Ajit
Andhare,
Chief
Operating
Officer,
Viacom
18Motion
Pictures,
which
co-produced
the
controversy-ridden
"Padmaavat",
today
said
it's
a
myth
that
filmmakers
stoke
controversy
for
free
publicity.
The
Sanjay
Leela
Bhansali-directed
film
ran
into
a
major
controversy
with
several
Rajput
outfits
taking
offence
over
the
portrayal
of
queen
Padmavati.
At
a
panel
discussion
at
the
on-going
FICCI
Frames,
Andhare
said
one
"big
myth" filmmakers
deal
with
is
that
for
them,
"all
publicity
is
good
publicity."
"No
storyteller,
no
one
in
the
business
of
films
wants
to
stoke
up
a
controversy,
least
of
all
when
you
are
making
a
mainstream
film,
which
also
happens
to
be
the
most
expensive
film
of
the
industry.
This
is
a
big
myth,
which
we
should
clearly
dispense
with,"
he
said.
"In
the
case
of
'Udta
Punjab'
also,
these
kind
of
things
were
said.
Nobody
courts
controversies,
certainly
not
stakeholders,
when
so
much
is
at
stake,"
he
added.
Andhare
said
during
the
"Padmaavat" controversy,
they
were
trying
to
"dissuade
people
from
what
they
were
believing
was
in
the
film"
but
"nobody
was
listening."
The
panel
discussion,
titled
'The
Myth
of
Offence
:
Are
Historical
&
biopics
endangered
species'
was
moderated
by
screenwriter
Anjum
Rajabali.
Andhare
said
there's
no
lack
of
understanding
from
the
government's
side
"about
the
importance
of
the
(film)
industry"
but
raised
concerns
over
the
mixing
of
politics
with
films."
"If
politics
is
going
to
be
mixed
with
the
business
of
films,
then
we
are
in
for
difficult
times...
Till
date,
we
have
not
had
a
situation
where
a
film,
ultimately
with
the
institutions
backing
it
--
judiciary,
censor
board
-
has
been
stopped
in
this
country."
"At
the
most
what
has
happened
is,
that
a
couple
of
states
or
a
state,
where
there
is
a
political
pressure,
the
films
don't
find
a
release," he
added.
Padmaavat,
though
released
nationwide,
was
banned
in
four
states.
Andhare
said
creative
people
can't
let
such
controversies
affect
their
voice,
and
should
continue
to
make
the
film
they
believe
in.
"If
we
start
letting
this
affect
us
in
our
choices
of
subjects,
then
I
think
we
are
already
slipping
because
we
are
not
even
trying
to
make
another
film
which
might
offend
someone
or
someone
might
manufacture
a
dissent.
We
need
not
get
influenced
by
it.
That's
why
I
said,
I
hope
this
('Padmaavat'
row)
is
an
exception
and
not
a
norm."
Credits
-
PTI