Sanjay Leela Bhansali & Deepika Padukone’s Padmavati Releases Today

The magnum opus of the year has finally hit the theatres. The trailer of Padmavati had created a great amount of buzz with over 100 Million Views on YouTube.

It was being touted as one of the top and biggest movies of 2017 because it stars the powerhouse of energy Ranveer Singh and the beautiful Deepika Padukone as Rani Padmavati. It’s a very crucial film for Shahid Kapoor because he badly needed a stupendous movie after the debacle of Rangoon . He looks powerful as Maharaja Rawal Ratan Singh and the movie is a potential game-changer for him.

The Censor Board of Film Certification has passed the movie with a U/A certificate without any cuts. The early reviews of the movie are very promising. Ranveer Singh is all set to take away all trophies at award ceremonies this year for his class act as Alauddin Khilji. Deepika’s tremendous hard work translates into magnificent energy onscreen and the movie proves she is, in fact, the reigning queen of Bollywood right now. Shahid Kapoor surprises as the rather subtle Raja in the movie and much like Priyanka in Bajirao, his role balances an intense fictional screenplay. Sanjay Leela Bhansali has once again proved that he is the master of filmmaking after he’s helmed the entire movie on his shoulders. Every frame of Padmavati is to die for.

The movie is a bit too long for general masala audience but the average rating is above 3 stars. Trade analysts are predicting a minimum of 30 Crore collection on day 1 at the box office. There were no signs of protests or terror whatsoever around the theatres. The film is enjoying a smooth release across 3500 screens in the country. Contrary to rumours, there are no scenes between Ranveer and Deepika in the movie, which proves that there has been no distortion of history. In fact, the movie is based on a poem about a fictional character called Padmini who never existed in the first place. This movie is a tribute to the valour of Rani Padmavati through the eyes of SLB.

Alas! You'd be living in a dream world if you thought all of the above was true!  Padmavati did not release today.  Instead, we’re living in 2017 where Deepika and SLB have been threatened to be decapitated and are moving around the country with heavy security. The movie was declared to be banned in several states of the country. Later, Supreme Court ordered that no one can impose a ban on the movie because the CBFC is yet to certify Padmavati. After intense and violent protests by the Rajput Karni Sena against SLB and the stars, the future of the movie is quite blurred right now. It has postponed for another month and we do not know the new release date. Director SLB had to publicly apologize in an online video and clarify that his intention is not to distort history or hurt anyone’s sentiments.

If all of this had not happened, and we lived in a peaceful and democratic country, we all would have watched Padmavati today and decided for ourselves if we like it or not. 

Read more: All you need to know about the Padmavati Controversy