Indu Sarkar not the first film to be under protest

Madhur Bhandarkar’s Indu Sarkar  set in the backdrop of the 1975 Emergency, is facing protests from Congress leaders for allegedly showing Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi in a bad light. The filmmaker slammed the party leaders for their “hooliganism” and insisted that his film did not malign anyone. Here are some other films which also faced political roadblocks.

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil –After the Uri attack last year, there was a strong anti-Pakistan sentiment in the country. Karan Johar bore the brunt of it, as his film, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, featured Pakistani actor Fawad Khan. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) threatened to vandalise theatres if the film saw the light of day. The matter was only resolved when Karan met the MNS chief Raj Thackeray and promised to donate a sum of Rs 5 crore to the Army welfare fund. The filmmaker also vowed never to work with Pakistani actors again.

Fanaa-Fanaa faced the wrath of the Gujarat government for Aamir Khan’s anti-Narmada dam remarks. The film faced an unofficial ban, and theatre owners refused to screen it for fear of vandalism and violent protests.

My Name Is Khan- The Shiv Sena threatened to stop the release of Karan Johar’s film because lead actor Shah Rukh Khan spoke in favour of Pakistani cricketers, and said that they should be a part of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Eventually, the film was released, but some theatres were attacked by party workers.

Madras Café-Shoojit Sircar’s political action thriller was based on Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan civil war, and Tamil groups protested the negative depiction of the members of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The John Abraham-starrer got into trouble with the MDMK in Tamil Nadu who sought a ban on the film.

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Deepa Mehta tried to show the plight of Hindu of widows living in subhuman conditions in pre-independent India, but many political parties did not approve. The sets were vandalised, DVDs were burnt and the filmmaker had to shoot in Sri Lanka with a fake title to throw off protesters.