Members of the Gurjar community in Rajasthan have threatened to stop the screening of Akshay Kumar-starrer Prithviraj if the film continues using the term 'Rajput' for Prithviraj Chauhan.

The community claimed that Prithviraj was from the Gurjar community and he was not a Rajput. However, leaders from the Rajput community have strongly rejected their claim and said that Gurjars were initially 'gauchar', who then converted into Gujjars and then Gurjars. They basically come from Gujarat and hence got this name, claimed Shri Rajput Karni Sena national spokesperson Vijendra Singh Shaktawat.

This is a place-related term and not a caste-related term, he added.

Two days ago, members of the Gurjar community had staged a protest in Ajmer, threatening to stall the screening of the film if Prithviraj Chauhan is not shown as a Gurjar king.

Gurjar leader Himmat Singh said, "Prithviraj Movie is made on the basis of Prithviraj Raso written by Chand Bardai and the same was shown in the teaser.. After studying the inscriptions available in history, researchers have believed that Chand Bardai wrote it around 400 years back after the reign of Prithviraj Chauhan. In the 16th century, the Raso epic was written which is fictional. The epic is written by Chand Bardai in Pringal language which is a mixture of Bajra and Rajasthani language."

Directed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi, Prithviraj also features Sanjay Dutt, Sonu Sood, Ashutosh Rana, and Sakshi Tanwar in prominent roles.

Produced by Yash Raj Films, the film is set to release on January 21, 2022.