The stand-off between Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and filmmaker Karan Kohar over the release of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (ADHM) ended on Saturday, after the producers promised not to hire Pakistani actors and technicians in their films henceforth and the makers of ADHM agreed to consider the MNS’ demand that they make a contribution of Rs5 crore to the Army welfare fund.
The stage was set for the smooth release of ADHM in cinema halls across the country on October 28, after Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis intervened and brought about rapprochement between MNS chief Raj Thackeray on one side and Karan Johar and representatives of the Film & Television Producers Guild of India headed by filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt on the other.
At a meeting that he had called at his official residence “Varsha”, the Chief Minister hammered out an amicable solution to the raging controversy over the release of ADHM.
At the meeting attended among other Johar, Bhatt, film producer and CEO of UTV Motion Pictures Siddharth Roy Kapur and other film personalities, the MNS chief said that he would withdraw his threat to stall the screening of ADHM and other film featuring Pakistani actors on three conditions.
The conditions that Raj placed were: that the makers of ADHM and other films featuring Pakistani actor would pay tribute to the Indian soldiers killed in Uri and other attacks engineered Pakistani-sponsored terrorists, that the film producers’ guild headed by Bhatt would give an undertaking that the producers would henceforth not hire any Pakistani actor, technicians and singers in their films hence forth and that each of the producer who has hired a Pakistani actor in his film should as an “atonement” make a contribution of Rs5 crore to the Army welfare.
Bhatt, Johar and other film personalities present at the meeting readily accepted the MNS chief’s first two demands and also showed readiness to make contribution to the Army Welfare Fund. They assured Raj that they would announce the amount of contribution to the Army Welfare Fund, in consultation with the Chief Minister.
Talking to media persons after the meeting, Bhatt said: "We had a constructive meeting. I shared the film industry’s emotions regarding the entire issue. We are Indians first and then comes our business...our meeting with the Chief Minister and Raj Thackeray has been positive”.
Bhatt also said that he and other present at the meeting had assured the Chief Minister that neither the Guild nor any Indian filmmaker would henceforth work with any Pakistani artiste or technician in the future. "The Guild will call a meeting to pass a resolution on not working with Pakistani artists. A copy of the same would be sent to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry as well as the Chief Minister” He said that the Guild had taken the decision not to work with Pakistani artistes in the "larger interests" of the country.
Bhatt said that Johar would make a special mention in the beginning of his film ADHM paying homage to martyred soldiers.
“Karan Johar will display a slate of tribute to Uri martyrs before ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ starts playing. It is a tribute from us to our soldiers...it is a good gesture from his side, the tribute to the martyrs would come even before his father (Yash Johar's) slate appears,” Bhatt said.
Apart from Bhatt, Johar and Kapur, Producer Sajid Nadiadwala and Vijay Singh of Fox Star Studios were also present in the meeting, while the MNS chief was accompanied by party’s vice president Shalini Thackeray, senior party leader Nitin Sardesai and party’s film wing president Amey Khopkar.
later, interacting with the media at his Dadar residence, Raj claimed that the assurances given by Johar and other film personalities at Saturday’s marked the victory of an agitation undertaken by the MNS against the films featuring Pakistani actors.
“With today’s decision, there will be a total ban on Pakistani actors anf technicians featuring in Indian films. And the producers who have already made films featuring Pakistani actor should atone for their sin by making a contribution of Rs 5 crore each to the Army welfare fund,” Raj said.
Meanwhile, the chief minister complimented the film producers’ guild for its decision not to hire Pakistani actors and technicians in the films to be made in future. “
“This was the best decision given the current circumstances…At one end they (Pakistan) have banned TV and radio content...at this stage, the general sentiment of the people is not to allow them (Pakistani artistes) to work here," he said. "We must respect our soldiers," Fadnavis said, while participating in a television programme.
later in the day, Johar said he was “excited” about the prospect of his film getting released as scheduled on October 28. “Now I'm excited about my film,” Johar, while participating at a panel discussion on the film at the ongoing MAMI film festival.
Saturday’s developments came as a huge relief to Johar, considering that the MNS had not reneged on its threat to stall the release of ADHM despite the clarification that he had issued through a video footage that “for me, my country comes first” he would not engage any Pakistani actors in his future films the "given the circumstances".
While he himself had met the chief minister seeking security for the smooth release of his film, Bhatt and representatives of Johar’s Dharma Productions had met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi early this week to seek necessary steps +to ensure trouble-free release of ADHM.