Amidst the controversies prevailing in India, Bollywood film 'Padmaavat' has yet fallen into the pit of controversy in other countries.
Muslim dominant country Malaysia has barred the screening of the controversial film "Padmaavat' in theatres in fear of hurting the sensitivities of Islam and the Muslim society.
Also read : Indian movie Padmaavat banned in Malaysia, censor board says it might hurt Muslim sentiments
On February 2, the home ministry quoted the movie's negative representation of a Muslim ruler.
Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali has faced lots of criticisms coming from different communities.
People belonging to the Rajput community have reportedly lashed out at him for distorting the historical story and portraying the Muslim ruler Alauddin Khilji as the lover of Queen Padmavati, while the Muslim community has criticised him for glorifying the Hindu Rajput Warrior clan and portraying the Muslim ruler in an extremely destructive way.
The film which was originally releasing in December had to go through debates with the Censor Board of India, keeping it on hold for few months.
In the previous month, India's top court allowed the film to be screened nationally overlooking the major protests from two states.
However, Malaysian authorities have disapproved the portrayal of Sultan Alauddin Khilji and banned the film.
The ministry released a statement saying, "He is portrayed as a Sultan who is arrogant, cruel, inhumane, devious with all kinds of trickery, unreliable and who does not fully practice Islamic teachings".
Malaysia's Film Censorship ruled that the film was not "approved for screening" while a petition lodged by the film's distributors was rejected, the ministry stated on Tuesday.
In the past, Malaysia has banned other films also which deals with extreme religious themes and explicit sexual content such as 2014 biblical drama Noah, Fifty Shades of Grey and more.
Seven percent of Indians make up the 32 million people population in Malaysia and Bollywood fans who have been eagerly waiting for the release of the film are quite disappointed with the decision.
