"My Name is Khan" set to open despite security worries

Shah Rukh Khan's new film "My Name is Khan" opens in cinemas across India on Friday but theatre owners in Mumbai were still cagey about its release in the wake of threats by the Shiv Sena.

The radical Hindu group triggered a media storm last week after it criticised Khan for calling for Pakistani cricketers to be included in the Indian Premier League.

Shiv Sena members have torn up posters in Mumbai and warned theatres against screening the movie on Friday.

Cinema owners in Mumbai have expressed apprehensions over security and were closeted in negotiations with distributors Fox Star Studios till late on Thursday night.

Fox, however, seemed to hold firm.

"There is a huge demand for 'My Name is Khan'. We are releasing it nationally tomorrow," CEO Vijay Singh was quoted as saying in an SMS statement forwarded by the film's publicist.

But cinema owners in Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra were not entirely convinced, despite assurances of security from city police officials. A final call on the film's release would be taken on Friday morning.

"We are looking for some sort of a reassurance from the distributors that nothing would happen," a cinema owner, who did not want to be identified, told Reuters.

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Source: http://in.reuters.com/article/bollywoodNews/idINIndia-46102820100211?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0