Bollywood Vouches For ‘Period’ Films Even After Padmaavat Drama
The unending protests over Padmaavat, however, have not affected Bollywood, with celebs such as Ketan Mehta, Sidharth Malhotra and R Madhavan still vouching for period dramas.
The
film
industry
is
in
no
mood
to
compromise
on
its
"creative
freedom" and
fascination
towards
history,
even
as
the
controversy
around
"Padmaavat"
is
far
from
over.
The
Sanjay
Leela
Bhansali-directed
film,
which
was
originally
titled
"Padmavati",
got
mired
in
controversy
as
soon
as
the
filmmaker
started
shooting
for
the
project
and
things
took
an
ugly
turn
after
the
first
trailer
of
the
movie
was
released
last
year.
The
unending
protests,
however,
have
not
affected
Bollywood,
with
celebs
such
as
Ketan
Mehta,
Sidharth
Malhotra
and
R
Madhavan
still
vouching
for
period
dramas.
"History
is
a
treasure
house
of
stories.
We
cannot
preclude
history
from
creative
endeavours.
I
would
like
to
make
a
historical
film
even
today,"
Mehta
told
PTI.
The
director,
who
helmed
Aamir
Khan-starrer
2005
historical
biographical
drama
"Mangal
Pandey:
The
Rising"
and
1993
biographical
drama
"Sardar"
on
Sardar
Vallabhbhai
Patel,
said
considering
the
wrath
Bhansali
and
his
team
faced,
he
will
be
cautious
while
making
any
historical
film
in
future.
"There
would
be
various
opinions
on
any
subject.
There
is
no
question
of
censoring
yourself
even
before
you
start
creating
something,"
he
added.
Mehta
believes
people
have
become
oversensitive
today
and
they
need
to
"liberate
their
mind"
as
freedom
of
expression
is
a
fundamental
right.
"People
have
a
right
to
see
a
film,
just
like
they
have
a
right
to
vote.
There
is
a
censor
board
that
looks
into
the
matter
of
clearing
films
and
its
sanctity
should
be
retained,"
he
said.
Producer
Kamal
Jain,
whose
next
film
"Manikarnika:
The
Queen
of
Jhansi"
featuring
Kangana
Ranaut
in
the
title
role,
is
based
on
the
life
of
Rani
Laxmi
Bai
of
Jhansi,
said
cinema
has
unparallelled
capacity
to
bring
history
to
life.
"We
have
a
long,
respectable
history
and
cinema
is
the
biggest
medium
to
bring
it
to
the
people."
Jain
added
that
while
making
a
historical
film,
makers
should
do
thorough
research
and
stay
true
to
the
subject
and
even
if
they
take
cinematic
liberties,
they
should
ensure
sentiments
of
people
are
not
hurt.
"History
has
to
be
thoroughly
researched.
I
spent
almost
six
months
on
research
and
got
a
lot
of
historians
on
board
who
authenticated
the
film.
You
need
to
look
at
the
perspective.
You
need
to
respect
the
sentiments
of
the
people
because
at
the
end
of
the
day
cinema
will
affect
somebody's
sentiments,"
he
said.
Actor
Sonu
Sood,
who
played
the
character
of
Rajkumar
Sujamal
in
Ashutosh
Gowariker-directed
"Jodhaa
Akbar",
said
chances
of
a
historical
drama
facing
protests
are
always
high,
but
that
should
not
stop
artistes
from
doing
their
jobs.
"In
today's
times
when
we
try
to
make
historical
films
we
have
to
make
sure
that
all
the
references
are
right.
But,
even
after
that
one
can
face
opposition
like
we
have
seen
in
the
case
of
'Padmaavat',"
he
said.
The
actor,
who
will
now
be
seen
playing
a
warrior
in
"Manikarnika...",
said
working
in
a
period
drama
is
"a
great
high
for
any
actor".
"We
might
find
ourselves
in
a
situation
where
people
are
opposing
it
but
ultimately
periodical
films
are
the
ones
which
need
to
be
made
in
today's
times,"
he
added.
Sidharth
shared
similar
views
and
said
getting
"scared"
by
the
situation
will
only
"defeat
the
purpose
of
why
we
are
in
the
business."
The
actor
said
people
should
not
take
movies
too
seriously
as
it
is
a
form
of
entertainment
and
does
not
aim
at
starting
a
revolution."...
Even
though
the
films
that
we
make
(on
history),
we
are
not
trying
to
change
history.
It
is
unfortunate
that
a
film
like
'Padmaavat' has
to
go
through
this."
"The
threats
were
uncalled
for,
we
all
felt
angry
when
Bhansali
and
the
actors
received
death
threats.
It
is
sad
that
something
like
this
can
happen
openly,"
he
added.
Madhavan
and
Nimrat
Kaur
also
expressed
their
desire
to
explore
the
genre.
"I
don't
think
actors
should
be
bound
by
politics
in
any
way.
The
idea
of
being
an
actor
and
artiste
is
that
you
are
a
reflection
of
society
and
world
and
you
bring
forth
stories
to
entertain
the
audience," Nimrat
said.
Madhavan
believes
it
is
still
safe
to
do
a
period
or
historical
film.
"I
don't
think
people
should
get
threatened.
With
what
has
happened
(to
'Padmaavat')...
It
is
not
right.
It
should
not
happen
and
is
not
acceptable,"
he
said.
Featuring
Deepika
Padukone,
Shahid
Kapoor
and
Ranveer
Singh,
"Padmaavat"
will
hit
the
theatres
on
January
25.