Karan Johar’s Ae Dil Hei Mushkil, which is already mired in controversies, has now been banned by the Cinema Owners Exhibitors Association of India (COEAI). The organisation of cinema theatre owners has demanded that no films with Pakistani actors should be released in theatres in the wake of escalated tension between India and Pakistan. The film has Pakistani actor Fawad Khan essaying a pivotal role.
Nitin Datar, head of the Cine Owners Association, addressing the media on Friday, said that the association’s decision has already been put in place in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa and parts of Karnataka, and will be conveyed to other states as well.
The film has been certified by censor board and is scheduled to release on October 28.
Datar said that while the decision would cause the theatre owners monetary loss, it would safeguard them from the risk of vandalisation during the screening of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. Therefore, keeping all possibilities in mind, the Cine Owners Association has decided to bar the screening of the Karan Johar film in theatres.
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Maharashtra Nava Nirman Sena has openly threatened to set fire to the theatres that screen Ae Dil Hei Mushkil and Shah Rukh Khan’s Raees, which has Pakistani actress Mahira Khan in it. The right-wing political outfit had issued an ultimatum in September for Pakistani artistes working in Mumbai to leave the country. The Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association (IMPPA) had also announced a ban on Pakistani actors, but later had requested MNS for a smooth release of films that have already been finished.