7 reasons Sanjay Leela Bhansali did not get assaulted for

Overreaction is second nature to Indians.

In yet another classic case of WTF, filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali was slapped and his hair pulled on the sets of his film Padmavati – a historical drama, based on the lore of fiery Queen Padmini – by a mob in Jaipur for allegedly portraying the Rajput queen in poor light.

The members of the Rajput Karni Sena – a Hindu hardline group – stormed the film's sets, assaulted Bhansali, and vandalised equipment on the sets because the film allegedly has *love* scenes between Queen Padmini and Alauddin Khilji, played by actors Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh.

Rather than waiting for the film to be released, for meaningful outrage and debate, the Sena (and are all the Senas in India made of lunatics who hate cinema?) assaulted the National Award-winning filmmaker and demanded that such scenes be deleted.

Bhansali, it has been reported, has decided to stop the shoot in the region.

This incident, like a tonne of others, yet again points towards this country’s selective insecurity about history and nationalism. Sanjay Leela Bhansali did not, in any way, deserve assault.

Even if the man makes tedious, really long-winded, weird-coloured movies, he does not deserve to get hit.

* He does not deserve to get hit, even though he made us sit through the visual atrocity that was Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela - which got the golis because "Ram".

* He did not deserve to get slapped for making a movie as boring as Guzaarish.

* He did not deserve to have his sets vandalised for subjecting us to the hyper AF Ranveer Singh, time and again.

* He definitely did not deserve to get hit for the oh-so-horrible SMS shayari in Ram-Leela.

* Bhansali did not deserve to get assaulted for ruining the colour blue in Saawariya.

* He absolutely did not derive to get beaten up for Shah Rukh Khan’s brilliantly bad drunk portrayal of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's immortal Devdas in Devdas.

* And finally, Sanjay Leela Bhansali did not, under any circumstances, deserve to get hit for producing cinematic trash of the likes of Rowdy Rathore.

When we as a country can be so tolerant about so much tripe, what’s with the pre-emptive attack on a movie that is so far away from release - and possibly reality? We’ve forgiven much. What’s with a little “alleged” lore-tampering?

Also read - Sita to Padmini: How women's roles helped romanticise our history