Chavan to watch SRK's film but it's no show yet

Mumbai: Shah Rukh Khan's new film My Name is Khan opens in cinemas on Friday but theatre owners in Mumbai were still cagey about its release in the wake of threats by the Shiv Sena.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan is scheduled to watch the movie at INOX theatre in the noon but multiplex chains in Mumbai decided to have a limited release of the movie after noon on Friday. Fun Cinemas is the only multiplex which has decided to screen the movie.

However, industry sources said that the second show--starting after 12 noon--might be taken up in some cinema halls. The movie was slated to hit 63 cinema halls in Mumbai.

The Fun Cinemas group of multiplexes was preparing to screen the movie - there was a huge crowd of patrons at the hall amidst tight police security

Multiplex owners met this morning at Fun Cinemas in suburban Andheri and decided that each multiplex chain will open one of its properties in Mumbai to screen the film and “see how it goes”, a source told PTI.

The film would be screened in all theaters outside Mumbai, as there is no trouble, the source said.

Manoj Desai owner of Gaiety, Galaxy and Maratha Mandir single-screen theatres has also decided against releasing the film. "Shiv Sainiks tore the screen at Maratha Mandir even before the release of the film. Why should I take chances?" he said.

The Shiv Sena triggered a media storm last week after it criticised Khan for calling for Pakistani cricketers to be included in the Indian Premier League.

Shiv Sena members have torn up posters in Mumbai and warned theatres against screening the movie on Friday.

The Shiv Sena's demand of an apology from Shah Rukh Khan is also unlikely to be fulfilled, with the Bollywood actor sticking to his stand, adding he hadn't said anything wrong.

"I have the courage of conviction by my side. I explain becos (sic) better to do that, than create aggression & division in my country," Khan wrote on his Twitter account on the sidelines of the Berlin film festival, where the film is being screened.

"My Name is Khan" stars Shah Rukh Khan as a man with Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism, who is a victim of racial bias in the U.S. in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

The film is one of the most eagerly awaited releases of the year for Bollywood, which is looking to recover from a bad 2009.

Trade analysts say there is at least 1.2 billion rupees riding on the film and if the Mumbai-Maharashtra circuit is affected, it would affect almost 25 percent of the film's cinema revenues in India.

(With inputs from PTI, IANS and Reuters)