Open letter to the fringe (After watching 'Padmavati')

Dear Fringe (there are too many of you...and this one's for all),

I know you're too busy now... with all the threatening and the abusing...

You've certainly grabbed the nation's attention with your 'viral' protests...

Kudos to you! It's not easy to do that in these times of short attention spans...

But tell you what...Led by Arnab Goswami , Republic TV’s team (of which I was a part of) actually watched 'Padmavati' at a special screening...

And guess what? You had absolutely nothing to worry about.

I wonder, why did you waste so many man hours agitating and vandalising cinema halls?

And I am really upset with how you've wasted the time and effort of so many journalists like me.

Because, believe you me…There's not a moment in the film that denigrates either queen Padmvati or the Rajput community.

On the contrary... Scene after scene... Dialogue after dialogue... It's all about the valour, the pride and the honour of the rajputs as a whole and Padmavati in specific.

In fact, if you ever wanted the world to know and understand the greatness of Padmavati, you should actually let this film have the widest release possible.

Why on Earth did you threaten to chop Deepika Padukone's nose off over this film?

Hey, she might not be my favorite actress, but she could become one of yours if you watch this film!

She does dance in the film and that too in exactly one song and you’ve seen that in the promos... But for God's sake it's not an item number!

From her costumes to body language to dialogues, her portrayal in the film puts Padmavati on the highest pedestal-- akin to a goddess.

She does get a little human in between, and gets slightly intimate...But wait, that's with her beau Ratan Singh… not Alauddin Khilji.

Speaking of whom, I know you were also worried about how this film could make a 'hero' out of him...but again, you had nothing to be concerned there too.

Because Ranveer Singh's madcap performance, makes Khilji look nothing less than a monster-- a very entertaining monster albeit.

What about the dream sequence between Khilji and Padmavati, you ask? Well, that is just a bad dream that you conjured up while you were awake and let your mind go to sleep. Khilji doesn't even make eye-contact with Padmavati in the film.

So that leaves us with Ratan Singh...And if you collect all of Shahid Kapoor's dialogues in the film and make a book, it could be called 'The Best Rajput Punchlines Ever'.

I'm sure you're having a good time burning effigies, firing shots in the air and laying siege to the Chittor Fort (ah, the irony of it all!), but I strongly suggest you go home... get a nice 'thanda, thanda, cool, cool' oil massage and relax.

Padmavati is an ode to the Rajput women in particular... Maybe you can find a way to fight vigorously for the honour and dignity of the many Padmavatis around you...What say?

 

Love,
K
From R.