Karan Johar 'deeply saddened' over torching of 'Padmavati' set

Filmmaker Karan Johar on Thursday said he is extremely upset over the vandalism and arson attack on the Kolhapur set of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Padmavati".

"It's deeply saddening to me as a filmmaker, as a human being, as a citizen of our prestigious and wonderful country that we have to endure something like this. My thoughts, my support and all my ideologies are with Sanjay. Everytime I read something like this, it deeply saddens me," Karan said at the trailer launch of "Baahubali: The Conclusion" here.

His comment comes after an outdoor set of "Padmavati" near Kolhapur was vandalised and torched by hooded grou of men on early Wednesday. Around 80 to 90 per cent costumes and jewellery on the set were reduced to ashes.

This was the second such setback for Bhansali.

The filmmaker had moved the film's shoot to Maharashtra after activists of Shri Rajput Karni Sena outfit had assaulted him and vandalised the movie's Jaipur set in January over alleged distortions of history in the film's script.

"Padmavati" tells the story of Alauddin Khilji, the medieval-era Delhi ruler who was infatuated by Rajput queen Padmavati.