Home Minister Rajnath Singh today met a delegation of eminent produceres led by Karan Johar seeking assurance for a trouble-free release of his film 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil'.
Singh has reportedly assured the film producers that the film will release without any violence and all cinemas will have full proof protection.
After the meeting, filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt – the president of the Film & Television Producers Guild of India – said the home minister had assured them 100% support.
“Rajnath Singh assured us 100% support and that he will convey to CM to maintain law and order,” Bhatt was quoted by ANI as saying.
“Rajnath Singh said he will speak to chief minister of every state and that Ae Dil Hai Mushkil will release without any violence or issue,” Bhatt added.
The Raj Thackeray led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has threatened to vandalise theatres screening 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' ahead of its scheduled Diwlali release.
MNS have continued with its tirade against the film for featuring Pakistani actor Fawad Khan despite Johar's video statement that he will not “engage with talent” from Pakistan in future.
On Wednesday, at least a dozen workers belonging to the MNS were arrested for staging protest against the upcoming film.
The party has argued that there should be a complete ban on the film to respect the public sentiments in the aftermath of the Uri terror attack in which 19 Indian soldiers were martyred.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has assured protection to theatres that are screening the film saying while everyone has the freedom to protest, any situation that creates a law and order problem will not allowed and strict action would be taken.
Fadnavis’ remarks come a day after Johar issued a video statement that he would not “engage talent from neighbouring country given the circumstances.”
On Tuesday, breaking his silence over the controversy surrounding his upcoming film 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil', Karan Johar, in an emotional video, expressed a "deep sense of hurt and pain" over allegations of him being an anti-national.
"I condemn terror in the strongest terms, I respect our Army, for me, the country comes first," the 44-year-old film-maker said.
"The best way to express your patriotism is to spread love and thats all I have ever tried to do through my work and cinema,” he added.
"Going forward I would like to say of course I will not engage talent from neighbouring country given the circumstance. With that same energy I beseech you to know one thing, that over 300 Indian people in my crew have put their blood, sweat and tears in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and I don't think it's fair to them to face any kind of turbulence on account of other fellow Indians," the 45-year-old filmmaker said.
He said he felt a "deep sense of hurt and pain" that people believed he is anti-national. "When I shot my film in September-December last year, the climate was completely different, circumstances were different. There were efforts made by our government for peaceful relationships with the neighbouring country and I respected those efforts then, and I respect the sentiment today... because I feel the same," he said.
On Wednesday, at least a dozen workers belonging to the MNS were arrested for protesting against the upcoming film. The protest took place after MNS rejected Karan Johar’s video statement that he will not “engage with talent” from Pakistan in future.
The workers from MNS’ film unit Maharashtra Navnirman Chitrapat Karmachari Sena were protesting and raising slogans outside Metro Cinema in South Mumbai.
