Karnataka Shutdown Delays Padmaavat Screening in Bengaluru

File photo of farmers protest over the Mahadayi river water sharing issue (PTI)

The shutdown across Karnataka today has delayed the screening of Padmaavat here as the movie halls remained shut till the evening. “As a result of the shutdown in the city, multiplexes will remain closed till about 6 p.m. and the film ‘Padmaavat’ would be screened at a majority of theatres in the city only after that,” the manager of one of the popular cinema halls here, who did not want to be named, told IANS.

The 12-hour shutdown is being observed for Mahadayi river water from the neighbouring state of Goa to meet the drinking needs of the people in the state’s four northwest districts of Belagavi, Bagalkote, Dharwad and Hubballi. Farmers, pro-Kannada organisations and regional outfits called for the shutdown, asking for the Prime Minister’s intervention in the dispute.

Normal life has been disrupted across the state, with public transport keeping off the roads, and offices, schools, colleges, malls, hotels remaining shut till the evening. The film is scheduled to be screened at multiplexes across Bengaluru and other cities like Mysuru and Mangaluru only after the shutdown ends at 6 p.m.

The Sanjay Leela Bhansali film was released on Wednesday evening at several screens across the city with no disruptions. Starring Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh, the film is based on 16th century poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi’s poem Padmavat.

The epic drama, originally titled ‘Padmavati’, was modified with a title change to Padmaavat along with a few alterations in the film, after fringe Rajput outfits protested against its release claiming it distorts history.