Truce terms: Films which have taken Pak actors will have to pay Rs 5 crore towards the Army Welfare fund.
Mumbai : The much controversial Karan Johar film `Aye Dil Hai Mushkil’ is likely to get a smooth release following a meeting of MNS chief Raj Thackeray with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today.
The meeting ended with Raj claiming victory and saying that those producers who have taken Pakistani actors in their films will have to pay an amount of Rs five crore towards the Army Welfare Fund. It was also agreed in the meeting that a slate will be shown at the beginning of the film `Aye Dil Hai Mushkil’ that will pay a tribute to the martyrs who died in the Uri attack by Pakistani terrorists in September.
More importantly, film producers have agreed that they will not work with Pakistani artistes in the future. The meeting was also attended by the president of the Film and Television Producers Guild of India, Mukesh Bhatt, film producer Karan Johar and other members of the film industry.
The controversy broke out after the Uri attack when the MNS said that they will not allow the release of the film since it had featured Pakistani actor Fawad Khan. They had said that when there is high tension between India and Pakistan, it is not right to feature actors from across the border.
The film in question is slated for a release on October 28 across the country. However, the owners of single screen theatres in four states had made a statement that they will not screen this film at their places.
According to Raj, they had been raising the issue of Pakistani actors since a long time but Bollywood had not paid any heed to this. “Now they have understood the issue. Terrorist attacks have been taking place on a regular basis. I have said that when Pakistan has been regularly banning our films and TV channels for no reason, then why do we continue to feature them in our films,” he said.
Bhatt said that they had a good meeting with the CM on this issue and the film will be released as per schedule. He also assured that no Pakistani actor will be allowed to act in Indian films in future and that the guild will also contribute towards the army fund.
Meanwhile, the Opposition Congress termed the ‘settlement (mandavli)’ as “shocking and unconstitutional”. “It is the prerogative of the Central government to impose a ban on Pakistani artistes, the CM’s duty is to only ensure law and order in the state… The CM could have made a request to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as it’s a matter concerning foreign affairs. Fadnavis has interfered in Modi’s domain,” Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said.
Army frowns at ‘extortion’
New Delhi: Senior Army officials and veterans were “upset” over the force being dragged into “politics” over films after the MNS demanded that producers of movies employing Pakistani actors pay Rs 5 crore to an army welfare fund. All contributions (to welfare fund) are to be voluntary. Extortion is not allowed. We would want people to contribute on their own rather than under any coercion,” a senior armyofficial said today. “The army is completely apolitical. It is wrong to drag the force into politics,” another army official said. “(We) would never support it,” Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd), former military secretary, said when asked if he supports the move of the MNS. “Why should the armed forces be made a part of this extortion? By accepting this money they would become a ‘receiver’ of tainted money,” tweeted Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (Retd).
