Mumbai: According to the sources the Indian army is unhappy about being used in a game of political one-up-man-ship in Maharashtra and they will not accept any amount related to the release of Karan Johar’s Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.
“Army will not accept donation of Rs 5 crore offered by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions ahead of ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ release,” claimed sources.
Top sources in the Army Headquarters said. “This is the nation’s Army. We take great pride in being secular and apolitical. Being used as pawn in a game to score political points in Maharashtra is most unfortunate and completely uncalled for”.
“We are not into coercion or ‘hafta wasooli’.”
“We are not open to money that may have been coerced out of film producers,” sources added.
Even the ( COEA) Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association president Nitin Datar has refused to support the movie.
“We are not going to co-operate with release of Karan Johar’s movie,” said Datar.
However, after a meeting with Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, filmmaker Karan Johar and other film fraternity, the MNS has agreed not to stall the October 28 release of the film and said the producers casting Pakistani actors in their movie will have to pay Rs 5 crore for the Army Welfare Association.
Johar also agreed to put a special mention in the beginning of the film paying homage to martyrs, a move to assuage sentiments in the country triggered by the terror attack on an army base in Uri that claimed the lives of 19 security personnel.