"..owner of the mall cooperated with us.."-Rajput Karni Sena on destroying artist Karan's 'Padmavati' rangoli!

Surat (Gujarat): Rajput Karni Sena on Wednesday threatened to further disrupt the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's magnum opus "Padmavati', two days after its members vandalised a 'Rangoli' inspired by the movie at a mall in Surat. "We removed a rangoli inspired by the film Padmavati at Rahul Raj Mall as a protest. The owner of the mall cooperated with us and apologized," a member of the pro-Rajput group told ANI. The group warned it would go to any length if the film is released during their protests. "If the film releases in present circumstances, while we are protesting, the authorities won't be able to stop us. They will not be able to tolerate the outcome of this. We will go to any length," the member said.

Protesting against the movie #Padmavati, Rajput Karni Sena members rubbed out rangoli created for film's promotion at a mall in Surat(16.10) pic.twitter.com/vbCGWHanQt

— ANI (@ANI) October 18, 2017

Meanwhile, the artist, Karan, who created the artwork also expressed his disappointment over the turn of events. "What happened was bad, it took me three days to create it. The members of the group barged and ruined the rangoli chanting 'Jai Shri Ram'."

What happened was bad, it was my hard work of 3 days. Group barged & ruined rangoli while shouting Jai Shri Ram slogans: Artist #Padmavati pic.twitter.com/A2LWS48P1b — ANI (@ANI) October 18, 2017

Meanwhile, actress Deepika Padikone also lashed out at the detractors and urged Union Minister Smriti Irani to take action. "Absolutely heartbreaking to see the recent attack on artist Karan and his artwork!Disgusting and appalling to say the least," the actress posted on Twitter. "Who are these people?Who is responsible for their actions?For how long are we going to let this go on?," she wrote. ‘Angry’ Deepika reaches out to Smriti Irani on destroyed ‘Padmavati’ rangoli

this has to stop NOW & action must be taken! @smritiirani pic.twitter.com/o5RGhDTHPJ

— Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) October 18, 2017

Bhansali's much-awaited film, 'Padmavati', has been mired in controversies since the beginning. In January, the members of the group had vandalised the film set and manhandled the crew, claiming the film distorts historical facts.