MUMBAI: Activists of right wing outfits today protested against the screening of Shah Rukh Khan-starrer “Dilwale” by staging demonstrations and shouting slogans outside cinemas in Mumbai and Madhya Pradesh even as BJP workers forced cancellation of shows of ‘Bajirao Mastani’ in Pune alleging it distorted history.
BJP workers in Pune alleged that the story line of “Bajirao Mastani” has “distorted” historical facts of the era of Peshwa rule, forcing ‘Citypride’ cinema house to cancel all the shows of the Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film.
In Mumbai, about five activists of the Hindu Sena were detained after they tried to storm into a mall in Dadar and threatened to stall the shows of Rohit Shetty’s “Dilwale”, also starring Kajol and Varun Dhawan.
They raised slogans like “Shah Rukh Khan Murdabad,” apparently over his recent remarks on the issue of ‘intolerance.’
However, the protestors were stopped by the policemen, deployed there in large numbers in anticipation of trouble.
Five of the protestors were detained and taken to Dadar Police Station.
In MP, the release of “Dilwale” was marred by protests from right wing groups in different districts, including three big cities Bhopal, Indore and Jabalpur, allegedly over the superstar’s recent comments on ‘intolerance’.
The protesters tore off the posters of “Dilwale”, stormed into theatres and stopped the screening of the film at three cinema halls –
Samdariya, Jyoti and South Avenue – in Jabalpur district.
The protestors also stalled the movie screening at two theatres – Shivpuri and Sriram – in Shivpuri district and protested in front of another cinema hall there.
In Bhopal, the Hindu Mitra Mandal activists led by president Kapil Jadhav protested in front of Jyoti Talkies.
A similar protest was staged at Sapan-Sangeeta cinema hall in Indore.
Hind Rashtra Sanghatan head Rajesh Shirodkar and another protester were arrested for breaching peace in Indore, police said.
In Bhopal, as soon as the protesters gathered near Jyoti Talkies around 11 AM, they were chased away by police.
However, the movie show went off peacefully at three cinema halls in Gwalior, police control room said.
The Film Federation of India had earlier asked the MP government to ensure peaceful screening of the movie.
On his 50th birthday last month, Shah Rukh had expressed concern over rising intolerance in the country amidst a raging debate on the issue.–PTI
