Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar during an interview with Rajdeep Sardesai had hit out at the way the controversy surrounding Padmavati was played out.

During the interview the duo had said, "now this is the new Taliban and Talibani diktat. This should be opposed... Secular Hindus should come out openly against it. These royal families never fought with the Britishers, why are they coming out on the roads in protest now.. I am willing to agree with any poor Rajput but not any of these Rajput royals...".

While speaking to India Today, Giriraj Singh Lotwara, President of the Shree Rajput Sabha slammed Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar for their remarks.

"Javed Akhtar is a very respectable artist. He has spent his life in the field of art. Shabana Azmi is a very capable artist and is the daughter of the late Azmi sahab who was a very big poet, who has been a big asset for the country. An artist sees everything from their own perspective. But a nation runs from its perspective, nation's people runs from its perspective and governance happens from its perspective. So, if our filmmakers, artists start interfering in governance or distort history in the name of art, then people will not tolerate it. So, they will have to understand the sentiment of people, that is their responsibility," Lotwara said.

Shabana and Javed had expressed sadness at the state of affairs prevailing in the country. It was maintained that it is the responsibility of the government to maintain law and order situation in the country.

"What they said, that the Royals did not fight with the Britishers, what was the need for them to fight with the Britishers, why should they have fought with the Britishers. The rule was of the Britishers, Royals were running the administration alongwith the Britishers. Those who were upset with them, they were fighting with them. When our Bharat Chodo Andolan started, in that the Royals gave up their sovereignty in favour of this nation. You never showed that thing," Lotwara mentioned to India Today.