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Posts tagged shiv sena
Ranbir does a Rahul Gandhi
May 27th
What Rahul Gandhi did, Ranbir Kapoor perfected in Mumbai
Times News Network (BOMBAY TIMES; May 27, 2010)
Rahul Gandhi, the poster boy of Indian politics, did it for the Congress first in Mumbai… travelling by a Kalyan bound CR local between Dadar and Ghatkopar, to defy the Shiv Sena in February and establish the fact that Mumbai is for all Indians… but Ranbir Kapoor, the poster boy of Bollywood, was more at ease when he hopped into a Churchgate-bound WR local at Andheri to alight at Mahim in a promo for the Ronnie Screwvala produced and Prakash Jha-directed film Raajneeti.
Both, Rahul and Ranbir undertook their train journeys to establish a local connect with the aam aadmi… and, coincidentally, both were dressed in kurta and Kolhapuris, which is the attire of the politician… and which, coincicentally again, is what Rahul is in real life and Ranbir plays Rajneeti. The film also stars Nana Patekar, Ajay Devgn, Katrina Kaif, Manoj Bajpai, Arjun Rampal, Naseeruddin Shah and Sarah Thompson Kane and is about Indian politics, about democracy and its ugly underside, about elections, and about the few people who control the destiny of millions, their unstoppable ambition, and their bitter and violent battle to achieve it. Rahul Gandhi, by this brazen act of defiance, won the hearts of Mumbaikars and perhaps scored brownie points for the Congress to be calculated in elections to come. And Ranbir Kapoor, he sent commuters’ hearts a flutter in the ladies compartment for sure, but what his Mumbai rail yatra will do for Raajneeti we’ll only know on June 4, when the film releases…
MNS digs in heels on foreigners in film row
Mar 16th
Bollywood joins hands against netagiri
Bharati Dubey & Somit Sen | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; March 16, 2010)
Mumbai: A day after MNS workers were arrested by the police for extorting money from a film producer, the party has threatened action against the police and the production house for allegedly cooking up charges. At the same time, the film industry has collectively decided to fight any sort of political interference.
TOI had in its March 15 edition written about MNS workers barging into the set of Abhishek Bachchan-starrer, Crooked, and allegedly demanding money from line producer Vikesh Bhutani who refused to pay up and called up the police.
Raj Thackeray’s MNS issued a diktat for banning the use of foreign nationals in film dance sequences and instead giving preference to Indian junior artistes. MNS cineworkers union president Shalini Thackeray, refuted the charges and threatened to raid every film set where foreigners were being employed. “We went to check whether the 136 foreigners had valid work permits. Foreigners will not be allowed to work as item girls or those dancing in the background.’’
Incidentally, the director of the film, Abhinay Deo, is the son of yesteryear actors Ramesh and Seema Deo. “I am hurt as the film’s creative process has been hampered. They should’ve at least respected the fact my parents have contributed a lot to the Marathi film industry and know Raj Thackeray very closely. When I told my father at night about what happened, he was appalled,’’ he said.
He added, “I have a lot of expectations from our youth leaders including Raj Thackeray. But what happened on Sunday was not right. They don’t realise that cinema is generating employment, for both local Maharashtrians and non-Maharashtrians.’’ Deo said that he was depicting an Istanbul scene which required foreigners. “There were also an equal number of Indians on the set. What if I had gone to Istanbul to shoot? So many job opportunities would have been lost.’’
The MNS accused film producer Mukesh Bhatt of being instrumental in the arrest of its activists. “Mukesh, who is the vice-president of film producers body, had persuaded the CM to get our activists arrested,’’ said Shalini Thackeray. “The Bhatts should set their own house in order before interfering in what the MNS is doing,’’ she stated.
Film Federation of India president L Suresh said, “The film industry is democratic in its set-up. So we will not allow any political party to interfere in our business.’’
Producer-director Uday Shankar Pani applauded Sidhwani. “This has sent out a positive signal. It indicates a clean-up exercise that is much needed.’’
The Western India Film Producers’ Association (WIFPA), which is supposed to be backed by the Shiv Sena, has condemned the MNS act. President Sanghram Shirke said, “The MNS has set a bad example in its first attempt to enter the film industry. Its motive was to extort money from the producer. But the producer’s response has sent out a strong message and people will now think twice before messing with us.’’
