Kangana Ranaut vs Shiv Sena: A new fight begins in Maharashtra

The ongoing spat between the Shiv Sena and actor Kangana Ranaut is not the first instance of a fight between the party and Hindi film personalities. It, however,

The ongoing spat between the Shiv Sena and actor Kangana Ranaut is not the first instance of a fight between the party and Hindi film personalities. It, however, is the first one where a Bollywood personality has taken the Sena head-on.

HT Image

Over the years, the Sena has taken up issues targeting films or actors as and when it suited their political agendas – from batting for the rights of Marathi manoos to raking up anything related to Pakistan or Hindutva.

Sena supremo and party founder Bal Thackeray had personal relations with actors Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar and Sunil Dutt, among others. The stories of the evening sessions between Thackeray senior and these actors on the terrace of Matoshree, the Thackeray residence in Bandra East, are well-known in political circles. However, his party had run-ins with almost all Bollywood biggies, from Dev Anand to Dilip Kumar to Shah Rukh Khan.

Political observers said this is the first time a Bollywood actor has taken the fight with the ruling Shiv Sena, albeit with the backing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to the Centre. The recent war of words is a new type of a clash, the one the Sena is not used to.

Bollywood and Shiv Sena

The party’s first skirmish with the Hindi film industry came early on after the Sena was founded in 1966. In 1971, Marathi actor Krishna Kondke, popularly known as Dada Kondke, turned to Bal Thackeray for help after the owner of Kohinoor cinema did not screen his movie, Songadya, despite booking it three weeks in advance. Instead, the cinema hall screened Dev Anand’s Tere Mere Sapne.

Angry Shiv Sainiks protested outside the cinema hall after it replaced the Marathi film with Anand’s film produced under the Navketan banner. Back then, the Sena’s primary agenda was ‘Marathi manoos’.

The Sena, which had adopted the Hindutva agenda, targeted Dilip Kumar for accepting Nishan-e-Imtiaz, a civilian honour by the Pakistan government in 1998. The Sena, which was Maharashtra’s ruling party in alliance with the BJP then, questioned the patriotism of Dilip Kumar, who was born Yusuf Khan in Peshawar in undivided India.

In 1995, Bal Thackeray was given a special screening of Mani Ratnam’s film Bombay, which was based on the 1993 Mumbai riots, and he demanded some cuts. In 1998, the Sena protested against the screening of Deepa Mehta’s film Fire and did not allow the release of Water as the former was depicting lesbian relationship and the latter “hurt Hindu sentiments”.

In 2010, the party protested and prevented screenings of the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer My Name Is Khan after the lead actor spoke for inclusion of Pakistani cricketers in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Sena leaders have protested against films such as Salman Khan-starrer Tiger Zinda Hai in 2017, as its producers booked most screens, leaving no space for Marathi movies in multiplexes.

Bollywood hasn’t hit back at the party on most occasions as Mumbai is a big market for Hindi movies and offending the Sena would mean disturbing the release in theatres. Besides, the Sena controls the Mumbai civic body (which is an authority for a number of things, including houses and offices as well as permissions for shooting at public places). The Sena always had a strong ground presence. Thackeray was also an authority for several Bollywood personalities who would approach him if they faced trouble from either unions or any local trouble-makers. Questioning the Sena or even ignoring it was not a preferable option for Bollywood.

Ranaut versus Sena

Political observers point out that be it protests or blessings from Matoshree, nobody wanted to rub the Thackerays the wrong way. However, this changed recently after Ranaut’s attack on the party.

Political analyst Prakash Bal said Bal Thackeray built ties with the film industry, at the same time, ruled with an iron fist, which meant going against the Sena would hurt their business.

“Thackeray had personal equation with several Bollywood stars; Uddhav Thackeray did not do so after he took over the reins of the party. He moved away from street politics in a bid to project the Shiv Sena in a different light. On the other hand, Raj Thackeray (who moved out of the Sena to form the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena) inherited his uncle’s way of functioning. Therefore, in 2010, Karan Johar and Shah Rukh Khan went to Raj (when they faced a problem with their movie’s release) and not Matoshree, although Bal Thackeray was alive then,” Bal said.

In 2016, Johar also had to meet Raj Thackeray after the latter’s party objected to the release of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, which had Pakistani actor Fawad Khan as one of the leading actors.

Bal added that had Uddhav Thackeray built a rapport with the film industry, it would have helped his son during this “political gimmick”. He also added that as film’s economics changed, the industry biggies needed less protection from political parties. “Now, they make more money from overseas rights and other things than from here [the box office],” he said.

Another political analyst Surendra Jondhale said Ranaut shifted the dimension of Sena’s run-ins with Bollywood. “The Sena always picked issues of Marathi culture and common man with the film industry. It was the cultural protector, but this has turned into a hard core political battle with the BJP operating behind Kangana. The Sena has so far handled it well and it will have to deal with it politically,” he said.

A Shiv Sena Member of Parliament, who did not wish to be named, said being in power puts certain restrictions on reactions. “We have to remain conscious of not breaking the law. What happened in the case of the ex-Navy officer was an aberration. Shiv Sainiks will not tolerate anything against the Thackeray family,” he said. Amid the criticism over the assault of the former Naval officer, Sena minister Anil Parab said, “Although we are sitting in power, it does not mean that anybody can say anything to us. Our activists will not tolerate this.” He added that restraint should be observed from both sides.

Sena MP and party’s chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut said Mumbai and Maharashtra are being projected in poor light as part of a “conspiracy” to defame the Maharashtra government. He said the issue is being kept alive for Bihar elections.