Deepika Padukone on Wednesday urged Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani to take action against the attackers who ruined artist Karan K’s rangoli depicting a poster of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavati in Surat.
“Absolutely heartbreaking to see the recent attack on artist Karan and his artwork! Disgusting and appalling to say the least,” she tweeted, along with photographs showcasing the before and after images of the “attack”.
“Who are these people? Who is responsible for their actions? For how long are we going to let this go on? Allow them to take law into their own hands and attack our freedom and right to individual expression time and again,” wrote the actress, who plays the title role in the historical drama.
Padukone then tagged Irani and wrote: “This has to stop now and action must be taken! Smriti Irani.”
On October 15, Karan tagged Padukone on the site and wrote: “A crowd of 100 people cried Jai Shri Ram and rubbed out my 48 hours’ intense work!”
The artist also shared two photographs on social media. In one image, he can be seen making a rangoli inspired by the poster of the film, while the other shows the artwork completely vandalised by attackers.
Padmavati also features Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh.
In the film, Padukone plays Rajput queen Padmavati, while Kapoor plays Maharawal Ratan Singh and Singh the role of Alauddin Khilji.
During its production, the film witnessed many ups and downs.
Earlier this year, activists of Shri Rajput Karni Sena assaulted Bhansali and vandalised the movie’s Jaipur set over alleged distortions in the film’s script.
They were forced to move to Maharashtra to continue shooting. Then, an outdoor set of the historic period drama in Kolhapur was burnt down after two dozen unidentified people torched it.
The Shri Rajput Karni Sena has maintained it will oppose screening of the film if the facts are “distorted”.
Padmavati, presented by Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Bhansali Productions, is set for a December 1 release.