11 party workers get bail
The Bandra magistrate court released 11 MNS workers, who were arrested on Sunday evening for allegedly extorting money from a film producer, on a bail of Rs 3,000 each. A police officer said they had sought remand of the accused but were turned down. According to the arrested MNS party workers, they were not involved in extortion and had only objected to the use of foreign artistes without proper permission. Additional commissioner of police (West Region) Amitabh Gupta said, “If someone has complaints about the use of foreign artistes in a film without required documents, they should approach us about it.’’ TNN
I want to say sorry to Shah Rukh & Karan-Priyadarshan
Feb 16th
By Subhash K. Jha, February 16, 2010 – 09:31 IST
The prolific Priyadarshan’s reputation after his television appearance calling the conflict between the Shiv Sena and Shah Rukh Khan a publicity stunt, has put him in the ‘block’ list of many important cell phones in Mumbai.
Predictably, Priyan pleads innocence. “I was quoted out of context. I’d never speak like that about Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar. They’ve both been very nice to me. If I’ve hurt either of them I apologize to them publicly, and would like to add that in any conflict between filmmakers and politicians I’d naturally and inevitably support my own fraternity.”
Priyadarshan wanted to call his new film with Ajay Devgn, Bipasha Basu and Akshaye Khanna Ishaq. In fact he had all but finalized the title when to his horror Priyan found out that a film entitled Ishqiya is already out.
“Vishal Bhardwaj beat me to it!” laughs Priyan. “He took the title Ishqiya. And once that was out, there was no point in calling my film Ishaq. So we’ve named it Garam Hawa after M S Sathyu’s classic.”
Priyan hopes to live up to the title of Sathyu’s film. “I’m not such a bad filmmaker, you know. If I’m the director of De Dana Dan I’ve also made Kancheevaram.”
BOLLYWOOD HUNGAMA.COM
After 3 Idiots, MNIK lights up BO
Feb 15th
The SRK-starrer has reaped in a decent amount in its opening weekend at the box-office
By MM Online Bureau (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 15, 2010)
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| Shahrukh Khan and Karan Johar at a press conference for My Name is Khan |
It hasn’t been a bad beginning to the New Year for Bollywood. While the spillover effects of ‘3 Idiots’ continues to dazzle the 2010 box office too with its rich haul that of a staggering total gross of Rs 196 crore, ‘My Name is Khan’ has sent the industry in a tizzy once again.
The film shows up a first day haul of Rs 8 crore with Mumbai screening it in only half the theatres and Pune drawing a no-show due to the Shiv Sena threat. Trade pundits would like to add another Rs 2 crores to the first day total gross, if the film had been screened as per scheduled: to total capacity in both Pune and Mumbai which accounts for a major share of the box office receipts. This would have taken the first day total to Rs 10 crore and pitched MNIK amongst the top slots when it comes to first day pickings. Currently, it is at second spot.
In most other cities, the multiplexes ran to 100% capacity, while the single screens opened to a 70% showing. The film has also reportedly opened to serpentine queues in the overseas market. Trade analysts are still counting the figures for the weekend and will pass their verdict shortly on whether the film comes close to the ‘3 Idiots’ juggernaut. Nevertheless, the industry is already upbeat.
Add to this, a fair run by Abhisek Chaubey’s ‘Ishqiya’, with a two week gross of Rs 21 crore and it doesn’t seem to be too dull a start for 2010. The success of ‘Ishqiya’ is specially heartening, since the film does not fall into the traditional slot of mainstream masala and breaks the stereotype completely. Surely, this augurs for better — and content-wise richer — times for the industry.
Sadly, Chandan Arora’s ‘Striker’ didn’t manage to create ripples, despite the fact that it is an unusual and immensely watchable film, with a sterling act by the ensemble cast comprising Siddharth, Ankur Vikal, Seema Biswas, Vidya Malwade and Aditya Pancholi.
According to a trade portal, the film has a first week net of Rs 1.25 crore. Truly, figures rarely reflect the quality of a film. Ram Gopal Varma’s ‘Rann’ too hasn’t had a fair run, despite its thriller pace, its topicality and Amitabh Bachchan’s gritty act as a media baron. The film has made Rs 7.5 crores in two weeks.
The other disappointment of the year has been ‘Veer’. Salman Khan’s testosterone act as the Indian brave heart didn’t actually create an impact at the BO and managed to reap in a total gross of 36 crores.
