MNS enters fray, holds free screening of film that NCP shut down

Thane: A day after former Maharashtra housing minister Jitendra Awhad and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) workers forcibly stopped the screening of Marathi movie ‘Har Har Mahadev’ in a Thane multiplex and attacked viewers, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) held a special screening free of cost for movie-goers. The director of the movie, Abhijit Deshpande, was also present.

Awhad, while shutting down the late-night show, had declared that the film distorted the history of Chhatrapati Shivaji. The Vartak Nagar police have booked the NCP MLA and his followers under IPC sections 141, 143, 146, 149, 323 as well as sections of the Maharashtra Police Act. More than 20 police officials have been posted at the gate of Viviana Mall to stem any further problems.

On Tuesday, MNS Thane chief Avinash Jadhav announced that his party would host all shows of ‘Har Har Mahadev’ free of cost in one screen of the multiplex. After the chaos that ensued with over a hundred people gathering at the multiplex, Jadhav booked two additional screens. “The attack on movie viewers is unacceptable,” he said. “If the NCP had a problem with the movie, they should have taken it to the theatre. Our party workers are present here to ensure that no untoward incident takes place.”

Abhijeet Deshpande dubbed the violence as “completely inappropriate and condemnable”. “How can they attack viewers?” he demanded. “This should not be tolerated anywhere in Maharashtra or India. If they have a problem with the director, they should have come to me. Secondly, who are they to decide whether the history in the movie is right or wrong? I have spent eight years studying this topic. I have shared all historical evidence with the censor board before getting approval. Who are these people to say it’s wrong?”

Jadhav also appealed to NCP party workers not to malign the complainant Parikshit Durve. Durve, a businessman, had asked NCP workers for a refund when they stopped the screening, and his wife too asked them why they were being harassed for merely wanting to watch a movie.

“If the MLA has the power to shut down the show, then he should have also resolved the issue that we raised,” said Durve. “Our question was very valid: when common people like us come out with family after a day of work, we spend money for our entertainment. If these people wanted to shut down a running show, they should also have made arrangements to return our money.”

Durve said the violence began when someone from the audience remarked that it was ridiculous that anyone could just turn up and demand that the show be stopped. “NCP workers flew into a rage on hearing this and attacked the audience,” he said. “I was just trying to protect my wife and they beat me up.”