Petition seeks ban on Bajirao Mastani
Pune-resident Firoze Shaikh had filed a case against Sanjay Bhansali and the cast and crew of the upcoming film Bajirao Mastani. The petition took special objection to the recently released song Pinga. It alleged that the song was offensive to Marathi-culture and degrading to a Marathi lady. The petition claimed that the film was an insult to the glorious history of Bajirao Peshwa.
Bajirao Mastani is an Indian historical romance film produced and directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and stars Ranveer Singh as Bajirao Peshwa, Priyanka Chopra as the Peshwa's first wife Kashibai and Deepika Padukone as Mastani. It is set to release on 18 December 2015.
According to a descendant of Queen Kashibai- the first wife of Bajirao Peshwa, the Queen suffered from an arthritis like disease at a very young age. She said that Kashibai was bed-ridden most of her life and could never have been expected to dance. She also said that royal ladies never danced in public as it was portrayed in the song Pinga.
Priyanka Chopra, who plays Kashibai in the upcoming film Bajirao Mastani said that the film was a part of history. She said that it was based on the book Rau and the Bajirao and Mastani love story. She appealed to everyone and especially to the Peshwa's descendants that the film should be looked as a beautiful rendition of an epic saga.
In a letter written to Maharashtra CM Fadnavis, Bajirao's descendant Prasadrao Peshwa alleged that historical facts were altered in the upcoming film. He said that the song Pinga was an integral part of Marathi culture and it was wrongly potrayed as an item song. He urged the government to review the entire film and arrive with a appropriate decision after a proper inquiry.
Prominent Lavani dancer Megha Ghadge said that the song Pinga was a poor presentation and ignorant towards Maharashtra's culture. She said that there was no study done by the choreographer and it sent a wrong message to the future generation. However, another Lavani-dancer Amruta Khanvilkar claimed that the makers had done a good job and it was a well made presentation of the traditional-dance.
