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Bollywood and Politics Collide in a Red-Carpet Standoff
Kuni Takahashi for The New York Times
An extremist political party is threatening to protest the opening of "My Name Is Khan" because of a comment about cricket by a star of the movie.
By JIM YARDLEY
Published: February 11, 2010
MUMBAI, India — In this capital of India's Hindi film industry, Friday's release of the latest blockbuster by Bollywood's biggest star, Shah Rukh Khan, is not shaping up as the usual red carpet and starlets affair. Police officers, fearing violent protests, are being stationed at theaters, while nearly 2,000 people have already been arrested as a precaution.
Kuni Takahashi for The New York Times
Mumbai police officers guarded the home of Shah Rukh Khan, Bollywood's biggest star, because of a standoff with the Shiv Sena party.
The controversy is a standoff between two men from two very different corners of this staggering city of 14 million people. One is Mr. Khan, the leading man of Indian cinema, known as King Khan for his box office success. The other is Bal Thackeray, the octogenarian supreme leader of Shiv Sena, the extremist, if fading, political party that for years has intimidated Bollywood and is now threatening Mr. Khan's movie.
The fight over the film and the politics of its star, who angered the Hindu right over his comments about Pakistanis playing on Indian cricket teams, is a glimpse of the bitterly parochial politics that still divide India's most international city. With Bollywood a national obsession, the standoff also has resonated across India, drawn a cameo appearance by the country's political heir, Rahul Gandhi, and even touched on deeper chords about India's perpetual struggle to fulfill its ideals as an inclusive democracy.
"The tipping point has come," said Mahesh Bhatt, a filmmaker who has clashed with Shiv Sena in the past. "You have to call the bluff of these people."
He added, "Hate is a commodity that has always sold like hot cakes in certain quarters in India."
Mumbai holds a central place in the Indian imagination, as a city of dreams and of grinding inequity, a place that has shown India at its most tolerant and intolerant. During communal riots that erupted in 1993, mobs of Hindus rampaged through the city, killing Muslims. But after the deadly 2008 attacks by Pakistani-based militants, the city unified in the face of extremism.
For almost a half century, Shiv Sena — which means the Army of Shivaji, the Hindu king who fought against Muslim rulers — has espoused the ideology of exclusion in Mumbai. Shiv Sena supporters were implicated in some of the worst violence in the 1993 riots.
But rarely have Shiv Sena members been held accountable, testament to the enduring clout of Mr. Thackeray, analysts say. A former cartoonist, Mr. Thackeray has spent nearly five decades espousing the belief that the natives of the surrounding western state of Maharashtra should control Mumbai and get preference for jobs and other benefits. He has led campaigns against Muslims and migrants from both south and north India.
Yet at 84, Mr. Thackeray is now a declining force, and political analysts say his party is struggling under the leadership of his son, Uddhav Thackeray, in the face of competition from a rival party founded by a nephew, Raj Thackeray. Last year, Shiv Sena lost seats in the state assembly, as the Congress Party retained power in Maharashtra with a coalition partner.
Faced with eroding support, Mr. Thackeray has begun new agitations to excite his supporters, analysts say. Last November, an editorial in Shiv Sena's newspaper lashed out at India's greatest cricket star, Sachin Tendulkar, a native of Maharashtra, for saying that "Mumbai belongs to all Indians." The party has also demonized the migrants from north India who drive many of the city's taxis.
At one taxi stand in central Mumbai, drivers complained of sporadic harassment by Shiv Sena supporters. "They want us to leave," one driver said. "They tell us this is their country."
But it is the controversy with Mr. Khan and cricket that mushroomed into a national spectacle. Last month, not a single Pakistani player was chosen in the annual draft for the Indian Premier League, even though many Pakistani players rank among the world's best. When Mr. Khan, himself a team owner, later said the league should have included some Pakistani players, Mr. Thackeray and his son pounced, accusing him of insulting Mumbai, given the attack by militants trained in Pakistan. They demanded he apologize or face Shiv Sena protests against his new film, "My Name Is Khan."
