Supreme Court issued a stay on the ban for screening ‘Padmaavat’ in four states, as the three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra, Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud passed the order. An interim order was passed which prohibited any state from blocking the movie from being screened, which was also cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) recently. Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh had banned ‘Padmaavat’ screening. The SC reportedly refused to entertain a plea filed by lawyer Manohar Lal Sharma which challenged the CBFC certificate issued to the film. ‘Padmaavat’ faced maximum protest from the Karni Sena in Rajasthan and the state banned the film followed by Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and at last Haryana. After the clearance from the apex court, ‘Padmaavat’ will now release nationwide on January 25, with the makers planning a paid preview of the film during the evening show on January 24.
Lauding the release of ‘Padmaavat’ after the Supreme Court order, ace filmmaker Karan Johar said, “As a filmmaker I am very happy and excited to watch ‘Padmaavat’. I cannot wait for 25th January when the film releases nationwide.” ‘Padmaavat’ is directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and features top celebs and cinema stars Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh in lead roles.
