MUMBAI: In an exhibition of love for the Bollywood star family of Amitabh Bachchan, the Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray deflected the controversy triggered by actor and Samajwadi Party member of Parliament Jaya Bachchan over her remarks on using Hindi language, which also invited the wrath of Raj Thackeray, the estranged nephew of the Sena chief and president of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), Thackeray trained his guns on actor Shah Rukh Khan.
According to Sena sources, Thackeray deliberately took on Shah Rukh to shield his favorite family and divert the criticism of Shah Rukh, considered as an archrival of Amitabh.
Thackeray, while advising Jaya not to provoke the sentiments of the Maharashtrians, blasted Shah Rukh for describing himself as “Delhiwala” (resident of Delhi). This is also seen in political circles here as Thackeray training guns on a popular Muslim actor, Shah Rukh, against another popular Hindu actor, Bachchan.
It appears that Bollywood has now become the punching bag for political outfits in Maharashtra. While the Bachchans have been on Raj’s firing line since February, the Shiv Sena has now chosen out to hit out at Shah Rukh.
Attacking Shah Rukh in an editorial in Saamna, Thackeray said: “There is some Shah Rukh Khan who does ‘badshahi’ (kingship) in Mumbai. But all the time he says that he is a Delhiwala (from Delhi). If you are from Delhi what are you doing in Maharashtra? You come to Maharashtra to earn fame and wealth but once you have had your fill, then you will speak of the region from where you came from. And Marathi people are expected not to utter a word in their own state,” Thackeray wrote in the editorial.
Incidentally, the Sena has not spared the Bachchans either. The editorial said Jaya’s words have put Amitabh in trouble several times in the past. “Mumbai gave identity to the Bachchans. I am once again appealing to these people that do not provoke us unnecessarily,” it said.
The MNS said that it was not satisfied with Jaya’s “apology,” adding that she needs to apologize publicly rather than give statements to select newspapers.
Supporting his wife Jaya, Amitabh has said her remarks were not deliberate. “The casual off the cuff remarks made by her at the music launch function were without malice or deliberate intent, but if it has caused hurt to the sentiments of Maharashtra, Maharashtrians and indeed the city and citizens of Mumbai, then she must seek regret and offer apology,” Bachchan wrote on his blog www.bigb.bigadda.com.
Meanwhile, filmmakers have canceled the movie premiere of Amitabh after suspected workers of a regional party vandalized a theater near the Bachchan family residence in suburban Mumbai.
Arindam Chaudhari, producer of the movie “The Last Lear,” says the premiere was canceled since filmmakers did not want to put at risk audiences, the Bachchan family and celebrities planning to attend the event late yesterday.
— With input from agencies
