Even before the beleaguered Padmaavat could be released (the film releases today, January 25), the fringe groups left a trail of destruction through several states. Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have witnessed clashes with police, vehicles torched and malls vandalized. A school bus had been attacked in Gurgaon, while a state-transport bus had been torched. As a precautionary measure, some schools in Gurgaon decided to remain closed. In a further backlash, multiplex owners in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Goa have decided not to screen the film today, fearing further violence.

The Supreme Court had yesterday rejected the final attempts by Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to ban the film, following which protests against the release of Padmaavat turned violent. “People can't come and say law and order problems, ban the movie. Let us not come to a state where the exhibition of a movie, despite certified by the censor board, is crippled,” declared Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra.

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That didn’t stop groups of people vandalizing shops at a mall and a cinema hall in Ahmedabad and targeting vehicles parked. Nearly a dozen two-wheelers were also burnt.
In Gurgaon, Section 144 has been imposed till Sunday in order to maintain law and order. It is learnt that police also had to fire shots in the air to disperse the mob. The Karni Sena, which is spearheading the protests against the period film, had responded to a letter by Sanjay Leela Bhansali Productions, claiming that a six-member panel would watch the film before its release as proposed by the filmmakers.

Police presence had been beefed up a day ahead of the film's release.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis maintained that while the attack on a school bus in Gurgaon during Thursday's protests against the screening of Padmaavat was “very serious but there are also incidents which are blown out of proportion.” In Maharashtra, the police have indicated that they would come down heavily on protesters trying to obstruct the screening of the film. The Mumbai police have also deployed security personnel both outside and inside theatres screening Padmaavat.