Jaya Prada Says Alauddin Khilji’s Character in Padmaavat Reminded Her of SP Leader Azam Khan

Former actor and politician Jaya Prada today said that Alauddin Khilji’s character from the Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmaavat reminded her of political rival and Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan. In an interview with ANI, Prada spoke about how she was “harassed” by Khan when contesting an election campaign against him. Prada has lashed out at the SP chief on previous occasions as well, frequently having accused him of intimidation and unsavory practices, specially during campaigning.

“When I was watching Padmaavat, Khilji’s character reminded me of Azam Khan ji, how he had harassed me during elections when I was contesting,” Prada -- who was formerly the Member of Parliament for Rampur, a constituency in Uttar Pradesh -- told ANI.

Bhansali's Padmaavat, based on a centuries-old fictional account of a centuries-older military campaign of dubious historicity, starred Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Rqanveer Singh as Khilji, ruler of the Delhi sultanate, who so reminds Prada of her political nemesis. The film was mired in controversy after a previously little-known Rajput fringe group, Karni Sena, took issue with the film's content (without having even seen it) and raged and rioted for months, to much public censure and political cowardice.