Even as distributors claim national release will take place on Friday as planned, Shiv Sainiks say they will visit all cinema halls to check if the movie is showing.
The Shiv Sena violence threat weighed heavy on the exhibitors on Thursday, a day before the scheduled release of Shah Rukh Khan-starrer My Name Is Khan, despite the government’s repeated assurance on protection. In Mumbai, circumspect theatre owners were still undecided over the release till the time of going to press, even as their counterparts in south Maharashtra decided not to screen the movie.
According to sources, exhibitors will wait till the first show on Friday for a resolution to the Sena-Shah Rukh stand-off. If nothing works out, they may drop the idea of screening the movie.
However, Vijay Singh, CEO of Fox Star Distribution, said, “There’s a huge demand for the film. We are releasing it nationally tomorrow.”
On Thursday, many theatres pulled off web pages containing ticket booking information and counters refused to dole out movie schedules. Advance bookings remained shut, even as the Shiv Sena continued its aggressive posturing. It said that party workers had been asked to visit every cinema hall and check whether the film was being screened there. Meanwhile, extending support to the film, the Film Workers’ Association, a body with 45,000 members, has decided to watch the movie on Friday.
Sources claimed the movie may not be released this Friday and if Khan and director Karan Johar fail to iron out the differences with the Shiv Sena, the film might not be released this weekend at all. In such an eventuality, the film is expected to bear a loss between Rs10-12 crore during that three-day period, said trade analyst Taran Adarsh.
“It is sad but no one wants to risk it. Though there is good security in place, theatre owners feel around 40 policemen will not be able to control a mob of 100-200 if they want to cause damage to the theatre,” said the head honcho of a suburban multiplex. “I don’t think My Name is Khan is releasing this Friday unless Karan Johar manages something remarkable…,” he added.
Johar sought to dispel rumours about the movie’s release by writing on his Twitter account: “Pls don’t believe the rumours: Release of MNIK not postponed in Mumbai.”
Highly-placed multiplex management sources revealed that Shah Rukh was on a two-hour conference call with all the multiplex owners in the city but there was no sight of a solution. Insiders say some cinema theatre owners even asked the actor to apologise to the Shiv Sena.
A Twitter post of Shah Rukh hoped that good sense prevails. “My stardom is transient. (But) my integrity in non-negotiable...my being Indian unquestionable … What happens with the release the film, is the film’s fate,” his posting said.
(With inputs from Kiran Tare & Mohsin Mulla)
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