The epic in Awadhi language extols the virtue of Padmavati who committed sati
the practice of a widow immolating herself on her husband's funeral pyre
to protect her honour from the invading Muslim emperor Khilji
who had killed her husband, the Rajput king, in a battle.
Padmavati is a fictional queen in the epic poem Padmavat
by 16th-Century poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi.
Sati is believed to have originated some 700 years ago among the ruling class or Rajputs in India.
The Rajput women burnt themselves after their men were defeated in battles to avoid being taken by the victors.
But it came to be seen as a measure of wifely devotion in later years.
The custom was outlawed by India's British rulers in 1829 following demands by Indian reformers.
The Rajput Karnik Sena, a fringe caste group, have called for the film to be banned.
Last week, the group, which had disrupted the shooting and slapped Bhansali on the set of the film
vandalised cinemas, and threatened to chop off Deepika Padukone nose :woohoo:
referring to a story in the epic Ramayana where a character has her nose chopped off as punishment.
