Shri Rajput Karni Sena who recently issued a letter to the makers of Kangana Ranaut-starrer Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi.
The fringe group has a problem witn Rani Laxmibai’s relationship with a British Officer in the film. Not just that, they also claimed that there is a scene in the film where the Queen dances to a special number and that is against their tradition.
Karni Sena denies protesting
Well now, the outfit has claimed they are not involved in the protests against the film. Denying reports about the outfit opposing the period drama, its national spokesperson and ex-major Dr Himanshu said Shri Rajput Karni Sena’s name is being used for vested interests.
“We are not opposing ‘Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi till we don’t have anything substantial from the family, region or the community,” Himanshu told IANS over the phone. These people, I believe, are using the name of Karni Sena for their own vested interests and they are bringing disrepute to Karni Sena and to the historical characters,” he added.
Himanshu says “we disown and completely dissociate ourselves” from all such claims. “Supposedly, the family has a problem. They can come to us and if they seek support from us and have a valid reason (we will take it into consideration)… I was in Jhansi recently and nobody said anything of this nature,” Himanshu said.
He continued: “Our approach is very clear-if the family, community or the region approaches us or the historians have some reservations… Supposedly, they approach us and we are convinced with the logic of that, we will take a stand. But we will cross the bridge when the river comes.”
Himanshu called this an “official stand of Karni Sena”. He added, “First and foremost, we should be clear which Karni Sena (has protested). Anybody who pops up and says ‘I am Karni Sena’, cannot be Karni Sena.”
Asked if he thinks the outfit’s name is being used for vested interests, Himanshu said: “Yes. In the case of Padmaavat, some people became Karni Sena members. They were prominent faces on TV claiming to be from Karni Sena. But in the last 12 years, we didn’t even see them once. They bring a bad name to us.”
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He said the objection should either come from “the family or the historians as in the case of Padmaavat“. Recalling the whole stir around Padmaavat, based on 16th century poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi’s poem ‘Padmavat’, Himanshu said: “The family had reservations and they were not consulted… We had reached out to the government, the states and the censor board as well. We went to almost every Chief Minister and 11 CMs gave it to us in writing that they had reservations about the movie.”
He added, “Either the protests should be proper, or it should have some substance. Protests just for the sake and somebody running the shop in the name of the Karni Sena is objectionable from our side and it should be discouraged from the media side also.”
Directed by Krish Jagarlamudi and Kangana Ranaut, the film is slated to release on January 25, 2019.