Film folk give Aamir thumbs up

Bharati Dubey / TNN / May 30, 2006, 01:46 IST

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It was a veritable show of force as B'wood continued scripting its fightback for Aamir Khan who has been targeted by the BJP for Narmada dam comments.

MUMBAI: It was a veritable show of force on Monday as Bollywood continued scripting its fightback for actor Aamir Khan who has been targeted by the BJP for comments he made on the Narmada dam project.
With theatres in Gujarat not screening Aamir's latest film Fanaa, and the industry starting to feel the pinch, Amit Khanna, president of the Film Producers and Television Programme Producers Guild, said, "Aamir has not said anything derogatory about Gujarat or the people of Gujarat, he has only reiterated what the supreme court has said on the Narmada issue...All of us have the right to freedom of expression and we will not stop any of our actors from expressing his opinion."
Aamir had spoken in favour of resettlement of those affected by the dam project.
It was not just a show of strength, but showtime for the film industry at the Sun-n-Sand Hotel in Juhu as the guild and the Association of Motion Pictures and Television Programme Producers (AMPTPP) attracted an array of personalities to back their cause.

J P Dutta, Subhash Ghai, Anupam Kher, Aziz Mirza, Afzal Khan, Ratan Jain, Sudhir Mishra, Vipul Shah, Ashutosh Gowariker and Anil Kapoor were among those present.
Film-maker Vipul Shah said, "Being a Gujarati, I know Narmada is the lifeline of Gujarat, but banning a film is no solution.
How can they prevent Gujaratis from watching the film?...There are people from Baroda who have come to Mumbai to watch the film. Who is anyone to decide on a ban on the film? Let them release it, the people who don't want to see it can stay away."
Director Subhash Ghai added, "Every individual has the right to express his opinion, and although there is no official ban on the film, not providing police protection to the theatre reveals the stand of the government of the day."

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