Bihari artistes on the line

Manoj Chaurasia

PATNA, Oct. 31: Bihar has now quietly begun to judicially "penalise" those supporting Mr Raj Thackeray's "hate campaign" towards Biharis ~ three of whom have paid with their lives for trying to seek employment opportunities in Mumbai in the recent violence.

Angry at his reported support for Mr Thackeray's ongoing campaigns against Biharis, the Bihar-Jharkhand Motion Pictures Association (BJMPA) has banned Bollywood actor Govinda in the twin states. Under this ban which has already come into force despite the actor clarifying his position on a TV news channel last evening, neither his new films will be released nor his old films be screened in any movie theatre in both Bihar and Jharkhand.

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Film insiders said the ban is likely to cost Govinda and his film producers dearly since Govinda, originally hailing from UP ~ another Hindi-speaking northern state in the firing line of Mr Thackeray's Sena ~ has huge fans and his films have a large viewership in Bihar and Jharkhand. Experts said many of Govinda's films have been box office hits and did tremendous business in the past while his soon-to-be released film Chal Chala Chal  is being eagerly awaited by his fans who come from all age-groups.

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