Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has withdrawn its threat of stopping the release of Shah Rukh Khan starrer "Chennai Express" after film's director Rohit Shetty met MNS chief Raj Thackeray.
The party's film unit was unhappy with reports that the film's prime slots in statewide single cinemas were going to affect the screening of some Marathi movies. They had threatened to tear the posters and stop the screening on August 9.
"Rohit Shetty and UTV officials today met Raj Thackeray regarding this issue and they have sorted it out. Now, single screen theatres will not remove Marathi films to accommodate 'Chennai Express'. After this agreement, we have called off our protest," Amay Khopkar, leader of MNS Cine Workers Association, told PTI.
MNS was upset with reports that Sanjay Jadhav's hit Marathi film "Duniyadari" was being removed from single screens to make way for the release of "Chennai Express".
"Duniyadari" has been running successfully in single screen cinemas since July 19.
This is not the first time that regional and Bollywood films have clashed at the box office.
Director Shivaji Lotan Patil, who bagged the National Award for Best Director for his Marathi film "Dhag", said, "We have been facing this problem from quite sometime. Marathi films face the burnt whenever there is a big release.
