MNS threatens protest against Salman Khan’s Tiger Zinda Hai, demands screen space for Marathi films
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on Tuesday threatened to protest against cinema owners who give preference to Salman Khan-starrer Tiger Zinda Hai over Marathi film Deva.
While the controversy around Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film Padmavati has died down, another Hindi film finds itself in a political controversy. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on Tuesday threatened to protest against cinema owners who give preference to Salman Khan-starrer Tiger Zinda Hai over Marathi film Deva.
Both the films are releasing on December 22. “We have sent a letter to Yash Raj Films. If they’re ready to give screen space to Marathi Films, ‘Deva’ in this case, then there is no need for us opposing it. However, if they don’t, we won’t allow it to shoot hereafter in Maharashtra,” Amey Khopkar, MNS’ film division head told ANI on Wednesday.
Senior MNS leader Shalini Thackeray said regional films should not suffer because of Hindi films, whose producers block a chunk of the slots. “The Marathi film has not got the required number of screens. We have written to all multiplexes to cooperate with the distributors and give them the required screens. The multiplexes have been granted permission on the condition that they have to show Marathi films,” Thackeray told HT.
Thackeray, who is the general secretary of the Maharashtra Navnirman Chitrapat Karmachari Sena, said the party has given cinema owners a day to respond to the request. “It is not a threat. We have written to them formally. We are not against Tiger Zinda Hai. We are against the basic policy of not making screens available for Marathi cinema in Maharashtra,” Thackeray said.
To revive its prospects, the Raj Thackeray-led party recently launched an aggressive campaign against illegal hawkers in Mumbai reviving its old ‘son -of -the -soil’ agenda.