Padmavati Row: Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis gives police protection to Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Mumbai: Indian Film & Television Directors' Association (IFTDA) on Tuesday thanked Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for providing police protection to 'Padmavati' director Sanjay Leela Bhansali. "We have no words to express our gratitude for providing police protection to our esteemed member director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, whose film 'Padmavati' has been mired in the controversies," the Association's president, Ashoke Pandit, stated in a letter to the Chief Minister. The IFTDA president concluded the letter by requesting Fadnavis to ensure film's hassle free release on December 1. Meanwhile, the film fraternity held a press on Tuesday to extend support to Padmavati and its director Bhansali. As a mark of protest and solidarity with Bhansali, Pandit, director Sudhir Mishra and others made an announcement that they will gather outside the Film City in Goregaon on November 16 and hold a minute's silence and stop work for 15 minutes. The period drama, starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor, has been facing protests from various groups, including Shri Rajput Karni Sena, for allegedly tampering with historical facts. The Karni Sena, which had demolished the sets of the movie in Jaipur and also thrashed Bhansali, has again warned the director that he would face consequences if the film misrepresented Rajput Queen Padmavati.