Mahadayi bandh takes a toll on Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmaavat box office collection in Karnataka

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmaavat, which is facing a lot of issues over its release in northern part of India, has been affected by the bandh call given by pro-Kannada groups over Mahadayi water dispute in Karnataka.

The cinema halls in Bengaluru, Mysuru and various other parts of Karnataka will remain shut between 9 am and 6 pm over the bandh. As a result, the collections of the movie will take a toll. But theatres in Mangaluru and a few places in Dakshina Kannada are open which might bring relief to the makers of the Hindi film.

"We have always supported the causes of Karnataka and this time too extending our support to the bandh," a manager from a popular single screen from Bengaluru South told International Business Times India. But admits that the business has taken a toll due the strike.

"The bandh during a big film release will affect us badly. These days it is all about opening," he points out stating that the first show on their single screen begins at 7 pm.

In Bengaluru, the first show on Thursday will begin at Lakshmi theatre at 3.45 pm. A few multiplexes like Inox in Whitefield have decided to start the first show at 5.30 pm. However, many single screens and multiplexes have decided to play safe by having their first show only after 6.00 pm.

Lots of fans in Bengaluru also saw the movie on Wednesday evening as the makers had special shows across the city.

Padmavaat has ran into trouble with Karni Sena, a Rajput caste organisation, which has demanded a ban on the film citing that the film projects their community in a bad light. 

Coming to the bandh, Karnataka and Goa are at loggerheads over the water-sharing of Mahadayi river. The Karnataka government planned the Kalasa-Banduri Nala project decades ago to construct seven dams upstream on the Mahadayi river to divert water towards the Malaprabha basin in North Karnataka. But the Goa government had raised objections over the diversion, citing that the river was the lifeline of the state and also the project would adversely affect the ecology.