Padmavati: Hindu extremists threaten to burn UK cinemas if Deepika Padukone-starring movie released

The Bollywood actor recently received death threats for her role in the film

Deepika Padukone (AP)

Paramount Pictures is reconsidering the UK release of a Bollywood blockbuster after Hindu extremists threatened to burn down cinemas.

Across India, there have been numerous protests against Padmavati after baseless rumours spread that the film depicts the Hindu queen, Padmini, sharing an intimate moment with a Muslim king. The filmmakers have denied the existence of any such scene.

However, the film’s leading actor Deepika Padukone has continued to receive death threats, India’s governing BJP party offering to pay a $1.5m (£1.13m) bounty to anyone who beheaded Padukone and director Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

With Padmavati initially set to reach UK cinemas on 1 December, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) issued a certification for the film. The London-based Hindu charity Rajput Samaj of UK has since declared opposition to the certification, saying it will hold a peaceful protest over the apparent historic inaccuracies.

“We understand that experts can judge the violence, language, and scene but we need to find the right historians who can watch the film and stop the character assassination of Indian icons,” the charity said in a statement to the BBFC.

Speaking to The Guardian, a spokesperson added that while they don’t want Padmavati released in UK cinemas, they are opposed to any violence.

Conversely, a member of the fringe Indian protest group Karni Sena threatened to take their campaign to the UK, telling Republic TV: “Every theatre screening Padmavati will be burned.” They added: “I myself wanted to go [to the UK] to protest but the Indian government has confiscated my passport.”

The charity Rajput Samaj have said, however, that there are likely no members of Karni Sena in the UK, and reiterated they are not encouraging violence in any way.

Meanwhile, Padukone recently responded to the death threats with a defiant statement, saying: “At this point, as a woman, an artiste and a citizen of this country I feel angry, I feel let down and I also find it amusing.” She added: “I will never feel scared. Fear is not an emotion I have ever identified with.”

A spokesperson for the BJP party has distanced themselves from the bounty, saying: “A show cause notice has been sent to [the member who made the statement]. There is rule of law in Haryana and no one can issue such fatwas.”