EVEN by the standards of seasoned Mumbaiites who are now quite comfortable with safari-suited private security guards politely asking for the cars boot and glove box to be opened for a check before entering a malls parking lot,this is a first: watching the Badshah of Bollywood on the big screen with a posse of policemen scattered among the front three rows. Coming attractions,according to the Mumbai polices proposals for theatres screening My Name Is Khan: closed circuit television cameras,gate-point pat-downs,asking ticket-holders to produce identification.
A quarter of the Mumbai polices 55,000-force is guarding theatres right now,and Mumbai Police Commissioner D. Sivanandhan has promised to step that up to 50 per cent or more if the situation demands. Yet,despite the repeated assurances,the Shiv Senas threats succeeded in intimidating a large number of theatre owners on day one.
Not surprisingly,a couple of theatres had house-full first shows. Even in Maharashtrian-dominated Dadar,tickets for the night show in the only theatre here daring to screen the film were all taken by mid-day.
Of course,it took the resoluteness of SRK he quickly clarified when his tweets regretting any hurt he caused were construed as an apology to the Shiv Sena to turn a multiplex ticket stub into a badge of defiance. Not long ago,even Karan Johar preferred to make a sound business decision in tendering an apology to the junior Thackeray cousin for a mention of Bombay in Wake Up Sid,while the makers of Marathi film Zhenda had to delete scenes after Revenue Minister Narayan Ranes son Nitesh objected to the depiction of a character he said was modelled on his father.
Still,despite the bravado,there was no denying that movie halls and multiplex owners had been terrorised all morning. The Shiv Sena,its bastions conquered in consecutive elections and crushed by its own cadre switching over to the newer Sena,found its window of opportunity in the early successes of this round of intimidation. Its lumpen elements were rejuvenated,doing what they do best,staging random protests in the city,stoning at least two buses,and forcing shops shut. This was one up for them in the competitive wreckage game with the MNS. That NCP chief Sharad Pawar,whose party handles the home department and Mumbais law and order,paid Bal Thackeray a visit days ago might have stirred their pride some more.
Barely a few thousand Mumbaiites overcame the fear and turned out for matinee shows on a holiday. The overwhelming majority of theatre owners chose to wait and watch. It was obvious that among both,cine-goers and exhibitors,there was more faith in the Senas ability to pull off an ambush protest than in an ineffective state governments will to maintain order. About 2,000 footsoldiers of the Shiv Sena,all dispensable and replaceable,had been picked up over the last few days. But despite all the chief ministers bluster,not a single senior Sena leader was detained or forced to tone down the rabble-rousing. The financial and entertainment capital of the country cowered,as the state government again proved itself unable to inspire confidence.
The loss was the average Mumbaiites. Here was a chance to foster a new public debate on free speech,on our stars opinions on sporting relations between nations during tense times,on the IPL itself and what transpired during the auction. No less than Shah Rukh Khan was tweeting about identity,holding forth on nationalism guaranteeing an audience in a city that sorely needs robust debate on regional chauvinism. Here was an opportunity for young Mumbaiites Maharashtrian and otherwise to build more nuanced views. That chance,however,was blown. For now,the Sena still runs the show,and the shows.
kavitha.iyer@expressindia.com
