Every producer who has cast Pakistani artist must pay Rs 5 crore to Army relief fund: Raj Thackeray
Film 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil', that features Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, ran into trouble after Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) said it won't allow release of any movie in India that featured Pakistani artistes. It is due for release on October 28, ahead of Diwali.
Film & Television Producers Guild of India president Mukesh Bhatt, producers Sidharth Roy Kapur, Sajid Nadiadwala and Vijay Singh of Fox Star Studios were also present in the meeting.
"Every producer who has cast a Pakistani actor must contribute Rs 5 crore to the Army welfare fund," MNS chief Raj Thackeray said after the meeting.
The MNS chief also raised a question over casting Pakistani actors+ in Indian films. "While Pakistan has banned Indian content, why do we give them a red carpet here," Raj Thackeray asked.
Thackeray said that "producers will have to give in writing that they will not take Pakistani actors in their films in future."
Claiming victory for MNS agitation, Raj Thackeray said: "We have always protested against Pakistani artistes but Bollywood never understood earlier. Now they have realised."
Earlier, speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mukesh Bhatt said that it was "positive and constructive and 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' will release as per the schedule."
"We discussed the unfortunate events related to the film's release. I shared the film industry's emotions regarding the entire issue. We are Indians first and then comes our business," he said.
Bhatt also said that they have assured the CM that neither the Producers' Guild nor any filmmaker will work with any Pakistani artiste or technician in the future.
Also, the (Producers') Guild will call a meeting to pass a resolution on not working with Pakistani artists. A copy of the same would be sent to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry as well as the chief minister, he said.
Ajay Devgn to contribute a part of Shivaay' opening collection to URI martyr's fund
Mumbai: Ajay Devgn, who openly said that he wouldn't work with Pakistani artiste till the tension between India and it's neighbor Pakistan settles down, has now announced that a part of his upcoming film 'Shivaay's opening collection will be contributed to the Uri attack martyr's fund.
Cinema Owners and Exhibitors' Association have started a fund raising initiative to help the families of the URI martyrs. The association held a meeting today as they requested people from the industry to be a part of the good cause. In the meeting, they approached Ajay Devgn, who happily agreed to contribute a part of 'Shivaay's opening collection.
"As a part of our tribute to the soldiers who lost their lives defending our country at URI, at the meeting of the Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association, Mumbai held today, it was unanimously decided that this Diwali, our members be requested to donate their share of the first show of any film they screen on Friday, 28th October, 2016 to the family of soldiers who lost their lives defending our country at URI. We request all other cinema owners, cinema associations, multiplex owners and all distributors who are releasing their films this Diwali to join in the good work.
We also approached Ajay Devgn as the producer of Shivaay to contribute his share and he has agreed for the same," Cinema Owners and Exhibitors' Association said in a statement after the meeting was over.
Here's their official letter by Cinema Owners and Exhibitors' Association.
"I whole heartedly support the fund raising for the family of the martyrs who lost their lives at URI defending our country. As the producer of Shivaay, I am pleased to announce that we shall match the contribution made by the members of Cinema Owners and Exhibitors' Association," Ajay Devgn said.
Earlier, when Ajay Devgn, whose film 'Shivaay' is pitted against Karan Johar's 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' on the silver screen, was asked whether he will share screen space with Pakistani actors, he had said, "Not at the moment. I am very clear on this because you are an Indian first. I don't care if my film doesn't release in Pakistan. Their artistes are standing by their nation. They are earning here but are sticking by their nation. We should learn from them."
The actor also said that he isn't worried about his film's release in Pakistan.
His wife Kajol stood by the actor and applauded him for taking a non political stand.
Now:
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil has almost finished its run and the total after five weeks is 106.17 crore. It has finished the sixth highest grosser of the year and stands at number 37 in the all time list. Below are the collections of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil till date.
Week One - 78,10,00,000
Week Two - 21,98,00,000
Week Three - 4,85,00,000
Week Four - 1,24,50,000
Week Five - 20,00,000 apprx
TOTAL - 1,06,17,50,000
Shivaay is also ending its run and will finish a little short of 85 crore nett. This film is the seventh highest grosser of the year and in the all time list it stands at number 53. Below are the collections of Shivaay till date.
