Rabari community groups to protest Amdavad visit of Ram Leela stars

Ahmedabad, 9 October 2013

Bollywood stars Deepika Padukon and Ranvir Singh will be on two days visit to Ahmedabad today and tomorrow. Their visit is likely to see protest by groups belonging to Rabari and Kshatriya communities here.

Both the actors are going to visit the city for promotion of their forthcoming film Ram Leela.

The film ahead of its release is facing protest in various parts of Gujarat. In some towns, theater owners are reluctant to release it due to angry protests by Kshatriya/Rajputs and Rabari communities. The film’s release has been challenged in the Gujarat High Court too through a petition.

Ahmedabad based Maldhari Ekta Samiti and Vihotar Yuva Group of Gujarat have declared protest programme at The Grand Bhagwati hotel on SG highway today evening. This is the hotel where Deepika and Ranveer are going to stay.

Protest programmes are also planned at YMCA club ground where Ranveer and Deepaka are going to promote their film during Garba event tonight.

The Rabari community group is objecting a particular dialogue in the film spoken by Deepika Padukone, ” tere me Rabari ka gandaa khoon nahi hotaa to tu goli nahi chalaataa.” They want this dialogue which is present in trailer, to be removed from the film which is yet to be released.

The Kshatriya/Rajput community groups want ban on release of the film and its trailers due to “deliberate attempt by film maker Sanjay Leela Bhansali to show Kshatriya community in derogatory terms”. During the protest in Jamnagar, Bhuj and Sanand, the Kshatriya community leaders alleged that the film tries to create rift between Kshatriya and Rabari communities which are living peacefully in the state.