Padmavati needs protection

The makers of Padmavati — who have faced trouble from certain groups who had qualms about how the queen would be depicted in the film right from the inception of the movie — have insured the film, safeguarding it against revenue loss due to rioting and property loss. A unit member said, “As a policy, studios insure films, and Padmavati also happens to be insured.”

It is speculated that the insurance sum for Padmavati is in excess of Rs 160 crore, but the distribution cover sum insured is yet to be declared. Sumant Salian of Alliance Insurance says, “There is a policy, which covers loss of ticketing revenue due to riots, strike, malicious damage.’’ Distributors generally take insurance for loss of revenue. Exhibitors do have their property insured, but there is no cover in case there is a loss of revenue due to rioting. A senior executive from a cinema chain says, “Exhibitors will not take the risk of showing a film if there is a threat or possibility of rioting as it seems likely in the case of Padmavati. Damage to their properties can prove to be very expensive if enough police protection is not made available. As of today, there are three states where protests against the films are gaining momentum.”​

Being cautious

Theatre owners in Gujarat and Rajasthan are very cautious about the release of Padmavati. Distributor and exhibitor Raj Bansal, who owns a cinema hall in Jaipur, said, “As of now, no distributor has been appointed in 
Rajasthan, but we also own cinema halls in Jaipur and are eager to screen Padmavati, but there are threats and every day we get pamphlets warning us to not screen the film. Naturally, we are cautious and would like the local administration to give us police protection so that the film gets screened in our cinema halls. If we don’t get proper police protection and if there are more problems then we will need to think about screening the film.’’

‘Issue will be resolved’

There are some exhibitors who are confident that the issue between the producers and the protestors will get resolved by the time the film releases. Prashant Solanki, an exhibitor from Valsad suggests, “The makers of the film should assure the protestors that there is no objectionable content in the film by showing them the film in advance so that there is no problem in the release of the film. Also, the Censor Board should look at the subject properly to see no facts are distorted and help both the parties sort out the issue amicably.’’ Solanki did agree that there is definitely concern over the smooth release of the film in Gujarat too. He said, “Even the previous films Ram Leela and Bajirao Mastani’s releases were disrupted on the first day and later it became smooth. I know the stakes are very high for the producers and exhibitors.’’