Sena rampage hits SRK film bookings
Major multiplexes in the metropolis on Wednesday suspended seat reservation for the Shar Rukh Khan film “My Name is Khan,” fearing violence and damage by the Shiv Sena, eventhough 25 per cent of the city police force is guarding theatres.
A major crackdown has also been launched against Shiv Sena activists.
The city had witnessed a spate of attacks on cinemas on Tuesday by Shiv Sainiks who not only destroyed hoardings and posters of the film, but also damaged screens in a few multiplexes.
Notwithstanding the police and government assurance of security, Wednesday witnessed many theatres suspending bookings for the movie, putting a question mark on the release of Karan Johar’s latest production scheduled for Friday.
Multiplex chains like the PVR and Cinemax withdrew their “advance bookings” for the film, as did single-screen theatres like the Mehul at Mulund and the Shreyas at Ghatkopar, which bore the brunt of Sena protests on Tuesday. Other multiplexes like the Big Cinemas, Adlabs and Fun Cinemas, too, closed their booking windows for the movie.
“We have shut the advance bookings for the film as of now, for nothing is certain,” said Girish Wankhede, deputy general manager (corporate communication) of the Cinemax.
Pramod Madhve, an official of the Mehul Theatre, said nothing about the film’s release is fixed yet. “We hope to receive updates by tomorrow, but the advance bookings have been shut for now.” A Shreyas official also confirmed that the bookings had been suspended.
Bookings restart
By late evening, however, at least two multiplex chains reported advance bookings.
Vishal Kapoor, COO of Fun Cinemas, said the booking has been opened after adequate police protection. Manoj Desai, owner of another chain, said they have received police guidelines, ensuring trouble-free screening of the film.
The guidelines state that the first three rows of the theatres should be left vacant and video cameras installed inside the halls. There should also be 15-16 security personnel in plainclothes deployed inside the halls to prevent any trouble by the Shiv Sainiks.
During the daylong crackdown, the police detained over 1,500 Shiv Sainiks ahead of the film release. There is heavy deployment of police in the 63 city theatres that are scheduled to screen the film.
DH News Service
