Is Rajasthan a safe place to shoot a film?

Karni Sena activists on the set of 'Padmavati' at Jaigarh fort in Jaipur on Friday.

Following the goondagardi by the Rajput Karni Sena on the set of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Padmavati' in Jaipur, Kulmeet Makkar, CEO of The Film and Television Producers Guild of India Limited has raised safety concern over shooting in Rajasthan.

"The larger issue here is to question if it's safe to shoot films in Rajasthan anymore. Given that security of the film's unit is of utmost importance, such incidents will discourage filmmakers in India and abroad to shoot in that state in future," he said, adding that although Information and Broadcasting minister Venkaiah Naidu has condemned the incident, the industry needs to see concrete action being taken. "The Rajasthan government needs to reassure the film industry that they can safely shoot films there."

Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Members of the Karni Sena attacked the unit of 'Padmavati' at the Jaigarh Fort, accusing the filmmaker of distorting historical facts. Bhansali, who was assaulted by the goons, has already returned to Mumbai along with the crew. A unit hand tells hitlist, "We don't intend to resume shooting there after what happened to Sanjay sir."

Another source adds, "A number of lenses and cameras, among other equipment, were damaged in the attack. The production team is yet to determine the exact amount of losses incurred."

While Bhansali is yet to file a police complaint, no action has been taken against the assaulters. Ashwini Chaudhary of the Indian Film and Television Directors' Association says, "The president of Karni Sena has claimed he has full support of the safrron brigade. The I&B Minister of State, Rajyavardhan Rathore, is from Jaipur, but the silence of both the Centre and state government is worrying."