Panipat, is facing a lot of trouble even as it remains steady at the box office, collecting Rs 17.9 crore over the first weekend. Cabinet minister and BJP MLA Vishvendra Singh, who is a descendant of Jat ruler Maharaja Surajmal, has joined the protests against the period film and will soon be seen with the protesters in Bharatpur.

Former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje has also tweeted in support of the protest, demanding a ban on the Ashutosh Gowariker directorial.

Vasundhara has also accused Panipat director Ashutosh Gowariker, of portraying Maharaja Surajmal in a ‘wrong light’, which she said, was ‘condemnable.’ “The portrayal of a loyal, devoted and kind-hearted emperor Maharaja Surajmal in the film ‘Panipat’ by the filmmaker of the movie in wrong light is condemnable,” Raje tweeted in Hindi.

She had also said in a statement, “Wrong depiction of self-respecting, faithful and ‘hriday samrat’ Maharaja Suraj Mal in the film Panipat is condemnable.”

A group of people from the Jat community staged a protest against Panipat and even burnt an effigy of director Ashutosh, demanding a ban on the film on Saturday. Alleging that facts have been distorted in the film, Jats have threatened to intensify their protests if the film was not edited.

Historian Mahendra Singh Sikarwar, who has written a book on Bharatpur history, said the Red Fort of Agra was already under Maharaja Surajmal kingdom before the Panipat battle. “Maharaja Surajmal spoke only Braj language but the film shows him speaking a different language,” he said.

Panipat revolves around the events that led to the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761. Arjun plays the protagonist Sadashiv Rao Bhau’s role, who led the Maratha army during the battle against the invading Afghan army led by Ahmad Shah Abdali (essayed by Sanya Dutt). The film also stars Padmini Kolhapure, Mohnish Bahl, Kunal Kapoor.