The entire ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ issue reinstates Raj Thackeray as the trouble maker in chief for Mumbai. With Fadnavis having him at Varsha, this status gets de facto official recognition. This may have a lot to do with the Sena-BJP politics and forthcoming Mumbai Municipal corporation elections. But there are legitimate questions about the MNS-KJO deal and the implication that other films with Pakistani actors would also have to follow the same formula.
Recently we are witnessing two sagas unfolding in the public domain- the Bollywood patriotism show and the BCCI clean-up project at the hands of the Supreme Court appointed Justice Lodha committee.
As for the Bollywood patriotism show after all the jingoistic noises about patriotism and an almost mad race at one-upmanship in denouncing those who have associated themselves with the Pakistani actors, there has been a typical Mumbai style compromise (mandavli) brokered by none other than the chief minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis where all the sides have got something to show as trophies. For starters Karan Johar gets to release his film ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ (ADHM) that has Pakistani actor Fawad Khan without any fear or threats of violence from the MNS. Of course, he has agreed to carry a eulogy for the jawans martyred in the Uri terror incident at the beginning of the film and pay Rs 5 crore to the Army Relief Fund. This is a small price for the promised safety besides the money is for a good cause. Moreover, the deal has the backing of the chief minister, so no chance anyone going back on it.
As for Raj Thackeray the entire issue reinstates him as the trouble maker in chief for Mumbai. With Fadnavis having him at Varsha, this status gets de facto official recognition. This may have a lot to do with the Sena-BJP politics and forthcoming Mumbai Municipal corporation elections.
But there are legitimate questions about the MNS-KJO deal and the implication that other films with Pakistani actors would also have to follow the same formula. The moot point being that can anyone collect donations using the Army’s name? Besides, instead of brokering an MNS-producers deal shouldn’t Fadnavis have used his authority to get the film released? Moreover without even talking to the producers of other films how can it be presumed that they too would accept the same terms? Or the other assumption could be that Rs 5 cr is a small amount to buy peace with the MNS for Bollywood producers.
In the din of this compromise, a point raised sensitive and creative person film maker Anurag Kashyap was lost. He made a few interesting points. Firstly, KJo was shooting the film with the Pakistani actor Fawad Khan around the time Prime Minister Narendra Modi made that famous impromptu Lahore trip to wish his counterpart a happy birthday and participate in the festivities related to a marriage in the family. Secondly, Kashyap also pointed out that all Pakistani artists come to India only after proper government clearances. So when KJo is being made to pay a price for casting a Pakistani actor shouldn’t the prime minister apologise for his Lahore visit was Kashyap’s question? It did make the establishment uncomfortable but made it sure that Bollywood personalities are unafraid of the high and mighty and do not hesitate to call a spade a spade.
The other saga that of the Supreme Court appointed Lodha committee to tame the BCCI bosses and the ensuing battle with the well-entrenched masters of cricketing administration is much more interesting. It is unusual for anyone to do anything else when the Supreme Court says ‘fall in line’. You simply do whatever the court tells you. In this case the apex court says that implement the reforms that Lodha committee has recommended. The BCCI says that under the laws which their board is registered they cannot implement these reforms unless 75 percent of their members agree and the members not agreeing. Now how can these members agree when the one-state-one vote formula recommended by the Lodha panel means their death? States with multiple associations have this problem.
The BCCI is the world’s richest sports body. In sync with this reputation it is in the process of negotiating the marketing rights for the money spinner IPL for the next ten years starting 2018. The deal this time would also involve digital platforms like Twitter and Facebook and of course television would be the primary focus. Last time for rights till 2017, Sony had paid a shocker of 1.3 billion dollars. Now the deal is anybody’s guess, but surely it would be in billions, but the BCCI does not have the autonomy to go ahead and negotiate. There would be an independent auditor appointed by the Lodha committee to oversee it.
This is not the only restraint that the BCCI faces. The apex court has restrained the BCCI from transferring any money to members unless they agree to accept the Lodha reforms. Two banks – Bank of Maharashtra and Yes Bank were specifically directed to stop these transfers estimated at an aggregate of Rs 400 crores.
So, the money question comes back again? Would the Supreme Court have any interest in reforming the BCCI if it did not have these riches? Only the court can answer this question, but one thing is certain it is probably because of the money involved that the apex court has only threatened the sacking of the BCCI bosses and replacing them with administrators and not actually gone ahead with doing so. With any other association having lesser clout than the BCCI this would have happened long ago. We can also assert that the BCCI chief Anurag Thakur is hand-picked by the union finance minister Arun Jaitley who is also a long -standing cricket administrator. Besides this, Thakur as a BJP MP enjoys Jaitley protection and patronage and is also a part of the establishment. In this atmosphere it is not easy to attack a Jaitley protégé without inviting consequences.
So, the legal battle continues and now the matter would be heard by the apex court in December. We can expect that the BCCI bosses will come up with more reasons for not implementing the reforms that hit at their power base and disturb the cosy balance that has sustained the BCCI so far. But the big money question between the BCCI and the Lodha panel would remain.
