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getting one of Bollywood’s most powerful directors Karan Film maker Karan Johar coming out after an apology to MNS chief Raj Thackeray, over use of word ’Bombay’ instead of ’Mumbai’ in the movie. (Mumbai Mirror)
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Johar to kow-tow before him
-- and one that Johar would like to forget, irrespective of whether or not his new movie, Wake Up Sid, creates magic at the box office.
The movie had several characters calling Mumbai by its former name, Bombay, and that was enough for the MNS -- going into a make-or-break Assembly election later this month -- to smell a poll issue.
So Johar first had to pay obeisance at Raj Thackeray’s residence during the day and mouth politically right lines. "I apologize if I have hurt anyone’s sentiments and so have agreed to put a one-line disclaimer, stressing this, right at the start of the film," he said.
But he was mistaken if he thought that would be enough. Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut told reporters that Johar should not merely apologize to Raj Thackeray. "If Johar really feels sorry about it, he should apologize to Maharashtra and the millions of Marathi Manoos staying here," he said.
Although the incident demonstrated once again how Raj Thackeray and the Shiv Sena can wield power in Mumbai, one of Bollywood’s biggest box-office markets, by threatening violence, Johar said he apologized because he didn’t want trouble. "I didn’t want any negative impact on the film as so much of hard work had gone into it. It was also never our intention to hurt anybody’s sentiment. The film, in fact, pays homage to the city and Mumbai is an integral part of the film," he said.
"We at Dharma The Economic Timess follow certain ethics and will never market our films like this. There are various other platforms to market films. Besides, my father always told me that if there was an issue, address it immediately and that was exactly what I did," he said to criticism of his visit to Raj Thackeray’s residence.
That criticism came from Congress chief minister Ashok Chavan, who called the Johar-Thackeray meeting a "publicity stunt". "Raj Thackeray is not a constitutional authority. Karan Johar should have come to the state government if he thought that the issue was so serious," he added.
The Sena’s poll partner, BJP, too, got into the thick of things. Former MP Kirit Somaiya claimed it was the BJP that was instrumental in getting the city renamed from Bombay to Mumbai. "Nobody has the right to refer to it by the old name when it has already been renamed as Mumbai," he said.
But the MNS had clearly taken the lead on the issue. MNS chief Raj Thackeray said no film producer had the right to change the name of the city from Mumbai to Bombay. "If any producer dares to rename this city and refer to it as Bombay, then my men will protest in typical MNS-style," he warned.
He added that Johar had apologized for using the city’s old name in the film. "He told me it was done intentionally. But I am warning other producers not to repeat the mistake he has done," he stated, adding that he had given Johar two days to amend the mistake and carry a rejoinder before the film.
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