Shiv Sena angry with SRK - Post All Articles HERE - Page 58

On Tuesday, Bachchan took part in a poetry-reading session with Pakistani actor Zia Mohyeddin at an event organised in Bandra to foster friendship with Pakistan. Bachchan read poems of his father, the late Harivansh Rai Bachchan, while Mohyeddin read shairi by the late Faiz Ahmed Faiz.

"Why should Amitabh be spared?" said Shashikant Kadam, a Sena worker. "If Saheb [Bal Thackeray] orders us, we will protest against him, too."

Rajan Kandekar, another loyalist, said, "Anyone who suggests that we should have good relations with Pakistan must be punished, no matter who he is. Bachchan should not be spared."

Yogesh Mayekar said Bachchan's films should also be boycotted. "I know Saheb has good relations with him. But when it comes to policy he should rise above friendship. Sachin Tendulkar and Mukesh Ambani are also his good friends. Still, he targeted them for their remarks on Mumbai. I hope he orders us to protest against Bachchan, too."

Blogging about the event, Bachchan wrote: "The evening was most satisfying. I loved the ambience. That informal sit around, much like the days when my father used to recite. People just gathered around, sat on the floor, palti maar ke, and the evening went on for hours and no one knew how time passed."

Asked if the Sena would call for a boycott of Bachchan, spokesperson Sanjay Raut said, "I will seek information about the event and [we will] look into it."

That Bachchan shares an excellent rapport with Bal Thackeray and Uddhav is no secret. On several occasions he has said that Thackeray is a father figure for him and Uddhav is like his brother. In turn, Thackeray has always stood by the actor, whether it was during the release of Sarkar, a controversial film starring the actor, or when nephew Raj accused Bachchan of betraying Maharashtra.

At least 246 policemen guard the entire Thackeray family at any given day. Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray might have said that he surrender the security provided to him, it would make little difference because the police would still guard the entire family.

The number of policemen deployed throughout the day to protect the Thackerays include a senior inspector, three inspectors, 21 sub-inspectors, 179 constables, four escort vehicles, one senior officer and 22 jawans of the State Reserve Police Force, and policemen in plain-clothes.

"The number of policemen deployed is more than the entire staff of majority of police stations in Mumbai," an officer said. All the policemen deployed are armed with AK47s and SLRs, he said.

"On Tuesday, Sena protestors tore the screen at Maratha Mandir, the damage costing Rs 82,500, even though I hadn't put up any posters related to the film nor did I open the advance booking. So why was my theatre targeted?" He also asked the commitment of the filmmakers. "It's sad that while the team of MNIK is attending a lavish premiere in Abu Dhabi, theatre owners in Mumbai are facing the party's ire," he said.

"Shouldn't Shah Rukh Khan have been in Mumbai in this time of crisis? I'd rather show the Hindi dubbed version of the Hollywood film, The Wolfman, than screen MNIK."

Meanwhile, Khan, at a pre-release press conference at Abu Dhabi, said that he hoped "better sense prevails in Mumbai. We have worked really hard on the movie and we just want people to watch the movie".