With the box-office clash between Shah Rukh Khan's DILWALE and Sanjay Leela Bhansali's BAJIRAO MASTANI becoming more intense with the date of release approaching; it seems DILWALE, which till now was having an upper hand over BAJIRAO MASTANI has taken a backseat due to its tailor getting a mixed response.

In contrast BAJIRAO MASTANI, which was regarded as an underdog has suddenly taken a center stage thanks to the number of controversies surrounding the film thus helping garner maximum publicity to the film.

After being in news for angering the descendants of Peshwa Bajirao and Mastani, the film is now making waves in both print and electronic media for hurting the sentiments of Maharashtrian people!

The Hindu political party of Maharashtra Shiv Sena has now come forward demanding a ban on Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone's BAJIRAO MASTANI alleging the film outrages the Marathi culture by portraying offensive lyrics and seductive scenes.

Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik from Thane district has submitted a memorandum to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and appealed to ban the film until the filmmaker deletes certain scenes from the film that disgrace the Maratha history.

In a statement Mr. Sarnaik Sarnaik said, "The song 'Pinga' picturised on queen Kashibai and Mastani and the 'Vaat Lavli' song in which Bajirao Peshwa (I) dances with 'vulgar' movements holding his pony tail is unethical and will hurt the sentiments of Maharashtrian people!

In addition UdaySinh, a descendant of Bajirao family has also raised objections about vulgar display of women. In her protest she argues about an intimate love scene between Ranveer Singh and Priyanka Chopra's, where Ranveer Singh is shown seducing Priyanka by pouring water over her head.

"These are private moments. How can you show that? We agree with cinematic liberty, but the dignity of the person should be kept intact, "she blasted.

It seems the controversies are turning into a blessing in disguise for BAJIRAO MASTANI as the movie is getting undue Free' publicity! Besides it is a fact that movies which are plagued with controversies draw huge crowds at box office as film buffs are more inquisitive and curious.

Thus it looks BAJIRAO MASTANI is all set to give a run for money for DIWALE! What say readers???

This article is from Raaga's music blog. Read more at http://blog.raaga.com