Not just Padmavati: Mughal-e-Azam was also distorted, says SP leader Azam Khan

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh Minister Azam Khan on Tuesday added fuel to the already raging controversy over noted director Sanjay Leela Bhansali's yet to be released movie Padmavati.

Reacting to the bitter controversy over Padmavati, the influential SP leader said that the large-hearted Muslims had never objected to the magnum opus Mughal-e-Azam in which facts were distorted too.

Speaking at an event in Rampur, Khan said that members of the Muslim community never objected to a film like Mughal-e-Azam despite knowing that the facts were distorted in that film too.

They were well aware that a film can’t ruin their history, but they chose not to oppose that film, the firebrand SP leader said. 

“There is an objection to the story of a film. Famous film Mughal-e-Azam showed Anarkali as Saleem’s mehbooba (lover), but in reality, there was no such thing. Muslims never objected because it was a story. Muslims are large-hearted… they know a film can’t ruin their history,” the outspoken leader said.

SP's Azam Khan is not the only politician who has voiced his objections to Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film. 

Several right-wing outfits, including the Shri Rajput Karni Sena, have been strongly opposing the film over what they claim is ''blatant distortion of historical facts'' by the makers of the movie. 

The Rajput Karni Sena had earlier called for a nation-wide shutdown on December 1 in protest against the film and demanded a ban on its release.

Meanwhile, the film's director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali has categorically denied any controversial scenes and no distortion of historical facts in the movie.

Bhansali issued a clarification through a video shared on Twitter recently. 

The film starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor is slated for worldwide release on December 1. Padukone plays the titular role of Queen Padmavati in the movie.