By Our Correspondent
Mumbai, 12/02/2010
Cinemas in the Indian city of Mumbai scaled back the release Friday of top actor Shah Rukh Khan's new film, in the face of violent threats from right-wing Hindus locked in a row with the Bollywood star.Some single-screen theatres decided not to show "My Name Is Khan" at all, while some multiplex cinemas opted to limit or cancel showings of the movie.Activists from the ultra-nationalist Shiv Sena party said they would disrupt the film's release because of the actor's comments regretting the absence of Pakistani cricketers in the Indian Premier League tournament.The Shiv Sena has long claimed to champion the rights of people from western Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, over "outsiders", often backing up its stance with violence.It also sees itself as a guardian of traditional Hindu values and pushes a strong anti-Muslim, anti-Pakistan rhetoric."Shiv Sainiks tore the screen at Maratha Mandir (cinema) even before the release of the film. Why should I take chances?" said Manoj Desai, who owns a number of single-screen theatres in the city..Their decision came despite pleas from the chief minister of Maharashtra for people to see the film and police reassurances that security will be tight.
"Hundreds of men have been deployed in plain clothes and in uniform to see that everything goes well," said Mumbai police commissioner D. Sivanandhan.Police this week arrested more than 1,800 Shiv Sena members, mainly as a preventative measure, after sporadic violence outside cinemas.."We are happy and this is certainly a success of the party's protest," lawmaker Sanjay Raut was quoted as saying the Press Trust of India news agency. "In fact the decision should have been taken by the government earlier."Khan, a New Delhi-born Muslim whose parents came from what is now Pakistan, has refused to apologise for his comments and denied claims that he was unpatriotic.The 44-year-old star part-owns IPL outfit the Kolkata Knight Riders.While Mumbai was the focus of the anti-Khan protests, posters of the film and its star were defaced or burned outside cinemas in other major cities like New Delhi, Kolkata and the Gujarat state capital Ahmedabad."At the moment we are not sure if we will be able to screen the movie," said Yatin Rawal, owner of single screen Apsara theatre in Ahmedabad.