Director Mira Nair Speaks On Padmaavat Controversy At Jaipur Literature Festival

Critically acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair said that she is appalled to see how a section of the society is threatening the diversity of a secular country like India over Sanjay Leela Bhansali's controversial release 'Padmaavat'.

"I am really appalled that the diversity of a secular country like India, where we have always co-existed with all sorts of religions and people, is being threatened. This makes us look like we have shackled in our thinking before even we have begun", Mira Nair exclusively told ANI in Jaipur.

While present at the 2018 Jaipur Literature Festival, Nair, who is known for her critical movies like 'Salaam Bombay', 'Monsoon Wedding', 'The Namesake' and 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist', shared that "censorship" is the biggest enemy of "creativity".

Her 1996 movie 'Fire', starring Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das faced similar kind of protests for its content, setting off a flurry of public dialogue around issues such as homosexuality and freedom of speech.

However, the movie was passed uncut by India's censor board. The only condition being that the character Sita's name be changed to Nita.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's magnum opus released worldwide today in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil. The film is based on 16th-century Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi's epic poem 'Padmaavat'.

The flick has run into trouble time and again, as members of several Rajput factions have accused the director of the film of distorting history.