Even while right wing groups like Karni Sena are rampaging through the streets of India, protesting against the Sanjay Leela Bhansali-starrer Padmaavat, good people of the United States of America are shaking their legs to Ghoomar, one of the most noteworthy song sequences in the film. Earlier, the song had been digitally remastered to cover Deepika's midriff (in line with one of the many sanskaari fatwas against the film). Right-wing organisations had even alleged that the song was rife with historical inaccuracies, and that Rani Padmini would not dance in front of men.
But that has not stopped dancers from foreign nations shaking their legs to the infectious beat. In a recent NBA match between Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat, the crowd and dancers alike enchanted by the number.
When the movie was released, violent protests were sparked. On Wednesday, a school bus carrying 20-25 students was targeted in Gurgaon and the Delhi-Jaipur national highway was blocked by supporters of Karni Sena, which is at the forefront of the opposition to the film, and other Rajput fringe groups.
Another state-run bus was torched near Bhondsi village.
The protesters alleged that the movie based on the saga of the 13th-century battle between Maharaja Ratan Singh of Mewar and Sultan Alauddin Khilji of Delhi, distorts history and shows Rani Padmavati in "poor light", despite historians being divided on whether the queen actually existed.
