Thakeray vs. Black Friday

So Bal Thackeray wants to ban Black Friday. Says the film portrays Dawood ibrahim and the perpetrators of the 1993 Bombay blasts as heroes. Not surprising at all. Doesn’t Thackeray belong to the same gang that brought down the mosque at Ayodhya and slaughtered Muslims by the dozen in Gujarat? he is the skewed yet a living breathing manifestation of the rot that has set into the society we live in. he symbolizes the beliefs and prejudices of millions of Indians across the board. He is the epitome of the mythical entity Golwalkar called the Hindu Rashtra, triumphantly bandied about by his footsoldiers in the RSS, VHP, and Bajrang Dal. Thackeray stands for the political project that has been the cause of the most heinous crimes against humanity. Can he let a film go?
Defaming and demeaning Black Friday would give him his lost teeth. He is raring to go after the victory at the BMC hustings. Is it a surprise that he makes an unqualified statement like that? The rightist fringe has been making anti-Black Friday noises for long saying that the film ‘de-demonizes’ the (so-called) terrorists, almost ‘humanizes’ them. While they are engaged in a project that does just the opposite – demonizing the Muslims as a community. Black Friday goes against the grain, or so it would seem to those gaping out of the loony bin.
But can he ban the film? He does not hold a constitutional position, a solace to those who make up the ‘progressives’ in India, a horribly miniscule minority. But he wields immense clout with the badshahs of badmashi, the goons who can be called upon to destroy property and even lives within minutes. Therefore, if Thackeray calls for a ban, theatre owners would end up shuddering. What if their bread and butter is burnt down or broken or something? And the law enforcement agencies don’t give a damn. So a ban call might just end up working. And no one will raise a voice. Because India is already a Hindu Rashtra for many, in thought and practice. And Hindu Rashtra does not tolerate truth.