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RIOT POLICE WERE out in force in Delhi, India, today as a controversial film hit cinemas.
Film buffs arriving for the opening day of “Padmaavat”, a Bollywood epic that has enraged Hindu radicals, had to manoeuvre past machine guns, riot shields and blockades to watch the controversial movie.
The precautions may have appeared overkill in the busy commercial district of India’s capital.
But violence by fanatics who were convinced the film insulted a legendary Hindu queen has forced cinema owners to take extreme measures.
Even as roughly 100 Bollywood die-hards turned up for the screening in Delhi, a molotov cocktail was hurled at a cinema in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.
In Bihar state, further east, two theatres were set upon by mobs which damaged vehicles, ripped posters and threatened cinema goers.
Fanatics had promised to torch movie theatres screening Padmaavat and to prove their mettle had rampaged through Indian cities in the days before its release, burning vehicles and vandalising malls.
Just south of Delhi a day earlier, a school bus was pelted with stones while another was set alight and used to block a major highway.
Tires were set ablaze in Mumbai, the heartland of India’s film industry, while hardline groups paraded through other cities warning of repercussions if the film aired.
Cinemas in three states took the warnings so seriously they refused to screen it, citing security concerns.
‘Atmosphere of fear’
But cinema managers in Delhi pressed ahead, even if an “atmosphere of fear” had subdued audiences, as one manager said.
The protesters belonged to India’s Rajput caste who revere Padmavati and insist the film distorts history, even though experts say the queen is a mythical character based on a poem.
As the lights dimmed and the film began the audience was informed the film was fiction.
It also assured viewers no animals were harmed and the producers did not endorse “sati” – an outlawed ritual of wives throwing themselves onto their husband’s funeral pyre.
Opponents, despite not having seen the film, claimed the movie featured a romantic liaison between Padmavati and 14th-century Muslim ruler Alauddin Khilji, although the filmmakers denied this repeatedly.
Indeed, there was no such tryst. In fact, not a single scene brings the two characters face to face in the entire three-hour feature.
“All the controversy about a romantic angle between them was absolutely misplaced,” said Suman Sharma, an architect, after watching the film.
Fellow film goer Neha Verma also could not understand the fuss, shaking her head as she left the cinema past the cordon of armed police behind shields.
“It’s a shame that people have been protesting without even bothering to watch it first. The queen has been portrayed so beautifully, no one can raise a finger,” she told AFP.
Even the two female police officers stationed inside the cinema for its duration gave a thumbs up and laughed when asked what they thought of the film.
Despite the hassle, the effort appeared worth it. As the end credits rolled, the audience erupted into rapturous applause.
The radicals staunchly opposed to the film may end up being its biggest saviours: industry watchers predict all the hype will make “Padmaavat” a box office smash.
“The hype is only going to work in its favour. It’s a work of art and deserves to be appreciated by all,” said Verma.
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Anything RTE touch will turn to shit. What are the bets Twink will be hosting it or Marty Whelan.
Brain Ormand, Derek Mooney,you see this sharp knife here….
It’s not “Blind Date” there are no hosts on this show…
And what bets it will fold by series 3.
I hope it’s the same production company behind it, rather than some crappy Irish version.
Cue a bunch of attention seeking wannabe’s who will degrade themselves as much as possible to gain Z list celebrity status.. Just like that waste of Tv space “Tallaghtfornia”
Dude have you seen the show?
Sit down and be quiet there like a good lad til you have.
You’ve no idea what you’re talking about
^^^^^ Tallaghfornia fan above!
Pity tv3 are not doing it, they turned take me out into a comedy show
There were some wagons on that TV3 one….the show where foreplay is an exchange of insults
the ch 4 show has a “maitre d”, who talks about love and looking for love at the beginning of the show, so they’ll be looking for someone to do something like the ch 4 host, I’d say Brian Dowling
He’d be a good fit I’d said, but I bet you a bag of chips, it’ll be Dáithí Ó Sé or some other such person.:P
once its not that fecking Miriam o Callaghan and her 16 children, yawn yawn yawn, same old, same old…
Anyone that goes on this show is in all probability a giant bell end
how do I apply
Probably be set in Coppers.. Couple of bags of chips after from Harry Ramsdens.
I’d actually give this a shot. I’ve seen the channel 4 version and the folks on there come across as being fairly decent and down to earth. Granted, you could very well get a few bell ends on there, but you get that wherever you go in life. Many people, from what I can tell at least, want to go out for the date and see what happens.
You can practically get next day sex on tinder,will this app beat that?
not for you, leon – keep practicing on tinder m8…
Next day? You’re doing tinder wrong.
More bollocks!
First dates are in restaurants now? How awkward and cringey. Does no-one go to the pub, get locked together, then go back to hers for a bit of slap and tickle? The Irish have turned into some shower of saddo wannabes.
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