Over the years, Bollywood bigwigs have trod very carefully with Shiv Sena and other Hindu right parties, sometimes responding to threats with public apologies, aware of how protests can inflict heavy financial losses. Mr. Bhatt, the director, was among a group that once sued Shiv Sena after the party, then governing the state, blocked the release of a movie that dealt with homosexuality. The court ruled against Shiv Sena, but movie houses still declined to show the film because of fear, Mr. Bhatt said.
Faced with the newest Shiv Sena broadside, Mr. Khan was initially bewildered. His comments had roughly paralleled those made by other prominent Indians, including the country's home minister. "What am I apologizing for?" he asked one interviewer. If he hardly seemed eager to challenge Mr. Thackeray, suggesting at one point that they should have a drink together, he did not offer to apologize, either.
Dipankar Gupta, a scholar and commentator who has studied Shiv Sena, said Mr. Thackeray's attack was a desperation move in what has become a competition for Hindu right voters. "Why is Shah Rukh Khan attacked in this fashion? Because he is a Muslim," Mr. Gupta said.
Bollywood's initial response to the controversy was silence. But now other stars have begun to speak out. And Mr. Gandhi, the political rock star of the Congress Party, has taken on Shiv Sena as well.
The state's chief minister, Ashok Chavan, a Congress Party ally, has mobilized the police at theaters and ordered the detention of nearly 2,000 Shiv Sena supporters. Though the public has shown little interest in answering Shiv Sena's call for protests, several theaters, fearing hooliganism, have stopped selling advance tickets, and some are considering canceling the opening altogether.
The film has its official premiere in Abu Dhabi and Berlin, so Mr. Khan is not in Mumbai. But in comments posted Thursday on Twitter, Mr. Khan said he never wanted his movie to harm his adopted hometown. "I hope peace prevails & the city is at rest," he wrote.
Hari Kumar contributed reporting.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/12/world/asia/12mumbai.html
Kuni Takahashi for The New York Times
An extremist political party is threatening to protest the opening of "My Name Is Khan" because of a comment about cricket by a star of the movie.
By JIM YARDLEY
Published: February 11, 2010
MUMBAI, India — In this capital of India's Hindi film industry, Friday's release of the latest blockbuster by Bollywood's biggest star, Shah Rukh Khan, is not shaping up as the usual red carpet and starlets affair. Police officers, fearing violent protests, are being stationed at theaters, while nearly 2,000 people have already been arrested as a precaution.
Kuni Takahashi for The New York Times
Mumbai police officers guarded the home of Shah Rukh Khan, Bollywood's biggest star, because of a standoff with the Shiv Sena party.
The controversy is a standoff between two men from two very different corners of this staggering city of 14 million people. One is Mr. Khan, the leading man of Indian cinema, known as King Khan for his box office success. The other is Bal Thackeray, the octogenarian supreme leader of Shiv Sena, the extremist, if fading, political party that for years has intimidated Bollywood and is now threatening Mr. Khan's movie.
The fight over the film and the politics of its star, who angered the Hindu right over his comments about Pakistanis playing on Indian cricket teams, is a glimpse of the bitterly parochial politics that still divide India's most international city. With Bollywood a national obsession, the standoff also has resonated across India, drawn a cameo appearance by the country's political heir, Rahul Gandhi, and even touched on deeper chords about India's perpetual struggle to fulfill its ideals as an inclusive democracy.
"The tipping point has come," said Mahesh Bhatt, a filmmaker who has clashed with Shiv Sena in the past. "You have to call the bluff of these people."
He added, "Hate is a commodity that has always sold like hot cakes in certain quarters in India."
Mumbai holds a central place in the Indian imagination, as a city of dreams and of grinding inequity, a place that has shown India at its most tolerant and intolerant. During communal riots that erupted in 1993, mobs of Hindus rampaged through the city, killing Muslims. But after the deadly 2008 attacks by Pakistani-based militants, the city unified in the face of extremism.
