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City shrugs off fear
Feb 13th
Taking Advantage Of Heavy Police Security & A Holiday, Mumbaikars Catch First-Day Screenings Of ‘My Name Is Khan’
TIMES NEWS NETWORK (THE TIMES OF INDIA; February 13, 2010)
Mumbai: Whatever else he might have done, actor Shah Rukh Khan ensured one thing: that the city’s politicians took time off from their routine and spent a morning in a cinema hall—first-day, first-show no less. Which other actor can brag of such a fan following?
On Friday, Mumbai came out in large numbers despite the Shiv Sena’s threat to stay away from cinema halls screening ‘My Name Is Khan’. Leading the pack of cinegoers was home minister R R Patil. Others, such as MP Sanjay Nirupam and state minister Arif Nasim Khan, also watched the film, as did the likes of filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt. Khakhi freely mixed with mufti at theatres, as cops roamed conspicuously and security arrangements were tight.
SOUTH MUMBAI
“Those who want to exhibit the film will be given complete protection,’’ said Patil. The politician brushed aside all talk of the government’s failure to give confidence to exhibitors. “We have assured them protection. Now they have to decide if they want to release the film,’’ he added, before walking in to watch ‘My Name Is Khan’ at Nariman Point’s Inox theatre.
Taking complete advantage of the Mahashivratri holiday, Mumbaikars came out in numbers to cinema halls. “Initially, we were hesitant but then thought the police would do their job and we should enjoy the film,’’ said consultant Rakesh Gupta, who watched the film with his wife.
Byculla resident Mehmood Shaikh, who also watched the movie, had a different reason for showing up. “I came to see the crowds and the media coverage the movie was getting,’’ he said rather honestly.
At Sterling cinema in the Fort area, a mother-daughter duo watched the film without any fear. “The only problem was the long checking process at the entrance, but I guess they were just doing their job,’’ said the daughter. “We were asked to show photo IDs, probably to prove we were not Shiv Sainiks,’’ she said.
WESTERN SUBURBS
While only a couple of cinema halls in the western suburbs had chosen to screen the film in the morning, by afternoon nobody wanted to lose out on the business. Cops were deployed in large numbers at multiplexes in Goregaon’s Oberoi Mall and Andheri’s Fun Republic. ACP (West) Amitabh Gupta and zonal DCP (West) K M M Prasanna were both personally present at the theatres to supervise security arrangements.
MP and Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam watched the first show at Andheri’s Fun Republic. “There were many people in the theatre, including kids,’’ claimed Nirupam. “This is a clear indication that people are rejecting the Sena’s so-called movement,’’ he said. State minister Arif Nasim Khan also came to watch the film with friends.
Crowds from the western suburbs were seen carrying banners in support of the movie. IIT-ian Saurabh Jain came with friends and said they would watch the film without fear. But cinema owners played safe by only selling tickets an hour before showtime. Needless to say, ticket counters were swamped with cine-goers.
On Friday morning, Sena supporters pelted stones and bottles at Fun Republic but the cops nabbed them promptly. At Cinemax in Kandivili (East), there was an attempt to disrupt the screening. “About 30 Sainiks were picked up as soon as they began to tear posters,’’ said Ajit Patil, DCP (zone 12). All the accused were hauled to the Samta Nagar police station. In Andheri (west), two BEST buses and an auto rickshaw were damaged. “We got calls saying shops were forcefully being made to shut down and BEST buses were stopped in Jawahar Nagar in Goregaon (west),’’ informed a senor police official. “The team reached the spot immediately but the miscreants couldn’t be traced,’’ he added.
EASTERN SUBURBS
Khan lovers from Dombivli, Kalyan and Ulhasnagar turned up at the Fame multiplex in Kalyan, only to be disappointed since the booking counter was closed. “The decision not to show any films for an undefined period has come from the top,’’ said an employee.
But Mumbaikars thronged single-screen theatres in the central and eastern suburbs. Kalpana theatre at Kamani Road in Kurla (west) showed the film at 12 noon with 349 seats filled. “All tickets went in current booking and the show went off without incident,’’ said theatre manager Babu Bhai. Cops from police stations at Kurla and VB Nagar were deployed at the cinema hall. On February 9, glass windows were shattered in the theatre. The management believes their legal advisor led the agitation. “The man has gone into hiding but we are looking for him,’’ said ACP (Kurla division) Prabhakar Satam.
The Ghatkopar-based single screen Shreyas cinema sold 35 tickets for the noon show—a third of normal capacity. “We decided to go ahead with the release after the zonal DCP personally led the security charge on the premises,’’ said an employee. Meanwhile, bandobast was beefed up at the Ghatkopar-based Cinemax theatre on Ram Narayan Narkar Marg where police officials from Pant Nagar, led by senior inspector MS Suryavanshi, provided security.
—Reported by Yogesh Naik, Mateen Hafeez, Vijay V Singh, Sanjeev Shivadekar, Nitasha Natu & V Narayan
Sena tears up truce, screens
Feb 10th
CM Assures Multiplexes of Adequate Security, Cops Make Preventive Arrests Across City
Bharati Dubey, V Narayan & Mateen Hafeez | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; February 10, 2010)
Mumbai: The terror after the truce on Tuesday took everyone by surprise. After promising to let Shahrukh say My Name Is Khan, the Shiv Sena went on the rampage again, attacking movie halls across the city where advance bookings for the film opened, prompting producer Karan Johar, distributors and multiplex owners to seek police protection.
