Sanjay Bhansali cancels 'Padmavati' shooting in Jaipur

A day after Sanjay Leela Bhansali and his crew were assaulted on the sets of his forthcoming directorial "Padmavati", the filmmaker decided to cancel shooting in Jaipur, sources close to him said on Saturday.

"He has packed up and has said he will never shoot again in Jaipur," the sources added.

Sources said that Bhansali has decided to have sets in Mumbai and carry on shooting there.

According to reports, the team will be leaving for Mumbai from here later in the evening.

On Friday activists of a Rajput organisation, Shree Rajput Karni Sena, protested, misbehaved and manhandled the crew of Bhansali's upcoming film "Padmavati", police and eyewitnesses said.

They also damaged some cameras and other equipment, forcing Bhansali to stop shooting.

"We had earlier requested him (Bhansali) to show us the script which he did not do. We are against distorting of historical facts and we know that he has distorted historical facts," Vivek Singh of Karni Sena told IANS.

"Padmavati" tells the story of Alauddin Khilji, the medieval-era Delhi ruler, who fell in love with Rajput queen Padmavati. Actors Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Shahid Kapoor star in the film.

Bhansali was shooting some portions of "Padmavati" in Jaigarh Fort on Friday when at around 12 p.m. some activists of Karni Sena gathered there and started to protest.

They even manhandled and misbehaved with Bhansali and his crew members. There was a complete chaos for some time and Bhansali had to stop shooting.

Police had a tough time in controlling the situation.

"He (Bhansali) is distorting history and we will not allow them to do so," Lokendra Singh Kalvi, a senior leader of Karni Sena told a press conference here on Saturday.

"This film should not be made. We wrote a number of times to Bhansali asking him to present history in the right manner. But he did not listen to us," Kalvi said.

Karni Sena claimed they have got a big library. "In no book is it written that Alauddin Khilji fell in love with Padmavati or he was her lover," he said.

"They are trying to defame Padmavati by distorting historical facts. It is not acceptable," an activist of Karni Sena said.