Sensing an opportunity to grab eyeballs, the Shiv Sena has jumped into the simmering controversy over Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s forthcoming movie, Bajirao Mastani. The film has been in the eye of a storm for a while now. Recently, irked descendants of Peshwa Bajirao and Mastani came together to slam Bhansali for the portrayal of their ancestors. Now, the issue may just become another political potboiler with the Sena threatening Bhansali with consequences, if certain songs are not deleted.

We have seen objections to portrayals in movies in the past as well — the Rajput community claimed that Jodha Bai was not Akbar’s wife, which created trouble for Ashutosh Gowariker and his film, Jodha Akbar. The community accused Gowariker of distorting history and the movie was banned in several parts of northern India, mainly Rajasthan. There was the Fanaa fracas; the Aamir Khan movie was not released in Gujarat after he raised his voice against increasing the height of the Narmada dam.