For almost a half century, Shiv Sena — which means the Army of Shivaji, the Hindu king who fought against Muslim rulers — has espoused the ideology of exclusion in Mumbai. Shiv Sena supporters were implicated in some of the worst violence in the 1993 riots.
But rarely have Shiv Sena members been held accountable, testament to the enduring clout of Mr. Thackeray, analysts say. A former cartoonist, Mr. Thackeray has spent nearly five decades espousing the belief that the natives of the surrounding western state of Maharashtra should control Mumbai and get preference for jobs and other benefits. He has led campaigns against Muslims and migrants from both south and north India.
Yet at 84, Mr. Thackeray is now a declining force, and political analysts say his party is struggling under the leadership of his son, Uddhav Thackeray, in the face of competition from a rival party founded by a nephew, Raj Thackeray. Last year, Shiv Sena lost seats in the state assembly, as the Congress Party retained power in Maharashtra with a coalition partner.
Faced with eroding support, Mr. Thackeray has begun new agitations to excite his supporters, analysts say. Last November, an editorial in Shiv Sena's newspaper lashed out at India's greatest cricket star, Sachin Tendulkar, a native of Maharashtra, for saying that "Mumbai belongs to all Indians." The party has also demonized the migrants from north India who drive many of the city's taxis.
At one taxi stand in central Mumbai, drivers complained of sporadic harassment by Shiv Sena supporters. "They want us to leave," one driver said. "They tell us this is their country."
But it is the controversy with Mr. Khan and cricket that mushroomed into a national spectacle. Last month, not a single Pakistani player was chosen in the annual draft for the Indian Premier League, even though many Pakistani players rank among the world's best. When Mr. Khan, himself a team owner, later said the league should have included some Pakistani players, Mr. Thackeray and his son pounced, accusing him of insulting Mumbai, given the attack by militants trained in Pakistan. They demanded he apologize or face Shiv Sena protests against his new film, "My Name Is Khan."
Over the years, Bollywood bigwigs have trod very carefully with Shiv Sena and other Hindu right parties, sometimes responding to threats with public apologies, aware of how protests can inflict heavy financial losses. Mr. Bhatt, the director, was among a group that once sued Shiv Sena after the party, then governing the state, blocked the release of a movie that dealt with homosexuality. The court ruled against Shiv Sena, but movie houses still declined to show the film because of fear, Mr. Bhatt said.
Faced with the newest Shiv Sena broadside, Mr. Khan was initially bewildered. His comments had roughly paralleled those made by other prominent Indians, including the country's home minister. "What am I apologizing for?" he asked one interviewer. If he hardly seemed eager to challenge Mr. Thackeray, suggesting at one point that they should have a drink together, he did not offer to apologize, either.
Dipankar Gupta, a scholar and commentator who has studied Shiv Sena, said Mr. Thackeray's attack was a desperation move in what has become a competition for Hindu right voters. "Why is Shah Rukh Khan attacked in this fashion? Because he is a Muslim," Mr. Gupta said.
Bollywood's initial response to the controversy was silence. But now other stars have begun to speak out. And Mr. Gandhi, the political rock star of the Congress Party, has taken on Shiv Sena as well.
The state's chief minister, Ashok Chavan, a Congress Party ally, has mobilized the police at theaters and ordered the detention of nearly 2,000 Shiv Sena supporters. Though the public has shown little interest in answering Shiv Sena's call for protests, several theaters, fearing hooliganism, have stopped selling advance tickets, and some are considering canceling the opening altogether.
The film has its official premiere in Abu Dhabi and Berlin, so Mr. Khan is not in Mumbai. But in comments posted Thursday on Twitter, Mr. Khan said he never wanted his movie to harm his adopted hometown. "I hope peace prevails & the city is at rest," he wrote.
Hari Kumar contributed reporting.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/12/world/asia/12mumbai.html
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