A Bollywood movie that was due to release at the beginning of this month, has been delayed because of the continued controversy around the film.

Once word got out that director Sanjay Leela Bhansali was going to reimagine the poem of Padmavati, rumors and speculation began to spread like wildfire – which caused an uproar of chaos.

The beloved ballad tells the story of a Rajput queen, who ultimately sacrifices her life in order to protect the dignity of her kingdom. After her husband’s passing during a battle, she takes over the kingdom and becomes a great warrior – but ends up being defeated by a Muslim invader. In opposition to having to marry her opponent, she decides to complete jauhar instead – which is a form of suicide that involves jumping into a fire. The tale of Padmavati has been praised for generations, because of the bravery she had shown throughout her reign.

Trouble first started for the film from the moment the cast was revealed. Deepika Padukone, the actress playing Padmavati, is dating the actor Ranveer Singh – who is playing the villian. The two have teamed with this director in the past to portray iconic love stories – and rumors spread that the director would have a dream sequence between the two, where Singh’s character would imagine himself romancing the queen. This angered many who believed that any romantic sequence would defeat the purpose of Padmavati protecting her honor to begin with.

Angry mobs found the sets of the film while it was in production and attacked the director while destroying props. Movie theaters said they would refuse to play the movie, due to so many people threatening to burn the cinemas down. Then, a politician promised a bounty reward for whoever would behead actress Padukone and director Bhansali.

Despite the director assuring the public that no inappropriate scenes were shot for the film, the movie’s release has still been postponed until it is re-reviewed by the Central Board of Film Certification .

UPDATE: On January 14th, the new release date was announced and the trailer was reposted with the updated date (January 25th). It was also announced that the movie will be playing in IMAX and 3D in theaters worldwide. The title change from Padmavati to Padmaavat was one of the conditions made by the CBFC in order for the film to be released. This request was made to emphasize that the movie was inspired by the poem and not the queen personally. Despite being cleared by the board, the film has still been banned by some Indian states.

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