Last-ditch effort to end tussle fails, Karni Sena refuses to budge

The makers of Padmaavat on Tuesday made a last-ditch effort to end the ongoing tussle with Karni Sena over the film's release on January 25.

They held a special screening for a group they described as Shree Rajput Karni Sena "representatives", in Noida to arrive at an amicable solution.

However, the filmmakers' efforts appeared to have gone in vain as outfit founder Lokendra Singh Kalvi reiterated objections to the movie and said there will be "a public curfew" in cinema halls in various parts of the country, including Rajasthan, on January 25.

"We watched the film. And my first reaction is that the Rajputs won and Sanjay Leela Bhansali had to bend (before Karni Sena's demand). There is no dream sequence or intimate scene between Padmavati and Allauddin Khilji," Suresh Chavhanke, who played the role of a mediator between the filmmakers and Karni Sena supporters, told reporters after watching the film.

Chavhanke, who is the editor-in-chief of Hindi news channel Sudarshan TV, said a total of 40 people representing Shree Rajput Karni Sena watched the movie along with him and left satisfied that there was no such content in the movie that would hurt the sentiments of Rajputs.

Nonsense, says Kalvi

"It's all nonsense. Nobody from Shree Rajput Karni Sena has gone to watch the movie. I am also in Porbandar at the moment," Kalvi told DH over phone.

Karni Sena member Mahipal Singh Makrana said his outfit will continue with its protests against the release of the movie.