11 MNS men held for threatening filmmaker
Last month, it was Shah Rukh Khan, who defied the Shiv Sena. On Monday, film producer Ritesh Sadhwani stood up to the MNS and got 11 of its activists arrested.
The MNS activists were arrested on charges of trying to extort Rs 27 lakh from the film producer, after he approached the police against their threats.
The activists had entered Mehboob Studios in suburban Bandra on Sunday evening where shooting of Sadhwani’s film “Crooked” was in progress. They demanded that the producer show them contract papers for employing foreign workers in the film and wanted priority to be given to locals, Deputy Police Commissioner K Prasanna said.
Sadhwani explained the scene was about a place in Istanbul which required inclusion of foreigners. He also assured MNS activists that they would employ locals whenever the situation demanded. However, the MNS activists did not relent and demanded Rs 27 lakh, a complaint lodged by the film unit says.
Sidhwani sent a SOS to producer Mukesh Bhatt, who called the Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan for help. A police case was filed and 11 offenders were arrested and produced in Bandra court. They were granted bail for surety of Rs 3,000 each.
