Shiv Sena forced to respect freedom of expression!

Friday signifies birth, death or resurrection for many a film career with the release of a film in theatres across the country. Friday, February 12, 2010, was no different, save for the fact that it spelt doom for the political career of Maharashtra’s Shiv Sena ??" humbled into a blustering silence by audiences who defied its threat to disrupt screenings of the Shahrukh Khan starrer ‘My name is Khan’.

Angered over the comments made by the actor supporting the inclusion of Pakistani players in the third Indian Premier League (IPL -3) cricket tournament, the Shiv Sena decided to target the release of the film. For more than a week before the release of the film, Shiv Sena activists threatened to stop the film’s screening, protested outside the actor’s home and have torn posters of the film, warning multiplexes not to screen it.

The Shiv Sena has had a long history of protests and intimidation of media and culture, targeting in the past, Marathi newspaper ‘Mahanagar’ for its critical stance on the issue of Marathi identity (1991, 2004) , Deepa Mehta’s film ‘Fire’, over the theme of lesbianism in the film (1998), artist M F Husain for his depiction of Hindu goddesses (2005, 2007),  Zee television channel over a skit 'Kaka mala Vachva' (Marathi for 'Uncle, protect me'), satirising the power struggle in the party (2006) and the offices of television channel CNN-IBN over its critical comments on Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray (2009).

However, this is the first time it has had to climb down from its position, forced by the audience turnout on the first day of the release of the film. In an editorial in the party’s newspaper ‘Saamna’, the Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray said that the party was not going to protest the screening of the film. Furthermore, the party had also decided to withdraw its earlier opposition to the involvement of Australian players in the forthcoming IPL tournament and a churlish Bal Thackeray complained that no one seemed to have any sense of patriotism left!

A soft target for the Sena

For the Shiv Sena, trying feebly to respond to the public reaction to the visit of Congress-I leader Rahul Gandhi and the comments by industrialist Mukesh Ambani that Mumbai belonged to all, Hindi film actor Shah Rukh Khan and his forthcoming film seemed like a soft target.

Khan is also a franchisee owner of an IPL team ??" the Kolkata Knight Riders. In an interview to a television channel, Khan deplored the treatment meted out to Pakistani cricketers during the IPL auction held on January 19. None of the franchisees bid for the 11 Pakistani cricketers who had been released by the Pakistani Cricket Board to play for the tournament, ostensibly over security issues in the wake of the November 26, 2008 attacks in Mumbai.

Khan was also critical about the statements of the Shiv Sena over the participation of Australian cricketers in the tournament, again in the wake of race attacks on Indians in Australia. Angered by his stand, the Shiv Sena demanded that he apologise for his remarks, failing which the party would not allow the release of his film ‘My Name is Khan’. However, Khan refused to apologise, reiterating that he had said nothing wrong.

On January 30, activists of the political party tore down posters of the film in Thane, a district neighbouring Mumbai. On February 1, Shiv Sena members protested outside the residence of actor Shah Rukh Khan and stepped up the pressure on multiplex owners not to release the film. Khan, in the meanwhile, continued to maintain that he had said nothing wrong and expressed his willingness to speak to Bal Thackeray to explain his stand, if necessary.

The Maharashtra government then announced full protection to theatre goers and said that the film would be released as per schedule. Police deployment outside theatres was stepped up and over 2000 members of the political party were reportedly detained on the eve of the film’s release on February 12. With assurances of police protection, multiplex owners then decided to release the film as scheduled.

Maharashtra’s Home minister R R Patil even went for a screening at a prominent multiplex on the first day of the release. But what took everyone unawares, including both the Shiv Sena as well as the film’s producers, was the turnout of the general public for the film. In the past, a majority of viewers stayed away from theatres fearing trouble. In this instance, a majority clearly came to the theatre to watch the film, defying the Shiv Sena threat and asserting that their right to choose what they should watch could not be taken away from them.

And that made all the difference.