The Hindu : National : Threat to boycott products endorsed by Aamir Khan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 27, 2006

National

National

Threat to boycott products endorsed by Aamir Khan

Manas Dasgupta

Appeal to agencies not to release advertisements featuring the actor

AHMEDABAD: After successfully stalling the release of the Aamir Khan starrer Fanaa in Gujarat, the BJP Yuva Morcha on Friday threatened to give a call for boycott of all products being endorsed by the Bollywood hero.

In a statement, Morcha president Amit Thaker, said the non-release of the film was a "historic victory" of the people of Gujarat and they would continue to demonstrate their solidarity by boycotting all products including the multinational soft drinks being endorsed by Mr. Khan if he continued to refuse to apologise to the people of the state.

He also appealed to all advertisement agencies not to release any advertisements featuring Mr. Khan and to cinema theatre owners not to display his posters. Cable operators and video libraries were requested not to keep even pirated compact discs of the film Fanaa as well as other films featuring Mr. Khan.

Though the state government has not taken any stand on the issue, Fanaa was not released in any cinema theatre in Gujarat in view of the "voluntary decision" taken by the owners of the multiplexes as well as single cinema theatre owners due to the boycott call by the BJP's Yuva Morcha.

Chief Minister Narendra Modi has refused to intervene in the matter and his office said he left it to the discretion of cinema theatre owners whether to screen the film or not. The state government had agreed to provide necessary security to any theatre owner screening the film but none have approached them for security cover.

The owners of the single cinema theatres as well as the multiplexes held separate meetings but decided against taking any risk of screening the film in the light of the boycott call by the Yuva Morcha and the discreet silence maintained by the state government on the issue. Yuva Morcha activists again staged a demonstration in front of multiplexes and made a bonfire of Mr. Khan's posters on Friday.

Mr. Thaker said the Bollywood hero by refusing to apologise had further angered the people of Gujarat. He said nothing concerning Mr. Khan would be shown or displayed anywhere in the state till he tendered an unconditional apology and withdrew his opposition to the construction of the Narmada dam.

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