Now that isn’t a rich haul for a Salman Khan movie, considering his Wanted managed to make the moolah roll, only few months ago. All eyes are now focused on Bachchan’s third offering in a short span of two months: Leena Yadav’s ‘Teen Patti’ which boasts of Ben Kinglsey too, the Deepika Padukone-Farhan Akhtar romance in ‘Karthik Calling Karthik’ and ‘Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge’, the Ajay Devgan-Paresh Rawal comedy which promises to bring back the flavour of Hrishikesh Mukherjee back to contemporary cinema.
Lull in war of words, MNIK opens to packed houses
Feb 14th
STEALING THE SHOW: Shah Rukh’s wife and MNIK co-producer Gauri Khan, along with daughter Suhana, visits INOX and Metro cinemas in south Mumbai on Saturday afternoon. (Left) Members of the NCP buy 100 tickets for the movie, which was released at a multiplex in Thane on Saturday
SRK Will Visit Theatres Today; Almost 3,000 Sainiks Arrested In 3 Days
Bharati Dubey, Nitasha Natu, V Narayan & Nitin Yeshwantrao | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; February 14, 2010)
Mumbai: As the Shiv Sena’s threats simmered down, My Name Is Khan (MNIK) opened to packed houses in most multiplexes in the city on Saturday.
Things were slowly getting back to normal, said a multiplex owner. “By Sunday, we may release the movie in other other parts of the state as well,’’ he said. No untoward incident was reported on Saturday.
Most halls in the city, which had removed MNIK posters, have replaced them. In fact, even in Thane—a Sena bastion—the movie has made its foray. Though the film was not shown there on Friday, NCP leader Jitendra Awhad organised a screening on Saturday. The management of Cinemax at Eternity Mall screened it for morning show (10.30 am). The shows were peaceful in other parts of Mumbai as well. All the seats were booked at Andheri’s Fun Cinemas on Saturday afternoon.
Single-screen theatres, which did not hold the show on Friday, released the film on Saturday. Though their collections were slightly lower than that of multiplexes, trade pundits expect that even single-screens will run full house on Sunday.
SRK’s wife and co-producer of MNIK Gauri Khan—with daughter Suhana in tow—visited INOX and Metro in south Mumbai in the afternoon. “People liked the film and that’s why it has got a good response,’’ Gauri said, finishing the sentence with a “Jai Maharashtra’’. Gauri was quick to dismiss speculation that the “good response” was due to the controversy generated before the film’s release.
“People liked the movie not because of the controversy. Karan Johar and his team worked hard. The film was in the making for three years. Their efforts have paid off,’’ she said, adding that Shah Rukh, who was in Berlin for the premiere of the film, was happy about the smooth release. The actor himself plans to visit the theatres in the city on Sunday. According to a source, a special screening for chief minister Ashok Chavan may also be organised at INOX.
Despite a limited release in Maharashtra, Gujarat and parts of MP, the film’s worldwide box-office collection on Friday stood at around Rs 25 crore. A trade analyst said MNIK could have easily earned an additional Rs 5 crore-Rs 6 crore had it had a normal release.
The Andheri police on Friday arrested Sena deputy shakha pramukh Kuldeep Singh, who along with three party members, had staged a protest at a theatre on February 11. Commissioner D Sivanandhan said 2,929 Sainiks had been arrested over the past three days.
Central meet leaves state red-faced
Feb 13th
FIRST DAY, FIRST SHOW: Shah Rukh fans ignore the Shiv Sena threats and queue up for ‘My Name Is Khan’ at a multiplex in Kandivli on Friday. (Below) Actors Pooja Bedi and Kabir Bedi with a friend return after they fail to get tickets at a theatre, which ran a full house
Mumbai: “Just hearing some media reports. Just so all know… what I say here is for my fans across the world. That’s all.’’ This tweet made it clear what his message for the Thackerays was.
But, if the movie released in Mumbai and Khan was in a position to tweet his messages, he would have to be grateful to the dispensation at the Centre. In an extremely embarrassing turn of events for the state government, Union home secretary G K Pillai convened a special meeting in New Delhi with senior ministry and Intelligence Bureau officials to review the law and order situation in Mumbai in the wake of the Shiv Sena protests against Khan’s comments on the non-inclusion of Pakistani cricketers in IPL.
“It was an embarrassing situation for us. It was the first time that the Union home secretary had held a special meeting to review the state situation following an agitation launched by a political party. Such review meetings are usually convened to take stock of the situation in the event of a terror strike or a bomb blast,’’ a state home department official told TOI.
Officials admitted it was Khan’s proximity to the Gandhi family that ensured the release of the movie. Chavan had been personally monitoring the situation for a week even as Patil was negotiating with exhibitors and theatre owners. Over 2,500 hard-core Sena activists were arrested in the run-up to the film’s release and Chavan backed it up by threatening to withdraw the security cover provided to Uddhav Thackeray and withdrawing the security given to a section of senior Shiv Sena legislators.
A confident Chavan rubbed it in after Friday’s show. “The Marathi manoos is fed up with the Shiv Sena’s vandalism,’’ he said, complimenting people for ignoring the Sena’s threats and thanking theatre owners for having faith in the government. “No political party should impose its will on people in a democracy,’’ he added.
But it was Friday’s meet in New Delhi that finally turned the tide around. “When a message reached New Delhi that chances of the film releasing on Friday were bleak, the Centre made it known to both Chavan and Patil that it was their responsibility to ensure a safe release,’’ he said.
It was after that that Chavan and Patil had late-night deliberations with exhibitors and there was a fresh round of discussions on Friday morning, when a section of theatre owners agreed to exhibit the film if the home minister was himself present at one of the multiplexes. It was initially proposed that both Chavan and Patil would attend the inaugural show but the chief minister later changed his mind and chose to monitor the situation from his official residence.
Patil did the star turn at Inox, Nariman Point, accompanied by over 100 constables and officials in uniform and plain clothes. He stayed there for less than five minutes and a similar scene played it out in about a dozen theatres across Mumbai, with plainclothed policemen sometimes outnumbering the crowd; the first three rows at every theatre remained empty or were peopled by policemen. But the fact that 35 of the 63 screens actually showed the movie—with all indication that the others, too, would follow suit—had exhibitors crowing in delight. Nagpur, too, followed Mumbai in having screenings after some indecision in the morning though no plex in either Pune or Navi Mumbai released MNIK on Friday.
Common man feels right to expression is at stake
Feb 13th
KHAKI COVER: To avoid any untoward incident, most halls had a heavy police bandobast
Kartikeya | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; February 13, 2010)
Mumbai: Actor Shah Rukh Khan has learnt it the hard way what a mob’s ire means when it comes to his freedom of speech and expression. However, it is not just him but even ordinary Mumbaikars who believe that they cannot express their opinions without the fear of provoking a violent reaction.
Varun Vasuna, a post-graduation student in English, said, “I say whatever I want to and express my views on any topic under the sun.’’ But ask him if he would be as undaunted in airing his views in public, doubts creep in. “If I was in a position of eminence like Shah Rukh is, I would not be so confident,’’ he said. Like many others, Vasuna is a bit wary of the public world where his right to speech is not so well established.
The protests that have erupted following Shah Rukh’s speech have left citizens shaken. “The manner in which people have gone about opposing him has underscored the fact that the Mumbaikars’ right to express themselves is at stake,’’ said Pallavi Sharma, a corporate lawyer working at Nariman Point. “Shah Rukh is paying a heavy price simply because he had expressed an opinion. The state is supposed to protect this fundamental right but I don’t see it happening.’’
Akshay Tandon, who runs the ‘Freedom of Expression Movement’, said people today were forced to think twice before expressing even a completely harmless opinion. “You calculate the conseqences of what you may say where. That’s not freedom of expression in the true sense,’’ he added.
According several residents, had there been a culture of expression of opinion then things would not have come to such a head and the Shiv Sena could not have prevented the release of Shah Rukh’s film. “It is the fear of reprisal that keeps us quiet,’’ said Sushant Karnik, an IT professional from Andheri. He added that political parties played upon the fears of individuals to gag them. “I felt disappointed when even large multiplex chains gave in to threats and called the morning shows off. If they could not stand up to such threats, how do you expect an ordinary Mumbaikar to ever speak his mind?’’ Karnik was just voicing what many Mumbaikars have on their mind.
Thackeray calls Sena agitation a ‘success,’ flays CM for bandobast
Feb 13th
ANGER MANAGEMENT: Police arrest an anti-MNIK protestor after bottles were thrown at a multiplex
Ambarish Mishra | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; February 13, 2010)
Mumbai: The Shiv Sena continued to flaunt its aggressive mood even after the successful release of ‘My Name Is Khan’ in Mumbai amid unprecedented police security on Friday.
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray complimented his Sainiks for their “successful’’ agitation against MNIK. Sena leader Sanjay Raut, MP, said earlier that the Sena would continue to agitate against the film if Khan did not express regret over his statement backing the inclusion of Pakistani cricketers in the IPL.
In a statement issued late Friday evening, Thackeray severely criticised chief minister Ashok Chavan for pulling out all the stops and deploying police for the film’s release. “Chavan has been genuflecting before the Congress high command. Now, the CM has bowed before Shah Rukh Khan. It is unfortunate and revolting that the chief minister of Maharashtra, the state which takes pride in Shivaji Maharaj, should be so helpless.’’
Stating that the Sena was not against MNIK per se, the Sena supremo said that the agitation was against Khan’s statement on the IPL. “Shah Rukh Khan should apologise not to the Sena, but the entire country,’’ he said.
Saying the anti-MNIK agitation was to uphold love for India, the Sena patriarch said, “If patriotism is an offence then the Sena will commit it again and again. The Congress seems more worried about the Khans than the country’s security.’’
The Sena chief ’s statement was meant to revive the morale of his partymen who seemed trapped in a fruitless exercise to mobilise opinion against SRK, say Sena watchers.
Earlier, there was some confusion in the Sena over Khan’s Twitter messages in which he had said sorry to his innumerable fans. Matoshree, which expected Khan to convey regrets to Thackeray, was upset when the actor clarified that the regrets were meant only for his admirers.
Said senior Sena leader Manohar Joshi, “Shah Rukh Khan will have to clarify his position on his IPL statement. Until then, the Sena will agitate against MNIK.’’ Joshi personally led the Shiv Sainiks to stop the screening of Khan’s film at Nakshatra at Dadar on Friday.
Thackeray held extensive talks with his party colleagues on the Khan controversy and the release of the film amid tight security. Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray was present too. The Sena’s immediate task is to quell the impression that the party has lost its say following the grand reception to the film. The Sena supremo is likely to issue fresh instruction to his followers on the Khan controversy late on Friday night.
The widespread arrests of Shiv Sainiks and unprecedented police crackdown on shakhas led to the release of MNIK, said Milind Vaidya, Sena vibhag pramukh, Mumbai North-Central.
The city police have withdrawn Vaidya’s official security following a letter from him after Uddhav verbally announced that he was giving up his security.
Phased release stumped Sena
Feb 13th
Bharati Dubey | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; February 13, 2010)
Mumbai: The Shiv Sena’s attempt to stop the release of ‘My Name Is Khan’ was foiled by the multiplexes’ strategy to release the film in phases. After a joint meeting on Friday morning, multiplex owners decided on a quiet release without announcements so that there was little chance to stall screenings. Initially, each multiplex chain opened one cinema hall each in Mumbai.
The first show started at Fun Republic, Andheri Link Road, at 12.10 pm, followed by PVR in Goregaon, Fame Adlabs in Malad, Big Cinema at Wadala, Cinemax at Ghatkopar and Inox at Nariman Point at 12.50 pm.
Most of the halls reported good attendance, but nobody was counting numbers on Friday. What was important was whether audiences feared the Sena, which has tried its level best to stop the screening of the film. There were stone-pelting incidents in suburban areas, but the show went on. Vishal Kapoor, chief operations officer, Fun Cinemas, said, “All shows are getting good audiences, and with the kind of response the film has received today the weekend will definitely see a good response.’’
After the big chains opened, smaller cinemas, including single-screen theatres, also braved the Sena’s resistance and opened ticket windows. Although bookings there started slow, they picked up by evening. Most of the multiplexes will screen 15 shows a day from Saturday onwards. Distributor-exhibitor Rajesh Thadani said, “Most of the cinema halls have started screening the film. Even single-screen theatres, I am told, have opened to about a 70% response, which is also good.’’
The film industry came out in full support of SRK, including his wife Gauri Khan, who visited Fun Cinema in the evening. She said, “I have come here on behalf of Shah Rukh to thank all the people who came out to watch the film and show support to us.’’
Other celebrities who watched the film first-day, first-show to express solidarity with the actor included Pooja Bedi, Kabir Bedi, Mahesh Bhatt and Hrithik Roshan.
Vikas Mohan, vice president of the Association of Motion Picture and Television Programme Producers, congratulated the Mumbai police and state government for showing courage. “It has boosted the morale of the film industry. Had the film failed to release, it would have given a wrong signal and encouraged those who were opposing the release,’’ he said.
Dinesh Chaturvedi, of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees, said, “All our members are out guarding various cinema halls. We are here to support SRK. The show will go on.’’
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh said, “The film had a very good start at practically every centre.’’ He said single screens in big centres saw 70% collections and multiplexes fared slightly better.
bharati.dubey@timesgroup.com
