MP minister backs Jat community's demand for ban on 'Panipat'

A Madhya Pradesh minister on Thursday supported the Jat community's demand for a ban on the screening of Ashutosh Gowariker's film "Panipat" in the state and said the government would take suitable legal steps in this direction. The Jat community has demanded a ban on the movie in Madhya Pradesh over the alleged "incorrect" portrayal of Bharatpur's Maharaja Surajmal.

"I am with the Jat community. We will take suitable legal steps after putting forth the community's demand before Chief Minister Kamal Nath," Minister for Public Relations P C Sharma told reporters, in response to a query on whether the film would be banned in Madhya Pradesh. His statement came a day after a delegation of the Jat Mahasabha met him and sought a ban on the movie in the state.

The delegation told the minister that the film has incorrectly portrayed the character of Bharatpur's Maharaja Surajmal. Sharma told the delegation that Maharaja Surajmal was a hero and pride of the Jat community.

"The makers of historical movies should ensure that there is no tampering of truth while making such films," Sharma told the delegation. The movie, released last Friday, is based on the third battle of Panipat fought between the Maratha Empire and Afghan king Ahmad Shah Abdali in 1761.

Arjun Kapoor plays the role of Sadashiv Rao Bhau, commander of the Maratha army, while Sanjay Dutt enacts Abdali in the movie. The film shows Bharatpur's king Surajmal as having denied help to the Maratha army.

In Rajasthan, the film's screening has been discontinued in most of the cinema halls following protests by the Jat community. About two years back, filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali's historical drama "Padmaavat" had also faced protests in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and other northern states over the portrayal of Rajput queen Padmini.

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