Halls like Shreyas, Mehul and Huma Adlabs in the eastern suburbs and Metro in South Mumbai were attacked by Sainiks. Shiv Sena activists posing as cinegoers bought tickets to a show of Striker at Metro cinema, entered the hall and tore the screen in the evening. Earlier in the day, Sainiks barged into Huma Adlabs and tore up the screen during a show of 3 Idiots. The booking counter of Mehul Cinema at Mulund was ransacked, additional commissioner of police (east region) Ritesh Kumar told TOI.
Karan Johar alongwith distributors and exhibitors of the movie met police commissioner D Sivanandhan on Tuesday asking for security. “The police commissioner has assured us of adequate security,’’ said Johar.
The police, initially caught unawares by the Sena’s assurance not to disrupt the film, swung into action later. After the attacks, cinema halls had mobile police vans with about 18 policemen stationed outside them.Till late at night,over 350 Shiv Sainiks were arrested from across the city as a preventive measure. “Some were arrested for rioting while others were picked up as a preventive measure,’’ said Sivanandhan.
Deputy commissioner of police (Zone IX) K M M Prasanna held meetings with theatre owners under his jurisdiction (Bandra to Juhu), comprising 17 screens. “We assured theatre owners of adequate police protection.’’ “Till 8pm we arrested 45 people for rioting, unlawful assembly and as preventive measures,” additional commissioner of police (West region) Amitabh Gupta said.
Cinema halls closed advance bookings after Tuesday’s incidents. Vishal Kapoor, COO, Fun Cinemas who attended the meeting on Tuesday morning, said, “We have been told there will be enough police security at the time of the relase and asked to open advance bookings. We did so on Monday but stopped it now. If things get better we shall open advance bookings on Wednesday.’’
Himanshu Roy, joint commissioner of police (law and order), said distributors had given police a list of 63 cinema halls where the movie is to be screened. “We will deploy police at distributors’ offices and cinema halls and provide personal security to them if required. We have already given security to some distributors,’’ said Roy. He indicated cops in muftis will be present in cinema halls. “Before the audience is allowed in the cinema hall, there will be frisking,’’ he said. He added state reserve police force will be called in.
The film industry is not surprised. Mahesh Bhatt said, “In 1989, when Pakistan cricketerturned actor Mohsin Khan acted in my film Saathi, it met a similar fate.It was forced out of halls by the Sena because of his nationality.We spoke to Thackeray and got the impression the matter was resolved but later Mohsin was attacked outside RK Studio.’’ Film writer Dilip Thakur hopes it will be like Amitabh Bachchan’s Shahenshah.He said,“Maratha Mandir was cordoned off by the police, the film released smoothly and Bofors was forgotten.’’
Chavan assures protection
In a late-night meeting with distributors and multiplex owners, CM Ashok Chavan said the government is prepared to protect multiplexes. The meeting was attended by home minister R R Patil, minister of state Ramesh Bagwe, director-general of police A N Roy, additional chief secretary Chandra Iyengar.
Yogesh Naik | TNN
Shefali Zariwala files case against hubby
Nov 13th
Shefali Zariwala, erstwhile item girl, files assault and abuse charges against spouse
By Samarth and Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 13, 2009)
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| Shefali Zariwala outside the police station on Thursday |
Item girl Shefali Zariwala, who has appeared in dozens of music videos, including chartbuster Kaanta laga, indeed has been pricked by a sharp thorn — her estranged husband, Harmeet Gulzar. The starlet, a resident of Shastri Nagar, registered an FIR yesterday afternoon against the ‘Meet Brothers’ star at the Oshiwara police station.
“Zariwala holds a joint account with her husband in a well-known bank. According to her complaint, the two had a large row when he withdrew about Rs 12 lakh from the account. He even assaulted and abused her, which is what prompted such a drastic step,” said ACP Dilip Suryawanshi of the DN Nagar Division.
“We have registered a case under section 498A (Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) of the Indian Penal Code. We are yet to make any arrests in the case, but investigations are still on,” said DCP Zone IX, K M M Prasanna. The charge carries with it the potential for a three-year jail term.
Confirming the incident, Shefali said, “I can’t really speak about the matter as our divorce proceedings are still ongoing and the case is subjudice. But Harmeet did withdraw a large amount of money from the account without informing me. When I confronted him, he refused to give me an explanation.”
According to police, the 28-year-old performer has been suffering at the hands of her husband for quite some time. The distressed girl arrived at the Oshiwara police station wearing large sunglasses and a purple top, and spent several hours with police officials, who even allowed Shefali to park her car inside the police station, given her frame of mind.
The item girl, who holds an IT degree from Sardar Patel College of Engineering, Andheri, first shot to fame with the controversial Kaanta laga remix video, where she incited criticism for her attire and double entendres. She later starred in Mujse Shaadi Karogi (2004) along with Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar.Shefali, when talking to us, further added, “Something ticked off in my psyche that led me to take this extreme step. I was being extremely harassed, literally pushed to a wall.” When we contacted a good friend of Shefali, she threw some light on what this ‘something’ might be. “Shefali was concerned for the safety of her family, which was being threatened under the strained relationship. Crooks have to be taught a lesson,” she alleged.
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| Harmeet Gulzar |
