Saturday, April 10, 2004
Maoists ban Bollywood in Nepal
Indo-Asian News Service Kathmandu, April 10
Bollywood has fallen foul of Nepal's Maoist guerrillas.
Two outlawed organisations linked to the Maoists have called for an indefinite boycott of Hindi films in retaliation to the arrest of a top rebel leader in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Mohan Vaidya aka Kiran, the insurgents' politburo member, was arrested March 29 while recuperating from a cataract operation. The 52-year-old, now jailed in the state, has been charged with waging war against India.
The Nepal Women's Association (Revolutionary) has asked all theatres in the Himalayan kingdom to boycott Hindi films until Vaidya is released.
A statement issued in the name of Lakshmi Koirala, president of the organisation in Butwal district, warned that if cinema theatres ignore the appeal, they alone would be responsible for any damage or violence that ensues.
The statement has also asked shopkeepers not to sell or play Hindi film and music discs and cassettes.
To ensure compliance with the diktat, the rebels exploded a bomb in the Laxmi Chalachchita Mandir theatre in Nepalgunj district in mid-west Nepal near the Indian border.
Another sister concern, the Akhil Nepal Trade Union Mahasangh (Revolutionary), asked for a boycott of Hindi films as well as cable programmes, including Hindi news, Hindi music as well as Hindi newspapers and magazines.
The statement said the boycott should be observed till Vaidya was released. Hindi soaps are immensely popular in Nepal and the Hindi news channel "Aaj Tak" is one of the most viewed news channels. Most private radio channels air Hindi film songs.
"We are gravely concerned," said Uddhav Poudel, former president of the Hindi film distributors' association in Nepal.
"In the long run, such action will affect the Nepalese film industry and lead to the destruction of the entertainment industry."
While Nepalese films have an audience in the hill areas, they have no takers in the Terai plains where the population is mostly of Indian origin.
"Due to the insurgency and funds crunch, the Nepalese film industry is currently making 10 to 12 films a year," Poudel added.
"It means there are not enough Nepalese films to run all 365 days. Theatre owners have no option but to screen Bollywood films. Otherwise, we have to close down our cinemas."
According to Poudel, who also owns a four-in-one theatre in Kathmandu, in the last couple of years 117 halls were forced to close down in Nepal and another 12 in Kathmandu itself.
Bollywood film distributors already have to contend with the animosity of Nepalese directors who have been trying to propagate a film industry with a Nepalese identity.
The "Hrithik Roshan" riots in December 2000, when Indian businesses in Nepal were targeted over an anti-Nepal statement wrongly attributed to the Bollywood star, scarred the cinemas in Nepal as well.
"My 'Gopi Krishna' theatre in Kathmandu came under attack," Poudel said. "I hope things never come to such a pass again."
© Hindustan Times Ltd. 2004.