With each passing day, everyone worth their salt is trying to take advantage of the Padmavati film controversy to score their own brownie points. On Friday night, actor Shabana Azmi took to Twitter to express her anger at the controversy and show her solidarity with the filmmakers of Padmavati.
She started with saying how action should be taken against the fringe elements who want actor Deepika Padukone, who is playing the role of Padmavati, maimed.
Reprehensible.We demand action against those issuing these threats.CBFC is statutory body mandated to classify the film #Standwith Padmavati pic.twitter.com/wipmMSv16M
— Azmi Shabana (@AzmiShabana) November 17, 2017
But then, soon she went from showing solidarity for creative freedom to targeting the government, especially Smriti Irani, the Information and Broadcasting Minister.
#Padmavatis application to CBFC has been sent back bcoz of incomplete formalities! Really? Or to keep fires stoked for electoral gains?
— Azmi Shabana (@AzmiShabana) November 17, 2017
Sabki dukaan chal rahi hai under the patronage not of the fringe but of the Govt in power. Filmindustry must stand as 1 with #Padmavati
— Azmi Shabana (@AzmiShabana) November 17, 2017
Smriti Irani is preparing IFFI dats possible only bcoz the Indian Film Industry brings such acclaim to it but keeps quiet about Padmavati!
— Azmi Shabana (@AzmiShabana) November 18, 2017
Azmi’s meltdown ended with her demanding that the entire film fraternity should boycott IFFI, International Film Festival of India, which begins from 20th November, to protest against the threats.
The entire film industry should boycott IFFI in protest against the threats to @deepikapadukone SLB and #Padmavati https://t.co/VckVB5yRJp
— Azmi Shabana (@AzmiShabana) November 18, 2017
Her selective outrage got called out by filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar, who faced violent protests by Congress workers, when his film Indu Sarkar was about to release earlier this year.
He, too, took to micro blogging site to remind Shabana of the hypocrisy and virtue signalling she often indulges in.
@AzmiShabana ji I am equally concerned about threats to @deepikapadukone and SLB over #Padmavati however I feel sad about your biased approach. I would have appreciated similar support from you when I was being violently threatned by Congress workers over my film #InduSarkar
— Madhur Bhandarkar (@imbhandarkar) November 18, 2017
One Congress leader had announced a booty of Rs. 1 lakh to blacken Bhandarkar’s face.
इन्दू सरकार के निर्देशक @imbhandarkar के मुहं पर कालिख पोत कर आओ , 1लाख रु नगद पाओ@abpnewshindi@pankajjha_@aajtak@ndtv@NavbharatTimespic.twitter.com/AvLu9KLjZf
— Haseeb Ahmad (@haseebcongress) July 5, 2017
The film Indu Sarkar was a fiction based on the 19 month long Emergency imposed by former Prime Minister and Rahul Gandhi’s grandmother Indira Gandhi in 1970s. Despite Bhandarkar’s assurances that the film was not a biopic on Gandhi’s life, Congress workers and leaders came down heavily on him.
Its baffling to see self proclaimed custodians of #freedomOfExpression creating huge ruckus to prevent a legitimate release of #InduSarkar pic.twitter.com/orJVVJULdp
— Madhur Bhandarkar (@imbhandarkar) July 15, 2017
Not surprisingly, Azmi had put up no such tweets in support of Bhandarkar.
Reportedly Censor Board is furious with filmmakers for organising private screenings without waiting for CBFC certification. They say the filmmakers sent incomplete documents. Prasoon Joshi said that the private screening held for few journalists was ‘irresponsible way of pressuring’ the board. The application was sent back due to lack of documentation and the filmmakers had to rectify and send it back.
