Deepika Padukone’s Padmavati first look: This comic reveals who was Rani Padmavati in fact and fiction

In the first poster of Padmavati, the focus is on the goddess aspect as much as the royal. In fact, we see Deepika Padukone standing in a temple, looking fierce, with tridents behind her.

Deepika Padukone’s Rani Padmavati is a goddess queen, bedecked in royal robes and traditional jewellery. The actress revealed the first look of her character on Thursday, coinciding with the first day of Navratri. Taking to Twitter, she wrote about the Sanjay Leela Bhansali film, “Devi sthapana ke shubh avsar pe miliye Rani Padmavati se.”

Deepika Padukone plays the titular role in Padmavati.

A lot happened before the film was launched as the sets of the Bhansali film were targetted for ostensibly showing a romance between Khilji and Padmavati. The director and his team dismissed the rumours.

But who indeed was Rani Padmini? A queen in Chittorgarh in 1303, who heroically committed jauhar - self-immolation - rather than fall into the clutches of Khilji? Or simply a fictitious character in Malik Muhammad Jayasi’s 1540 work, the Padmavat?

In this comic, which first appeared in February in HT, we dissected the myths, local legends and historical accounts that surround the Rajput queen whose palace still stands in Chittorgarh.

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