The Hindu : Front Page : Don’t drag Amitabh into controversy: Thackeray

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Tuesday, Apr 08, 2008
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Don’t drag Amitabh into controversy: Thackeray

Arunkumar Bhatt

MUMBAI: Two days after the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana took a dig at actor Amitabh Bachchan vis-À-vis Tamil actor Rajinikanth’s stand on the Hogenakkal water project, the party supremo Bal Thackeray said: “Nobody should drag him [Amitabh] into unnecessary controversy of native State and State of settlement.”

“Amitabh Bachchan is not just a star of one State but the superstar of the whole country,” Mr. Thackeray advised editorially in Monday’s edition.

On Saturday, Saamana hailed Mr. Rajinikanth for standing by Tamil Nadu in its dispute with Karnataka over the drinking water project. Though not a born Tamil, the actor was loyal to the State that gave him success, it pointed out, taking dig at Mr. Bachchan for “not being so loyal to Maharashtra,” his adopted home State.

The Saamana report came in the backdrop of the criticism of Mr. Bachchan by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray when his men attacked north Indians in Mumbai recently. The Shiv Sena has since been trying hard to prevent the estranged nephew of Mr. Bal Thackeray from hijacking its Marathi plank.

The seasoning in the report was the celebrated long and close friendship between Mr. Thackeray and Mr. Bachchan. It attracted the attention of the electronic media and some channels reported the Saamana story as Mr. Thackeray’s personal view and suggested that their friendship was nearing an end.

The next day, the Saamana came out with a frontpage statement of the Sena supremo, who is also the Editor, that Mr. Bachchan was his family friend and the TV channels were distorting the matter.

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