Mumbai: Bollywood film maker Sanjay Leela
Bhansali today said that his much-awaited directorial venture
"Padmaavat" is his tribute to the glorious stories of Rajput
"honour, valour and vigour".
The director said, the lavishly mounted period drama,
which will hit the screens on January 25, is a dream come true
for him.
"'Padmaavat' is a dream come true for me. I have always
been fascinated by the stories of honour, valour and vigour of
our great Rajput warriors that have been captured so
beautifully in our literature and this movie is my homage to
those glorious stories," Bhansali said in a statement.
Featuring Deepika Padukone as Rani Padmavati, Shahid
Kapoor as Maharawal Ratan Singh and Ranveer Singh as Alauddin
Khilji, the film got stuck in controversy after various Rajput
groups, including Rajput Karni Sena, raised their objections
towards the content of the movie.
The film which was sent back to the makers, citing
"technical issues" by the Central Board of Film Certification
when it was submitted in November, received a U/A certificate
last month along with five modifications.
During the country-wide protests against the film, many
members from the industry came forward to support the
filmmaker and the cast.
In his statement, Bhansali also thanked the fraternity
for their unwavering support.
"I would also like to thank the entire film fraternity
for supporting Viacom18 and Bhansali Productions through the
entire production and pre-release phase and hope they like the
film they so supported," he said.
"Padmaavat" is based on 16th century Sufi poet Malik
Muhammad Jayasi's epic poem "Padmavat".
PTI
