The multiplexes in Mumbai started screening Shah Rukh Khan's “My Name Is Khan” Friday after theater owners shied away from exhibiting the film following violence by the Shiv Sena, reported news agencies. There was extra security around the multiplexes in this financial and entertainment capital of India. Amid unprecedented security for the film's release, Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil drove to multiplex INOX to catch the first show of ‘MNIK'. Khan, who is in Berlin, tweeted early on Friday morning, “good m'ing mumbai. wotever the fate of the film, never wished this upon the city that made my dreams come true & gave me all. i belong to u (sic).” “Am overwhelmed and moved to tears with all the support our labor of love is getting...thank you...,” filmmaker Karan Johar tweeted. Actress Pooja Bedi who came to Fun Cinemas with her father Kabir Bedi couldn't get tickets. All they saw was a House Full sign. “I am certainly disappointed for not getting tickets but very happy that the film is going House Full. Police are doing a fabulous job. People need not fear at all. I walked down the street, there were no one with lathi (stick) and stones,” Bedi told reporters outside the Fun Cinemas multiplex in Andheri West. The movie was originally scheduled to hit 63 cinema halls in Mumbai. It ran into trouble as Shiv Sainiks started going on the rampage Tuesday, over Shah Rukh Khan's statement that Pakistani cricketers should have been included in this year's edition of the Indian Premier League. In Gujarat, the first few shows were cancelled after VHP and Bajarang Dal activists staged protests and torched posters of the movie, but later the shows resumed. The film opened to full houses in Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai and several other cities. “Post noon shows were all sold out in our theaters in Delhi. We are booked till Sunday,” Jayendra Banerjee, Vice President Satyam Cineplexes said. “Some 75 screens in Delhi and NCR are screening the movie. On an average multiplexes are running 11 to 12 shows a day,” a distributor said. In suburban Andheri, some Sena activists were cane-charged and arrested after they pelted stones outside Fun Republic cinema, showing the film. “We have arrested eight Shiv Sainiks who tried to disrupt the screening of the movie,” Deputy Police Commissioner, K Prasanna said. Over 1800 Sena activists were arrested by the Mumbai police to ensure the smooth release of the film. In massive security arrangements, rare for a film, CCTV cameras with night vision were installed inside some of the cinema halls and policemen in large numbers were deployed. Security personnel at cinema halls have been told to frisk every ticket-holder and check their bags as they enter the cinema. ‘MNIK' is the story of Rizwan Khan (SRK), a man suffering from Asperger's Syndrome, who is mistaken for a terrorist in post 9/11 America and undertakes a long journey across the US to prove his innocence to the love of his life, played by Kajol. It is the first major Bollywood movie to be picked up by an international production house Fox Searchlight for overseas distribution. Fox reportedly bought the movie rights for a whopping Rs 100 crore. In a related development, Revenue Minister Narayan Rane demanded that the registration of Shiv Sena as a political party be cancelled.
