Some days ago, a petition titled 'Deepika Bachchao' initiated by veteran actress Shabana Azmi was doing the rounds, seeking signatures from leading ladies from B-town, in support of Deepika Padukone over the death threats being issued to her for essaying the role of Rani Padmini in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Padmavati'. Almost everyone including Deepika Padukone's arch-rivals Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma extended their support besides other contemporaries such as Vidya Balan, Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Alia Bhatt, Parineeti Chopra and Sonakshi Sinha. Even veteran leading ladies Hema Malini and Jaya Bachchan, both Members of Parliament, lent their support unanimously.What came as a shocker to many was when Kangana Ranaut refused to sign the petition blatantly, despite being approached. For those who have come in late, things soured between once good friends Kangana and Deepika, when the latter collected the Best Actress award for 'Happy New Year', but chose to dedicate it to Kangana for her stellar performance in 'Queen'. Kangana was quick enough to respond that she would have appreciated had Deepika chosen to acknowledge her personally than going public for the sake of earning brownie points among the media and the audience.Subsequently, through many media interactions and interviews, Kangana asserted that she and Deepika weren't friends. But a well-informed source from the industry said that, 'What came as a clincher was the complete silence of the industry including Deepika when Kangana battled Hrithik Roshan. Kangana probably feels no need to extend her support to anyone since no one supported her. And she is not all wrong.'However, Kangana decided to clarify her stand behind not signing the petition for an altogether different reason. And the reason is Azmi herself. Kangana quoted on record, 'I was filming Manikarnika in Jodhpur when I got a call from dear friend Anushka Sharma to sign the petition written by Ms Shabana Azmi. I explained to her that Deepika Padukone has all my support but I am a bit wary of Shabana Azmi's investment in left-wing vs right-wing politics. I have my own set of ideas and opinions about the current situation in our country. I am on the fence about many things and being a part of a feminist movement called 'Deepika Bachao' led by someone who character assassinated me when I was bullied by influential men, seems to be one of them. Anushka understood but I am glad they reached out to me like I said Deepika has all my support I am an individual perfectly capable of supporting who I like without anyone's support.'As if that was not all, Azmi's step-son Farhan Akhtar went all-out to pen an open letter in support of Hrithik Roshan, which was not taken kindly by many.Does the future see Kangana and Deepika willing to let go of their past? Well, time will tell.