Manipur tribals defy ‘ban’ on ‘Indianisation’ with Bollywood hits | Imphal News – Times of India
“This is to show our defiance and opposition…We will be declaring our ‘freedom’ from the anti-national terror groups,” the Tuithaphai joint headquarters of the Hmar Students’ Association said.
“Kuch Kuch Hota Hain”, the 1998 hit that was the last Hindi film to be screened in a Manipur theatre, was part of the day’s Bollywood feast along with the 70s classic “Sholay” and the more recent war drama “Uri: The Surgical Strike”.
The open-air theatre had been set up on the student organisation’s campus at Rengaki in Tuithaphai, part of a district that has borne the brunt of the ethnic violence since May 3.
“As Indians, we must have public access to performing arts and movies produced in all parts of India. The main reason behind the ban on Hindi films by militants is that they consider these ‘foreign films having a bad influence on Manipuri culture’. This is a view we do not subscribe to, although the state hasn’t acted against it till this day,” Lalremsang, executive member of the association told TOI. The Priyanka Chopra film Mary Kom (2014), which celebrates the life and career of world boxing champion Mary Kom, has never been screened in her native state.
