80 pc sale for ‘MNIK’ debut in vandalised Delhi hall

NEW DELHI - A cinema hall in west Delhi that had been vandalised just a few hours before it was scheduled to start screening “My Name is Khan” Friday sold 80 percent of the tickets for the first show, its officials said.

The Satyam Janak Place cinema hall in Janakpuri was vandalised by a group of miscreants early Friday. They broke a large window pane.

Activists of the Shiv Sena have vandalised several theatres in Mumbai that were to screen “My Name Is Khan”.

Despite the incident and the fear of more vandalism, “the response to the film has been very good”, said an official of Satyam Cineplexes, the chain that owns the hall.

“The first show at 10.15 a.m. got about 80 percent occupancy which is very decent. The vandalism has not affected our bookings and there is no problem in the Janakpuri hall,” Jayendra Banerji, vice president (operations) of Satyam Cineplexes, told IANS.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (west) Sharad Agarwal said the young people who broke the window pane were drunk and not affiliated to any political group.

“A group of two-three youngsters were drunk and broke the glass with the aim of creating mischief. One of them was caught. They don’t seem to be associated with any political party or group. They did not have any placards or posters against the movie,” Agarwal told IANS.

The one who was caught was identified as 19-year-old Brij Mohan, a resident of JJ Colony in Uttam Nagar. He is a Class 11 drop-out, the police official said.

Right wing Shiv Sena is opposing the film’s release after Shah Rukh Khan refused to apologise for saying that Pakistani cricketers should have been included in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches.