No Pak Artistes, Promise Producers; Pay Rs 5Cr To Army In Penance, Says Raj; Oppn Slams CM's 'Surrender' To Raj, Smells BJP-MNS Conspiracy
THE TIMES OF INDIA (October 23, 2016)

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena backed down and called off its protest against Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, which stars Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, on Saturday following a truce brokered by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

To pave the way for a “safe and smooth“ release across all states on October 28, film producers reiterated at the tripartite meeting that they would not engage with Pakistani artistes under the prevailing circumstances. During the negotiations, the CM urged film-makers to “respect“ popular sentiment following the Pathankot and Uri killings of Indian soldiers. Fadnavis suggested that a slide, offering tributes to Indian soldiers killed in the attacks, be shown on screen at the start of ADHM. Johar and Mukesh Bhatt, who heads the film producers' guild, agreed.

MNS leader Raj Thackeray later called a press meet at his house to claim that producers who have cast Pakistani artistes had agreed to the MNS demand to donate Rs 5 crore each to an Army fund as “an act of penance“ and “this is our victory“. Both the CM and the producers denied that any such demand was made or that a particular sum was mentioned.

The conciliatory talks and the resolution to the dispute came just days after the MNS threatened to escalate its campaign against the film. Thackeray and Fadnavis sought to project the meeting as a success while the opposition trashed it as a “sellout“ to the MNS. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis's decision to invite MNS leader Raj Thackeray for talks with film producers won him brownie points from the film trade, but the Opposition said the negotiations had set a wrong precedent and would encourage extra-constitutional players to dictate terms in future.

Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said it was the regime's responsibility to provide security for the release; instead, the CM had succumbed to pressure from MNS. “Fadnavis surrendered before political goondaism, it has damaged the image of the state,'' he said.

NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said the CM had given undue importance to a man known for his inconsistency, but it was with a view to prop him up against the Shiv Sena. “He is giving undue importance to Raj. In Lok Sabha elections too, it was the policy of the MNS to defeat Shiv Sena and accordingly, MNS worked. In fact, Fadnavis is directly controlling Raj. We have reasons to believe that BJP and MNS are hand in glove,'' Malik said.

The MNS stir began a month back with the party issuing a 48-hour ultimatum for Pakistani film artistes to leave Mumbai. It held a protest outside Johar's residence, which critics dismissed as a stunt organized with an eye on upcoming civic elections.

The party kept up the pressure until single-screen cinema hall owners buckled under and agreed not to release Johar's film. Johar and other producers sought to appease the protestors saying “the country comes first“ and that they would not engage with Pakistani artistes “under the circumstances“, but MNS leaders dug in their heels.

Police stepped up security for movie halls and arrested some protestors after Bollywood delegations met top officers. Union home minister Rajnath Singh also promised producers that he would ask Fadnavis “to look into the matter“.

The resolution to the month-long fracas comes as a relief for the industry amidst the festival season when box-office collections peak. “Any film featuring a Pakistani artiste that is complete or under production will sail through. But going forward, directors and producers will not sign a Pakistani artiste for a fresh film beginning now,“ said Mukesh Bhatt, president of the Producers Guild of India who was present at the meeting at the CM's residence along with Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta, CEO of Dharma Productions, Vijay Singh of Fox Star Studios, director-producer Sajid Nadiadwala and Siddharth Roy Kapur, the next Guild president.

The Guild will soon call a meeting to pass a resolution on not working with Pakistani artists in future, a written copy of which will be sent to the information & broadcasting ministry and the CM.

During his press meet, Thackeray stressed that the Guild had accepted MNS's demand that producers who have cast Pakistani artistes should donate Rs 5 crore each to an Army welfare fund. Dismissing his claims, Bhatt said: “No transaction was made and no figures were discussed or agreed upon by us. Karan and some other producers have of their own accord decided to contribute something to the martyr families. The CM made it very clear that there was no compulsion.“ “...how to donate the sum d to who, will be worked out and to who, will be worked out between the CM and the producers' guild,“ Bhatt said: “Why should we publicise our donation? It's in bad taste.“

Single-screen halls not ready to lift ban

The Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association of India (COEAI) said on Saturday that they stand by their decision of not allowing films featuring Pakistani actors to release in single-screen theatres. Nitin Datar, president, COEAI, said, “MNS is not the only party that can cause damage. We don't know how other local parties or NGOs might react. Why couldn't they postpone the film release by a few more weeks until things cooled down?“

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Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; October 23, 2016)