Ashutosh Gowariker on Panipat's controversy: 'You will get answers to all your curiosity and aggression'

Maverick director Ashutosh Gowariker's upcoming film Panipat is in news for all the wrong reasons. Right after the trailer dropped memes on Arjun Kapoor's character Sadashivrao Bhau started piling up, Panipat drew comparisons with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Bajirao Mastani and Padmaavat, Afghan community expressed displeasure with the portrayal of Ahmad Shah Abdali essayed by Sanjay Dutt, the Afghan emperor.

If there weren't enough, a brand new controversy has taken a toll on the producers.

As per reports film's producers Sunita Gowariker and Rohit Shelatkar, and director Ashutosh Gowariker was sent a legal notice by Nawabzada Shadab Ali Bahadur an eighth-generation descendant of Peshwa Bajirao over dialogue in the film that actress Kriti Sanon as Parvati Bai delivers in the

The line as it goes "Maine suna hai Peshwa jab akele muhim par jaate hain to ek Mastani ke saath laut te hain (I've heard that whenever the Peshwa goes to the war alone, he returns with a Mastani)."

This isn't the first controversy earlier the sections of the Afghan community expressed displeasure with the portrayal of Ahmad Shah Abdali, the Afghan emperor.

During the media interactions held in Mumbai for the promotion of the film in Panipat media quizzed Ashutosh Gowariker about the ongoing controversy surrounding his film Panipat and also asked him what made him pen down a film on the Third battle of Panipat.

On the ongoing controversy

I think people need to watch the film. Only after watching the film they will get the answers to their curiosity or aggression. The film has been made with utmost honesty.

On making a film on the third battle of 'Panipat'

I started reading about the third battle of Panipat five-six years ago and realized that it was an inspiring story. The story is about a Maratha warrior Sadashiv Rao Bhau, who led the battle to stop the attack of Abdali. This topic hasn't been touched up in our history textbooks and I feel today's youth need to know and understand the importance of the sacrifices these Maratha warriors made in 1761. We haven't shown interest in the third battle of Panipat as Marathas lost the battle.

On the striking comparisons with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Bajirao Mastani'

People have the tendency to compare films that are of the same genre, be it comedy, romantic or historical period drama. We have shown a period in Panipat that is 20 years after 'Bajirao Mastani', there is a time gap, Sadashivrao Bhau belonged to the next generation, after Peshwa Bajirao, so their costumes, tradition, standards of living, residences were the same. This isn't the first time my films are being compared when I made 'Jodhaa Akbar', people compared it with 'Mughal-e-Azam', Hrithik (Roshan) was compared to Prithviraj Kapoor ji. We were ready for the comparisons. At least, our film is being compared with one of the best films in the historical drama genre.

Ashutosh Gowariker's Panipat is slated to hit the screens on December 6.