Theatre owners demand government protection for the release of ‘Indu Sarkar’

President of the Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association of India, Nitin Datar, plans to write to the government asking for protection to all cinemas where ‘Indu Sarkar’ would be screened. He said that the board has decided to ask the government for security cover to those cinemas which choose to screen the film. If they are unable to safeguard the theatres, they intend to ask the government to compensate for damages in the event of unruly elements trying to create problems. Nitin added that they will see what the situation is like after the film is cleared, but the safety of cinemas and audiences is uppermost on their minds. The COEAI President recalled incidents from the recent past where sections of the crowd became unruly and vandalised cinemas, during the release of ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’, ‘Dilwale’, ‘Bajirao Mastani’ and several other films. This is perhaps why the cinema owners don’t want to take any risks. He observed that the film’s director Madhur Bhandarkar has received police protection, but insists that exhibitors are the ultimate sufferers. Nitin further said that the decision was being taken in view of the aggressiveness of Congress party workers and certain unsocial elements creating a ruckus about the film. He rues that the Congress high command does not seem to have issued a statement about the nature of the protests, but the local leaders of the party are doing it on their own and also issuing threats. The manner in which the Congress party workers have been going on a rampage in several places, especially Pune has Nitin worried. He added that the Congress had effectively tried to stall the release of films like ‘Kissa Kursi Ka’ and ‘Gandhi’ in the past, but they were the ruling party at that time. Unlike then, the government should not have a problem providing security cover to all theatres, he concluded.