Padmavati to be changed to Padmavat? Twitter has a field day with ‘i’ jokes

Padmavati... er, Padmavat is likely to come soon to a theatre near you. If the Censor Board prevails, the Sanjay Leela Bhansali epic will get a release date after shedding a letter from its title.

If all goes well, Padmavati, perhaps the most controversial Hindi film till date, will finally see the light of day. However, it will have to come to viewers as Padmavat.

Padmavati is set to lose the ‘i’, because the CBFC has asked for the title of the film to be changed to Padmavat.

According to reports, the Central Board of Film Certification, aka Censor Board (CBFC), has reviewed the film and agreed to certify it as U/A (universal adult), provided the Padmavati filmmakers — the director is Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and the film stars Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, and Shahid Kapoor — change the title to Padmavat, removing the ‘i’.

Padmavat is an epic poem written in 1540 by Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi and it is based on a historical account — the veracity of which is not confirmed — about how Delhi Sultan Alauddin Khilji saw the magnificently beautiful Rani Padmini, Queen of Chittor, in a mirror, and immediately fell for her.

The CBFC review committee has also asked the makers to add disclaimers that they are not trying to glorify the practice of sati, and make some modifications to the song, Ghoomar. The film, however, shows the self-immolation ritual of jauhar, which Rajput women practised when facing capture by invaders.

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