Ae Dil Hai Mushkil row: Indian Army condemns Raj Thackeray's 'Rs 5 cr' demand as penance from producers

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil Row: Barkha Dutt's tweet seems to be taking shape now. Indian Army condemns MNS's decision of demanding producers of films employing Pakistanis to pay Rs 5 core to an army welfare fund as penance .

By Soumyata Chauhan
Published: October 22, 2016 8:09 PM IST

The Ae Dil Hai Mushkil row just doesn't seem to end! After the meeting with Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis,today, Karan Johar's movie was all set to release on its scheduled date 28th October after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray decided to raise his ban on the film. He agreed to do that after Karan Johar and Film & Television Producers Guild of India president Mukesh Bhatt assured that a share of the film’s profits would be donated for the welfare of army personnel and that all the producers of movies employing Pakistanis will pay Rs 5 crore as penance to the army. He also made them promise that Pakistani actors will no longer be hired in Bollywood. But, now things again seem to be getting into muddy waters. Also Read: Ae Dil Hai Mushkil row: Mukesh Bhatt strikes a deal with Raj Thackeray and sets Twitter ablaze – check out tweets Also Read - Alia Bhatt is a spoilt bahu in Kapoor Khandaan and this gesture by Neetu Kapoor is a proof [Watch]

As reported in Hindustan Times, The Indian army has raised objection against MNS's decision of demanding producers of films employing Pakistanis to pay Rs 5 crore to an army welfare fund as “penance”. They say they are not comfortable with being dragged into the politics surrounding the release of the film. They feel the army is an “apolitical and secular” organisation and that it should not be used for scoring political brownie points. Also Read - Alia Bhatt a 'great support' for Ranbir Kapoor; sister-in-law Riddhima Kapoor Sahni lists out actress' endearing qualities as a bahu and partner

“Anyone can contribute to the fund but it has to be voluntary. You can’t force people to make donations and the army wouldn’t like to accept such money,” said a senior officer at the army headquarters. Also Read - Ramayana: Will Nitesh Tiwari's Ranbir Kapoor starrer be able to justify Lord Ram's epic saga? Ashutosh Rana reacts [Exclusive]

“If the producers have been arm-twisted into paying the money, there’s no way the army will accept it,” another officer added.

Kargil war hero Brigadier Khushal Thakur (retd) said national sentiments should not be exploited like this. “If something is wrong, it is wrong. How can a forced donation of Rs 5 crore make it right? But the bottom line is the army’s name should not be misused for political gain,” he said.

Former northern army commander Lieutenant General BS Jaswal told the leading daily, “The army doesn’t go around begging for funds. If a film producer wants to donate, he can do it like any other Indian citizen. But it’s unacceptable in such a manner.” Jaswal added that the government should have the last word if the matter is too sensitive. “Let’s keep the army out of politics. We have stayed that way and would like to stay that way.”

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BySoumyata Chauhan
Published: October 22, 2016 8:09 PM IST