Success 101: How ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ Moved Past the MNS Storm

Raj Thackeray and his party, the Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS), had threatened not to let Karan Johar release his movie Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (ADHM).Argument: When Pakistan is the root cause of terrorism in India and Indian troops are getting killed at the border, how can Pakistani artistes be allowed to work in Bollywood movies? This is anti-national.Karan Johar becomes a traitor because hiring Pakistani actors is anti-national. Can there be a bigger joke than this?In spite of having fought four wars with Pakistan, Indians still listen to ghazals by Ghulam Ali and Mehdi Hasan. So are all of them traitors? We love watching our favourite Pakistan cricketers play and have been fans of Zaheer Abbas, Majid Khan, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Shoaib Akhtar. Does that make all of us traitors?This question holds great importance, especially now when every day someone or the other is certified a patriot or a traitor.These things are being done by people who had no role to play in India's freedom struggle. No one from their organisation was imprisoned, but today they have become the purveyors of nationalism.But in Karan Johar's case the main issue is not him being termed a traitor. The main issue is that all this happened with the consent of the BJP government. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis helped Karan Johar, Raj Thackeray and the producers' guild to come to an agreement. Raj Thackeray laid down three conditions for allowing the release of the movie. First, Karan Johar will have to add a slide before the movie expressing his respect for the army. Secondly, he will pay Rs 5 crore to the Army Welfare Fund. And thirdly, he would never hire Pakistani actors in the future.Some people might argue that there is nothing wrong with this. When Pakistan is trying to break up India, why should we show any sympathy towards it or its citizens?Should the State Give in to Illegal Demands?The issue here isn't whether or not Karan Johar committed a crime by taking Fawad Khan in his movie or how to treat actors from an ‘enemy’ state. The real matter of discussion here should be if it is constitutionally correct for the state to give in to the illegal and unreasonable demands of goons and broker a compromise.The duty of the state government is to punish the people who break the law, protect law-abiding citizens and establish the rule of the law.The state government is responsible for maintaining law and order in the state. Threatening Karan Johar against releasing his movie is a crime. These threats resulted posed a danger to life and property in Mumbai. Hiring Pakistani actors in Bollywood movies isn't a crime according to the Indian Constitution. India issues visa to Pakistani actors to come and act in the country. So, the entire process is legal. The Maharashtra government should have stood by Karan Johar and should have provided security to him and people who wanted to watch the movie in theatres. This is the responsibility that the Constitution reposes on the state government.But in this case, the government seems to have shrugged off its responsibilities and instead become a middle man, which indirectly translates into a constitutional breakdown in Maharashtra.Should such a government be allowed to remain in power?Extortion Money Demanded for Film Release, Govt Gives inThe state government gave in to the pressure mounted on them by Raj Thackeray, which proves that MNS workers are more powerful than the Mumbai police. This encouraged Raj Thackeray to continue with his unfair demands, that included extortion. The law is the same for everyone, and whoever breaks the law should get punished. This rule has been clearly violated in Karan Johar’s case. I am not ready to accept that any government of India is so weak that it succumbed to a thug.The 1960s saw the rise of Bal Thackeray and the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. Violence was the greatest weapon of Thackeray. In Maharashtra, there have been several instances of the Shiv Sena openly threatening people or even beating them up. The party has terrrorised civilians for decades. When the government tried arresting Bal Thackeray in the 1990s, Thackeray warned that "rivers of blood" will flow. A few years ago, Raj Thackeray, who broke away from the Shiv Sena to start the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, was also arrested. If people supported the Shiv Sena or Raj Thackeray, they would have been able to come to power. Only once did Shiv Sena form the government and that too with the help of the BJP. And Raj Thackeray's party has only one MLA. Then what are we afraid?The Government Uses These ForcesFirst, the Congress used Bal Thackeray to counter the Communist movement. And now, Raj Thackeray is being used to end the liberal, secular, progressive thinking in the film industry in order to establish a kind of right-wing ideology. The film industry has never promoted communal or conservative thinking that supports terrorism. The current government is completely against such an ideology. The way the film industry reacted to Gajendra Chauhan's appointment as FTII chief didn't go down well with the government. Clearly, the current government is against any agitations or protests, hence there is hardly any scope for difference of opinion.Creativity thrives under freedom, and not within restrictions. Protests and disagreements are creativity’s oxygen. Creativity is rebellious by nature, and therefore, often gets involved in arguments with the government. Political coarseness is practical and friction is natural. But what is surprising is how Karan Johar and the film industry accepted the BJP government and Raj Thackeray's terms and conditions. Why is commercial concerns being given priority over art? Art and creativity cannot grow with restrictions. Karan Johar has surrendered before such political forces even in the past during the release of his film My Name is Khan. Karan has been afraid of the consequences and it’s a known fact. But the topic of the debate is that art and creativity cannot live in fear and hence, need to be restriction-free.Actors Like Amitabh Bachchan Should've Spoken UpThe biggest worry is that after Raj Thackeray’s threat, none of the renowned actors from the film industry came forward and take a stand on the issue. Only director Anurag Kashyap spoke against the unfair behaviour meted out to Johar. These actors have forgotten that their careers flourished during a time when there were no restrictions on creativity and art wasn’t shackled by the government. Stars like Amitabh Bachchan who have been in the industry for decades now should’ve spoken on the matter.This threat is not only for Karan Johar but for the whole film industry. The industry has to understand the consequences of this ideology of putting an end to the independent thinking. Creativity is not allowed to be secular anymore. Karan Johar should've showed some courage, and the film industry should've united against this unjust treatment.(The writer is an author and spokesperson of AAP. He can be reached at @ashutosh83B. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)

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Success 101: How ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ Moved Past the MNS Storm

Karan Johar becomes a traitor because hiring Pakistani actors is anti-national.

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Topics: Karan Johar Shiv Sena Raj Thackeray