Activists of the Shiv Sena party, a Hindu nationalist group, earlier this week vandalized movie theaters scheduled to show the film, ripping posters of the movie and breaking windows. They were protesting the views of Mr. Khan, who said that Pakistan's cricket players should be allowed to participate in India's professional cricket league. Mr. Khan is co-owner of Kolkata's cricket team and a hugely popular star in the sub continent.
Police took 2,739 protestors into custody and 108 have been charged with damaging property, said D. Sivanandhan, Mumbai Police Commissioner.
Indian police personnel stationed outside a theater scheduled to screen "My Name Is Khan."
Originally, 63 screens were scheduled to show the movie; only 13 did so Friday. None of the city's theaters screened morning shows for the film. Fun Cinemas and INOX were the first two multiplexes to start screenings for the film with their matinee shows.
"There were people who came in to buy tickets early in the morning, in anticipation of the shows starting, and some obviously went away," said Vishal Kapur, chief operating officer of Fun Cinemas. "But, when we opened bookings, there was a huge rush and our first show was a full house." An official at BIG Cinemas, another multiplex chain, said: "We have screened one show and the response good, but we have still not decided the fate of a full opening; we are still testing the waters."
Many theaters across the city resembled a fortress, with hundreds of police personnel stationed in and around their premises.
The distributors of the film, Fox Star Studios, expressed relief at the film's phased release in Mumbai and were optimistic about the film's prospects. "The past few days have been very difficult for us and business in Maharashtra has definitely been impacted," said Vijay Singh, CEO of Fox Searchlight. "But, what's important is that the audience has loved the film and the response to it has been absolutely rock solid."
Fox Star Studios will market and distribute the film throughout India; Fox Star is a joint venture between Twentieth Century Fox and Star, which are owned by News Corp., owner of Dow Jones & Co., the publisher of The Wall Street Journal.
Analysts say the Shiv Sena is trying to put up a show of strength and regain its hold on the Marathi-speaking voters of Mumbai, the capital of the state of Maharashtra, by resorting to violence over Mr. Khan's comments. The Sena, which was founded in 1966 by cartoonist Bal Thackeray, lost many voters to the rival Maharashtra Navnirman Sena in last year's state assembly elections. The MNS was formed by Raj Thackeray, nephew of the Shiv Sena founder. Both compete for the votes of Mumbai's natives, many of whom feel they have been bypassed by the city's growing wealth amid an influx of immigrants from elsewhere in India.
"The Sena has been a powerful party in Maharashtra and the fact that they did not do well in the last assembly elections is definitely still playing on their minds," said Mahesh Rangarajan, a political analyst at Delhi University. "They are trying to regain lost ground by their tactics."
Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703525704575061174036495404.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_world
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