Week One - 63,47,00,000
Week Two - 17,56,00,000
Week Three - 3,22,00,000
Week Four - 46.50,000
Week Five - 10,00,000 apprx
TOTAL - 84,81,50,000
Both the Diwali releases together could not hit 200 crore nett leaving Diwali still unable to breach 200 crore nett be it one or multiple releases. Combined they even fell short of the Prem Ratan Dhan Payo total of 194 crore last Diwali
Dear Zindagi had a good first week grossing 46.75 crore nett in its first week. The film had a good weekend of 32.50 crore for the type of film it is and the weekday business has shown drops but that is because the film got a high weekend for the type of film it is. Also among its better circuits is Mumbai and which does tend to fall faster than other circuits. The initial has ensured a good first week number far ahead of similar films. The first week collections are the 13th best of the year but if we look at Worldwide then it is the 7th highest of the year and approaching the 100 crore mark Worldwide.
As far as domestic circuits are concerned then Mysore is leading the way with excellent business of almost 5.25 crore, West Bengal is next best as it has crossed 3 crore and it is followed by Tamil Nadu / Kerala, Nizam / Andhra and Mumbai. Mumbai has grossed 14 crore nett in its first week. The other circuits are less and are either average or low. The lifetime business of the film will be determined by what happens on Friday and then how big the jump is on Saturday. The film will have consumed a lot of its limited audience in the first week and it could see a fall on Friday. The main new release Kahaani 2 is also aimed at the same markets which are the multiplexes. Not only multiplexes but also the same circuits as the only multiplex region where Dear Zindagi is low is North and going by results of Kahaani (2012) that will also find it tough going in North India.
Follow up:
'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' crosses Rs 200-crore, but no Army fund yet
Mumbai: After inviting the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) wrath before the release of his movie Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (ADHM), writer-director Karan Johar had allegedly agreed to donate Rs 5 crore toward the Army Welfare Fund for the smooth release of his film, but army authorities claim that they have not received any such donation till date.
When contacted, the Indian Army told this newspaper that it has not received any donation of Rs 5-crore in the last one-month.
The MNS washed its hands off saying the issue is now between the movie producers and the Army. The Raj Thackeray-led MNS had claimed that they had laid the "donation for army" condition before Mr Johar for the smooth release of his film ADHM that stars Pakistani actor Fawad Khan. After the hullabaloo, many people had dubbed the MNS' stand as a "cheap publicity stunt", "arm-twisting" and "extortion".
Indian Army spokesperson, Delhi, Colonel Rohan Anand said that as of November 1, no such amount was deposited in the fund.
"We checked the balance in the account on November 1 and have not received an amount of Rs 5 crore from anyone in the fund," Mr Anand said. Despite repeated attempts, Mr Johar and his PR representative did not respond to the text messages or the phone calls made by this newspaper.
The Army Welfare Fund Battle Casualties is a centralised fund, which accepts donations from individuals and institutions. It is handled by the Indian Army's adjutant general branch.
When contacted, the adjutant general branch, they too confirmed that they had not received any big donation. "We checked an hour ago and we have not received any such donation in the account," said an official, who wished to be anonymous.
A high-placed army officer said that they had not "refused" the donation but had only said that it should not be "extorted" and should be made "voluntarily."
The official mentioned they could not reveal the exact amount in the fund right now. MNS general secretary Shalini Thackeray said that the film producers didn't pay citing refusal from the Indian Army.
"We did not want the money for ourselves. The Indian Army should come forward and clarify whether they have refused to accept the amount. We wanted them to donate the money to the fund so that it would help the families of the soldiers laying down their lives for us. But if they don't want what can we do?" she said.
It may be recalled that on October 23, Mr Johar, president of the Producers' Guild Mukesh Bhatt and Mr Thackeray had met Chief Minister Deve-ndra Fadnavis at the latter's official residence Varsha to sort out their difference and ensure smooth release of ADHM. The meeting was termed as "constructive" by those concerned.
The movie, though faced political opposition before it's release, has earned Rs 200 crore at the box office worldwide, said sources.
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