Speak up, Benegal tells govt

TT, New Delhi, Oct. 19: Veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal today said it was time the government stepped in to stop people being branded "anti-national" and attacked in the name of nationalism.

"I think the government should come out with a statement now that enough is enough," Benegal said, upset at the way filmmaker Karan Johar was virtually forced to grovel to save his film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.

Economist Kaushik Basu, the chief economic adviser to the Union government till mid-2012, tweeted today: "Nations go down when its people acquire the norm that the way to prove their patriotism is to attack others for their lack of patriotism."

Benegal drew a distinction between the government and the political parties leading the charge against the film, scheduled for a Diwali release, because it features Pakistani actor Fawad Khan.

His comments came during a television interview where he was asked why things had come to such a pass that people had to constantly prove their patriotism.

"Who is saying that? Government is not saying that," Benegal said. "Political parties may say anything they want but the fact is that the government has its duty to its citizens to protect them from accusations of this kind and attacks on individuals."

On the pressures that forced Johar to proclaim his patriotism, Benegal said: "I feel very sad that he had to make a statement like that, because how can anybody doubt his patriotism or his love for this country?"

He added: "Does it need to be reiterated every day of his life or my life because there is a demand on people to prove their patriotism? Why should a person like him have to constantly say that he will not do this or that? Why have we come to this sad situation?"

The comments came on a day Maharashtra Navnirman Sena activists gathered at the Metro multiplex in south Mumbai to threaten dire consequences if it screened Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.

None of the stars who usually feature in his films have come out in his support in public yet.

Still, superstar Salman Khan's father Salim Khan today said the film industry was not divided on the matter. Salman and Priyanka Chopra are the only two superstars to have taken a stand against the boycott of Pakistani artistes, with most others preferring to err on the side of caution.

"Film industry divided?? No way film industry is the one place where there is no place for discrimination on the basis of language, religion, caste & creed. What works is talent & capability. This is true from the time of Dada Saheb Phalke till date," Salim Khan tweeted.

"It is true that there are some amongst us who have aligned themselves to political parties for personal gain. And yes we are a happy lot. If our films work we are happy and if a rival's film flops we are happy too. And we live happily ever after."

The creative developer for Dharma Productions, Johar's production house, Ryan M. Stephen, too took to Twitter to rue that the filmmaker had had to prove his patriotism.

"It is unbelievable @karanjohar who gave us movies of love & couldn't be more Indian at heart, is now the target of so much hatred. Appalling!"