Shah Rukh Khan paid the MNS chief Raj Thackeray a visit to assure him that Mahira Khan, the leading lady of Raees from Pakistan, won’t be coming to India to promote the upcoming movie.
A source close to the film says the visit was entirely Shah Rukh’s own decision. “He didn’t take anyone from the film’s team into confidence. But being the film’s co-producer, he initiated a move to ensure his film’s smooth release,” reveals the source.
The source feels the extra-constitutional authority being attributed to political factions could spell trouble for the future of our cinema. “Today, Shah Rukh goes to the MNS to ensure them that Mahira Khan is not coming to India. Tomorrow, the MNS may demand that individuals from specific communities will not be allowed to work in our films at all.” However, a source close to Raees reveals that SRK’s visit to the MNS chief was a necessity dictated by the rumour that he intended to shoot a song with Mahira Khan in Dubai, to avoid the anti-Pakistan glare in Mumbai.
“This was completely wrong. We’ve shot all the portions that were needed with Mahira. There was no need or any move to shoot a new song with Shah Rukh and Mahira in Dubai or anywhere else. Such loose talk was damaging the smooth release of Raees,” says the source.
Producer Ritesh Sidhwani confirms that rumours of extra shooting with Mahira are completely false.
Bullying Tactics
Should the film industry bow down to pressure from above? Personalities give us their thoughts:
I don’t approve of having to take permission from Raj Thackeray, but Shah Rukh Khan has crores of rupees riding on this. The makers are taking all precautions to ensure there are no losses. As a filmmaker, I wouldn’t have resorted to meeting politicians to ensure my movie gets an easy release. I would have asked the government for help... there is no need for a parallel power structure.
— Ashoke Pandit, Filmmaker/VP of the Indian Motion Pictures’ Artists Association
I am disappointed with the Maharashtra government, which constantly allows this kind of political bullying to continue in the city. I did a little research on MNS and found that in the last state civic election they won only 0.4 per cent of the total vote. What is appalling is the fact that we are giving so much precedence to a party that barely won one per cent of vote in the civic election or for that matter general election. On the other hand, lot of people are also stating that the government intervention on this matter is not prominent because some believe that Bollywood is full of anti-social elements and anti-national elements and it’s not an industry that deserves protection. I don’t think I need to be convinced to watch a SRK film on the basis on some never-heard Pakistani actress is in the movie. I am going watch a SRK movie if it’s good, so it’s a strange thing that this is what we are defending now. Getting down to defending the nitty-gritty of film production, I think it’s going to reach a point where we have to run lines by different political party.
— Sorabh Pant, stand-up comedian
Shah Rukh Khan (or Karan Johar before) has been failed by his admirers, who refused to take a strong stand against the verdict of MNS. Only one person from the Indian Army spoke out earlier that the army doesn’t need the money acquired through extortion. If we Indians were united through sanity and not divided by religion/politics, our cultural icons would not have been grounded with such an unfortunate demand.
— Koral Dasgupta, author
People have to run their businesses and if certain others are going to be creating a ruckus, people have to go meet them and sort things out. Filmmaking is still a business at the end of the day with money and investors that ride on it. Was it necessary for Shah Rukh to do this? I would not have, but if Shah Rukh Khan feels he must, he must. There’s a lot at stake for him, I guess. — Karan Anshuman, filmmaker
