facts have been “altered” while portraying the late king and his wives Kashibai and Mastani in the film.