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Padmaavat: One year on from the film鈥檚 controversial release

Released 12 months ago, Padmaavat is one of the most controversial Bollywood films of recent times.

It tells the story of a medieval Indian queen Padmaavat and a Muslim ruler Allaudin Khilji. And in the lead-up to its release in India, it sparked protests in a row about historical accuracy.

One year on, Raj and Pablo have looked back at the period drama, and how its reputation has changed since its release in 2018.

Here are nine things you might not know about the film's backstory.

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1. It has become the 9th fastest movie to enter the prestigious Rs. 200 Crore Club (grossing over $28 Million) in Bollywood

Starring husband and wife duo Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone (pictured below), the film earned approximately 鈧�19 Crore on its opening day.

2. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Salman Khan almost starred in the film

Sanjay Leela Bhansali originally came up with the concept for Padmavati 10 years ago, and he planned for Devdas star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and the legendary Salman Khan to play the lead roles.

3. The name for the movie was changed from Padmavati to Padmaavat

Due to claims of historical inaccuracy, it was recommended by India's censorship board that the film needed to change its name from Padmavati to Padmaavat, a 16th Century poem of the same name.

This helped make clear that the film was based on creative fiction, not historical events.

4. A politician declared a bounty on Deepika Padukone and Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Suraj Pal Amu, media coordinator for Haryana BJP, used a public rally to declare a bounty of Rs 10-Crore ($1.5 million) to behead the star and director, saying queen Padmavati had been incorrectly portrayed in the film. He also threatened to burn down movie theaters showing the film. The party asked him to apologise.

He later .

Padmavati controversy continues

Following the controversy we ask whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi should speak out

5. Deepika鈥檚 midriff was covered in the video for soundtrack song Ghoomer

A new version of the video was uploaded with a CGI cloth covering Deepika, due to guidelines from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

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6. Deepika's co-star Ranveer Singh was told to avoid speaking out about the death threats

He , of his response to the threats: "I was filled with rage. There’s no doubt about that. I had a very strong urge to act out, to speak out, but I was given strict instructions not to."

He added. "It’s the prerogative of the producers, of the director. If they were explicitly telling me that me saying something or doing something is going to complicate things further, I don’t want to complicate their lives. I want to do my bit to make sure that this film gets made and it gets released."

7. Ranveer Singh locked himself in a room for 21 days to play Alaudin Khilji

"I took 21 days and locked myself up in my Goregaon house. I was completely isolated," .

“I kind of isolated myself, marinated into the character because I can’t relate to Alaudin Khilji, I can’t relate to that level of manipulativeness, greed and ambition. I had to tap into dark experiences but his world view is not something I can relate to also."

8. Movie sets in Kolhapur were burnt down six weeks before release, in March 2017

Costume designers Rimple and Harpreet Narula revealed their heartbreak at the incident, : "We will work day and night and make up for the damages, but morally we are very low. We are broken sentimentally."

Nobody was hurt in the fire, the vandals weren’t caught, and it wasn’t established what their motives were.

9. It took a Supreme Court ruling to get the film released in several states

Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh had previously banned the film, despite it passing Indian Censor Board approval. After its release was delayed from December 2017, it finally came out in January 2018.