Mumbai halls to defy Shiv Sena and show SRK's film

Majority of the cinema halls in Mumbai will screen Shah Rukh Khan's movie My Name Is Khan on Friday despite threats by the Shiv Sena to disrupt its release.

Defying the Shiv Sena threat Fox Star Studios on Thursday night announced that My Name Is Khan would be release nationally on Friday.

According to Fox Star Studios the latest Shah Rukh Khan movie would be released in most cinema halls in Maharashtra.

Big threatre chains like Cinemax, PVR, Big Cinemas, Fame and Inox would go ahead and screen the movie. Most single screen cinemas have also decided to screen the film.

But cinema hall owners have decided not to start any show before 0900 hrs IST. All the 0700 hrs IST, 0730 hrs IST, 0800 hrs IST and 0830 hrs IST shows have been cancelled.

Speaking to CNN-IBN Mumbai Police Commissioner D Sivanandan assured that his forces are geared up to thwart any threat to the movie and cinema halls.

"You know what will happen in the future I cannot say. I cannot predict what will the politicians do tomorrow (Friday). But tomorrow when the movie is going on, when our police is there, when we are geared up for that, nothing will go wrong at all. If the multiplex owners ask after one week that they are having problem, I will give them protection then also," said Sivanandan.

Even Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan reassured theatre owners.

"It is upto the multiplex owners if they want to run the show. We will provide all the security. I have not received an official communication from multiplex owners that they have decided not to show the film," said Chavan.

"I am not here to promote this film. This is not the question of only a film. The issue is can the people be threatened? We can only provide security to multiplex owners. We cannot force them to show the film," he said.

Earlier in the day four exhibitors -- Big Cinemas, Fun Cinemas, Gaiety Galaxy and Maratha Mandir -- decided against releasing the movie on Friday.

The exhibitors claimed that the security situation didn't warrant release of the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer movie.

"The security provided is adequate but at the same time the atmosphere which has been created is not good. Entertainment cannot happen in this tense environment," said Fun Cinema CEO Vishal Kapoor.

Shiv Sena has threatened to disrupt the film over Shah Rukh Khan backing Pakistani cricketers and saying that their exclusion from the Indian Premier League was unjustified.

Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/printpage.php?id=110014&section_id=8